Epithalon

In plain terms

Epithalon is a four-amino-acid peptide developed from research on the pineal gland. Laboratory work has investigated whether it influences telomerase — the enzyme that maintains the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes — and how it affects circadian rhythm in animal models. The published work is in cell cultures and rodents, not in people.

Research overview

Epithalon (epitalon) is a four-amino-acid peptide developed from research on the pineal gland. Cell studies have investigated whether it influences telomerase, the enzyme that maintains the protective caps on chromosome ends, and animal work from the same programme measured melatonin patterns, circadian rhythm and lifespan.

What has been studied

1. 1

   Telomerase activity

   Cell studies have investigated whether epithalon influences telomerase, the enzyme that maintains the protective caps on chromosome ends.

2. 2

   Circadian rhythm

   It came out of research on the pineal gland, and animal work has looked at melatonin patterns and sleep-wake cycles.

3. 3

   Ageing models

   Long-running rodent studies from the same research programme measured lifespan and age-related markers.

Research articles

• Overview of Epitalon-Highly Bioactive Pineal Tetrapeptide with Promising PropertiesInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025
• Epitalon increases telomere length in human cell lines through telomerase upregulation or ALT activityBiogerontology · 2025
• Epitalon protects against post-ovulatory aging-related damage of mouse oocytes in vitroAging · 2022