Comparison

Epithalon vs Thymalin: what is the difference

A side-by-side reading of Epithalon and Thymalin from our profiles: origin, mechanism, studied uses and evidence status. No recommendations — only what the sources say.

Key parameters side by side
ParameterEpithalonThymalin
CategoryLongevityImmune Support
Evidence statusExperimentalApproved
Sequence length4
Molecular weight390.35 Da858.00 Da

Longevity

Epithalon

Experimental

Epithalon (epitalon) is a synthetic tetrapeptide (Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly) developed by Professor Vladimir Khavinson at the Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology. It is the synthetic analog of epithalamin, a polypeptide extract from the pineal gland that demonstrated life-extending properties in animal studies beginning in the 1980s.

Epithalon's primary mechanism centers on activation of telomerase — the enzyme that maintains and elongates telomeres, the protective caps on chromosome ends that shorten with each cell division. Telomere shortening is a fundamental mechanism of cellular aging, and epithalon's ability to reactivate telomerase in somatic cells has positioned it as one of the most studied peptides in longevity research.

Beyond telomerase activation, epithalon normalizes circadian melatonin production from the pineal gland, acts as a powerful antioxidant, and has demonstrated life-extending effects of 12-24% in multiple animal species. While human clinical data remains limited, the peptide has accumulated over 35 years of preclinical and clinical research primarily from Russian biogerontology studies.

View Epithalon Category

Immune Support

Thymalin

Approved

Thymalin is a polypeptide complex originally extracted from the thymus gland of calves, developed by Professor Vladimir Khavinson at the Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology. As one of the first peptide bioregulators characterized, thymalin demonstrated the concept that organ-derived peptide extracts could restore function to aging or damaged immune systems.

Thymalin contains a mixture of small peptides (primarily dipeptides and tripeptides) that collectively restore T-cell immunity, normalize the T-helper/T-suppressor cell ratio, and enhance thymic function. Over 30 years of clinical use in Russia have demonstrated its ability to restore immune competence in immunodeficient patients, reduce infection rates, and potentially extend lifespan — a 6-year clinical study in elderly patients showed 2-fold reduction in mortality compared to controls.

View Thymalin Category

Full profiles

Experimental

Longevity

Epithalon

Epithalon (epitalon) is a synthetic tetrapeptide (Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly) developed by Professor Vladimir Khavinson at the Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology. It is the synthetic analog of epithalamin, a polypeptide extract from the pineal gland that demonstrated life-extending properties in animal studies beginning in the 1980s. Epithalon's primary mechanism centers on activation of telomerase — the enzyme that maintains and elongates telomeres, the protective caps on chromosome ends that shorten with each cell division. Telomere shortening is a fundamental mechanism of cellular aging, and epithalon's ability to reactivate telomerase in somatic cells has positioned it as one of the most studied peptides in longevity research. Beyond telomerase activation, epithalon normalizes circadian melatonin production from the pineal gland, acts as a powerful antioxidant, and has demonstrated life-extending effects of 12-24% in multiple animal species. While human clinical data remains limited, the peptide has accumulated over 35 years of preclinical and clinical research primarily from Russian biogerontology studies.

Molecular weight390.4 Da
4 amino acidsView Details
Approved

Immune Support

Thymalin

Thymalin is a polypeptide complex originally extracted from the thymus gland of calves, developed by Professor Vladimir Khavinson at the Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology. As one of the first peptide bioregulators characterized, thymalin demonstrated the concept that organ-derived peptide extracts could restore function to aging or damaged immune systems. Thymalin contains a mixture of small peptides (primarily dipeptides and tripeptides) that collectively restore T-cell immunity, normalize the T-helper/T-suppressor cell ratio, and enhance thymic function. Over 30 years of clinical use in Russia have demonstrated its ability to restore immune competence in immunodeficient patients, reduce infection rates, and potentially extend lifespan — a 6-year clinical study in elderly patients showed 2-fold reduction in mortality compared to controls.

Molecular weight858 Da
Thymus BioregulatorView Details