C tier · mixed
Has genuine human comparative anxiety trial data and Russian pharmacy availability, but the trials are small, largely open-label, published in Russian, and never independently replicated abroad.
selank
Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide analogue of the immunomodulatory tetrapeptide tuftsin, extended with Pro-Gly-Pro for metabolic stability, and developed at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Published Russian trials report anxiolytic effects broadly comparable to benzodiazepines without sedation or dependence, but the evidence base is small and has not been independently verified.
// we supply this one
available as a research reagent
≥ 99% HPLC · lyophilised powder · batch certificate published. Grade C above is our own and is not adjusted because we stock it.
the explanation
Selank is a lab-made peptide based on a natural immune-signalling molecule, studied in Russia as an anti-anxiety treatment that supposedly doesn't cause drowsiness or dependence. The studies backing this are small, mostly published in Russian, and nobody outside Russia has repeated them.
regulatory status
Available in Russia; no FDA/EMA approval
Selank is sold through Russian and Ukrainian pharmacies as an anxiolytic developed by the Institute of Molecular Genetics, but unlike Semax its inclusion on Russia's Vital and Essential Drugs List could not be independently confirmed, and it holds no FDA or EMA approval of any kind
how it works · proposed mechanism
Selank appears to work through several parallel neuromodulatory routes rather than a single receptor target.
Shifts GABA system genes
Rodent studies report altered expression of GABA-A receptor subunits and GABA transporter genes in hippocampus and frontal cortex. This is offered as the explanation for benzodiazepine-like anxiolysis without direct benzodiazepine-site binding.
Slows enkephalin breakdown
Selank inhibits enzymes that degrade endogenous enkephalins, which would prolong natural opioid signalling. This is a proposed contributor to both its anxiolytic and its reported mood effects.
Derived from an immune peptide
The tuftsin core is a naturally occurring immunomodulatory tetrapeptide, and Selank retains some immune activity including reported effects on IL-6 expression. Structural fragments have also shown antiviral properties in published work.
No sedation or dependence claimed
Russian trial reports describe anxiolysis without the sedation, cognitive dulling or withdrawal seen with benzodiazepines. This claimed separation is the peptide's main clinical selling point but has never been tested against a placebo in a blinded Western trial.
what’s reported
evidence shape
6 sourcesThe composition of the cited literature by study type. This describes the shape of the evidence, not its quality — and it does not by itself set the grade.
⚠ the catch
As with Semax, the Selank literature is largely Russian-language and hard to independently verify — the key clinical comparison against phenazepam sits in Zhurnal Nevrologii i Psikhiatrii, a journal whose trial data have never been externally audited or replicated. The human evidence is thinner than Semax's: there is no meta-analysis, no placebo-controlled Western trial, and no published human pharmacokinetic profile establishing even a half-life.
key published findings
- Human trial: a comparison of anxiolytic effect and tolerability of selank versus phenazepam in anxiety disorders reported broadly comparable anxiolysis with better tolerability, published in Russian (Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr, 2014)
- Rodent (in vivo): Selank administration altered expression of genes involved in GABAergic neurotransmission, including receptor subunits and transporters, in rat brain (Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2016)
- Rodent (in vivo): Selank protected against ethanol-induced memory impairment in rats (Bull Exp Biol Med, 2019)
- Rodent (in vivo): peptide anxiolytic selank showed efficacy in a modelled withdrawal-syndrome paradigm in rats (Bull Exp Biol Med, 2014)
- In vitro: structural fragments of Selank demonstrated antiviral properties, consistent with retained tuftsin-derived immune activity (Dokl Biol Sci, 2010)
limitations of the evidence
- No placebo-controlled, double-blind trial conducted or published outside Russia; the phenazepam comparison is an active-comparator study without a placebo arm
- No published human pharmacokinetic data — plasma half-life, bioavailability and exposure remain uncharacterised in the accessible literature
- Claims of non-sedation and absence of dependence are asserted from trial reports rather than demonstrated by dedicated abuse-liability or discontinuation studies
documented safety signals
- No serious adverse events documented in the published trial literature, though this reflects very small sample sizes and short exposures rather than demonstrated safety
- Long-term exposure entirely unstudied
identity
| full name | Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro (tuftsin analogue with C-terminal Pro-Gly-Pro) |
| category | Cognitive |
| modality | peptide |
| formula | C33H57N11O9 |
| molar mass | 751.9 g/mol |
| cas | 129954-34-3 |
| sequence | Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro |
laboratory handling
| storage | Lyophilised powder stable at -20°C protected from light and moisture; after reconstitution store at 2-8°C and use within approximately 2-4 weeks, avoiding repeated freeze-thaw cycles. |
| solubility | Readily soluble in sterile or bacteriostatic water; the acetate salt is highly water-soluble. |
| co-studied with | Commonly discussed alongside Semax, and one 2020 functional connectomic study examined both, but no controlled trial has evaluated the pair as a combination. |
Handling information describes laboratory practice for a research reagent. It is not a preparation guide for use in humans.
the receipts
6 citedZhurnal Nevrologii i Psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova · 2014 · peer-reviewed
Frontiers in Pharmacology · 2016 · preclinical
Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine · 2019 · preclinical
Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine · 2014 · preclinical
Doklady Biological Sciences · 2010 · preclinical
Doklady Biological Sciences · 2020 · preclinical
others in Cognitive