Epithalon

Epithalon is four residues: alanine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, glycine. The literature also uses Epitalon for the same AEDG sequence; VaultLabs lists both spellings as one catalog identity. The material is a synthetic tetrapeptide, not the older pineal polypeptide preparation Epithalamin, and a certificate for Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly does not qualify that extract.

At 390.35 g/mol it is among the smallest peptides on the shelf. There is no disulfide, no C-terminal amide in the catalog sequence, and no non-canonical residue. Identity work is therefore a sequence-and-mass problem rather than a stereochemistry problem.

Procurement confusion usually comes from Pinealon sitting in the same literature family. Pinealon is Glu-Asp-Arg (CAS 175175-23-2, 418.40 g/mol). Epithalon is Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly (CAS 307297-39-8, 390.35 g/mol). They do not share lots, and a stores officer who picks "the other pineal 10 mg" has issued the wrong substance.

The paper most often cited for identity is Khavinson, Bondarev and Butyugov in the Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine (2003). They reported that adding Epithalon to telomerase-negative human fetal fibroblast cultures induced expression of the catalytic subunit, enzymatic telomerase activity and telomere elongation. That is an in vitro fibroblast result. It is not a demonstration that a lyophilised research vial lengthens telomeres in a person.

Anisimov, Khavinson, Popovich and Zabezhinski reported in Cancer Letters (2002) that the same AEDG sequence altered the number of colon tumours in rats after 1,2-dimethylhydrazine exposure. That is a rodent carcinogenesis model. It does not establish a human oncology use and VaultLabs makes no such claim.

Later cell-line work continues to treat Epitalon as a research tetrapeptide in telomere and ageing-marker assays. The entire indexed set remains laboratory and animal evidence. None of it is an approved indication, and none of it is a reason to use catalog material in a human.

Each VaultLabs lot is released against a reversed-phase HPLC purity specification tied to the printed lot number. Related-substance risk for a tetrapeptide is ordinary: deletion sequences, aspartimide, and residual process impurities. Mass confirmation at 390.35 g/mol distinguishes it from Pinealon without relying on the label alone.

Store sealed lyophilised vials at 2–8 °C, protected from light and humidity. Equilibrate before opening. After reconstitution, document the diluent and the date, and keep freeze-thaw cycles to a minimum. Certified purity describes the released cake, not a solution stored for convenience.

If a laboratory holds both Epithalon and Pinealon, goods-in identification should include mass or a method that resolves the two sequences. Colour will not help — both cakes are white.

Epithalon from VaultLabs is a research reference material. It is not an approved medicine, not a supplement, and not supplied for human or veterinary use. Consumer marketing that presents Epitalon as a longevity product describes a use VaultLabs does not authorise and will not fulfil.

The catalog SKU is a 10 mg lyophilised vial. Retrieve published certificates through batch verification. Cross-check ambiguous requisitions against the Pinealon monograph.

This article is for laboratory purchasers and documentation staff. It is not a protocol, not a telomere programme, and not a substitute for institutional SOP review.

Cited papers explain what the sequence is and where the preclinical record sits. They do not convert research-grade powder into a finished medicine. If label, certificate and monograph disagree, query the lot before the vial is opened.

Telomerase and telomere-length assays in cultured cells

Short-peptide identity confirmation

Pineal tetrapeptide documentation

2–8 °C (lyophilized, sealed)

2–8 °C sealed lyophilized storage, protected from light and humidity.

Sealed lyophilized material is the stable form. Document reconstitution date; aspartyl residues can rearrange in solution.