If you have been reading about heptapeptide and want a single page that covers the useful parts, this is it: definitions, context, how it is studied, and the questions that come up repeatedly.
Last reviewed on 2026-04-19. Where a claim depends on a specific study, the study is described rather than over-claimed.
Development took place during the 1980s at institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences, where peptide fragments of ACTH were screened for cognitive and neuroprotective effects. The compound received regulatory approval in Russia as a nasal preparation, marketed for conditions such as ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attacks, and optic nerve disorders. Registration in other countries has not followed. Most published clinical reports originate from a small number of Russian research groups, and independent replication outside that setting remains limited. The regulatory status therefore differs sharply between Russia and the rest of the world.
Laboratory work points toward modulation of neurotrophic signaling, particularly expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor in hippocampal tissue. Studies also describe effects on monoamine turnover, inflammatory mediators, and oxidative markers. These observations come mainly from animal models and cultured cells, so the causal chain in humans is not firmly established. Whether the reported molecular changes translate into measurable clinical benefit is an open question. Reviews generally present the mechanism as plausible rather than demonstrated.
Published studies are dominated by animal models of stroke, ischemia, and cognitive impairment, with a smaller number of human trials conducted in Russia. Many of the human reports are small, single-center, and published in Russian-language journals, which limits independent scrutiny. Outcome measures vary between studies and often rely on clinician-rated scales rather than objective biomarkers. Systematic reviews have noted the methodological weaknesses and called for larger, preregistered trials before firm conclusions can be drawn.
Claims about enhanced focus, memory, or mood in healthy people rest mostly on anecdotal reports and community discussion rather than on controlled data. It remains unclear whether any cognitive benefit observed in patients recovering from brain injury would extend to uninjured users. Dose-response relationships, long-term safety, and interactions with other drugs are not well characterized in the peer-reviewed literature. Questions about optimal route of administration and treatment duration likewise remain open.
Semax binds to melanocortin receptors and is thought to influence neuronal survival and plasticity rather than to act through the adrenal axis. Laboratory work has shown increased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor in treated tissue. Changes in c-Fos, a marker of neuronal activation, have also been reported. Because the peptide is rapidly degraded by peptidases, its effects are generally attributed to downstream signaling cascades rather than to sustained receptor occupancy.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sequence | Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro | Heptapeptide; ACTH(4-10) analog extended at C-terminus |
| Molecular mass | ~813.9 Da | Free peptide, unmodified |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Typical lyophilized solid |
| Solubility | Soluble in water and saline | Also soluble in common aqueous buffers |
| Storage (solid) | -20 °C, desiccated | Protect from moisture and repeated thawing |
The compound is registered in Russia as a pharmaceutical product, most commonly formulated as a nasal solution, and has been used in that setting since the 1990s. Outside that jurisdiction it is generally handled as a research chemical rather than an approved medicine. Regulatory status therefore differs sharply between countries, and material sold internationally may not correspond to the Russian pharmaceutical formulation. Documentation with commercial samples is typically limited to a certificate of analysis covering purity and identity, not clinical status or local legal classification.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. It corresponds to the ACTH(4-7) fragment extended at the C-terminus by a Pro-Gly-Pro tripeptide, an addition intended to slow enzymatic breakdown. The molecular formula is C37H51N9O10S and the molecular mass is approximately 814 daltons. In the literature it is often described as an ACTH(4-10) analog, although that label reflects a naming convention as much as a precise structural relationship. The compound was developed in Russia and remains most closely associated with that research tradition.
Laboratory descriptions of the material are consistent across suppliers. It appears as a white to off-white lyophilized powder that dissolves readily in water and in polar organic solvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide. Aqueous solutions are clear and colorless at low concentrations. Because the peptide contains methionine, oxidation at the sulfur atom is a recognized degradation pathway, and handling notes usually call for protected, desiccated storage. Reported purity for research-grade lots is generally above 95 percent as measured by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.
Purity assessment relies mainly on reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, which separates the target heptapeptide from truncated sequences, deletion analogues, and oxidised forms. Mass spectrometry, usually coupled to liquid chromatography, confirms identity through the expected molecular ion and reveals modifications such as methionine sulfoxide formation. Amino acid analysis can verify composition, and tandem mass spectrometry supports sequence confirmation. Ultraviolet detection near 254 to 280 nanometres is convenient because the phenylalanine and histidine residues absorb in that region. Nuclear magnetic resonance is rarely used for routine release testing.
Common degradation pathways include oxidation of the methionine side chain, hydrolysis of the peptide backbone, and aggregation under unfavourable pH or concentration. Stability studies typically monitor the main peak by chromatography and report total related substances as a percentage. Because no official monograph exists, acceptance criteria vary between laboratories, and reported purity values are not directly comparable across suppliers. Analysts therefore document the method, column, and detection wavelength alongside each result, and open questions remain about how much biological activity the oxidised forms retain.
Published research on this peptide originates mainly from Russian laboratories, and the wider international literature is comparatively thin. Studies have used rodent models of stroke, hypoxia, and memory tasks, with a smaller number of human trials reported. Reported outcomes include changes in attention and memory measures, along with effects on neurotrophic factor expression in some experiments. Small sample sizes, inconsistent dosing protocols, and limited independent replication are widely noted limitations, so the strength of the clinical evidence remains an open question.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide whose sequence is Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. The first four residues correspond to the ACTH(4-10) fragment, while the terminal Pro-Gly-Pro extension was added to improve metabolic stability. Its molecular formula is C37H51N9O10S and its monoisotopic mass is approximately 813.9 Da. The compound is classified as a peptide research chemical and as a registered pharmaceutical product in Russia, but it does not hold marketing approval in the European Union or the United States. Naming conventions vary across supplier catalogs.
常规纯度与身份确认依赖反相高效液相色谱，并辅以质谱测定分子量。氨基酸组成分析可用于验证序列构成，肽图分析则能进一步定位修饰或降解产物。杂质谱通常关注缺失序列肽、截短片段和氧化产物。不同方法的检出限并不相同，因此各实验室报告的纯度数值不宜直接横向比较。
多数实验室与市售的 Semax 以冻干粉形式提供。冻干粉通常建议保存在 -20 °C 或更低温度下，同时避免光照与反复升温。短期运输有时采用冷藏条件，但长期保存仍以冷冻为主。分包操作应尽量减少开盖次数，以降低吸湿和微生物污染的风险。开封后若未一次用完，建议在干燥环境中密封并尽快放回低温储存。
=== Pregnancy === The research into the safety of benzodiazepines during pregnancy is limited and it is recommended that use of benzodiazepines during pregnancy should be based on whether the benefits outweigh the risks. If chlordiazepoxide is used during pregnancy, the risks can be reduced via using the lowest effective dose and for the shortest time possible. Benzodiazepines should generally be avoided during the first trimester of pregnancy. Chlordiazepoxide and diazepam are considered to be among the safer benzodiazepines to use during pregnancy in comparison to other benzodiazepines. Possible adverse effects from benzodiazepine use during pregnancy include miscarriage, malformation, intrauterine growth retardation, functional deficits, carcinogenesis and mutagenesis. Caution is also advised during breast feeding as chlordiazepoxide passes into breast milk.
== Medical uses == Canagliflozin is indicated to be used with diet and exercise to lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes; to reduce the risk of major heart-related events such as heart attack, stroke, or death in people with type 2 diabetes who have known heart disease; and to reduce the risk of end-stage kidney disease, worsening of kidney function, heart-related death, and being hospitalized for heart failure in certain people with type 2 diabetes and diabetic kidney disease. Canagliflozin is an anti-diabetic medication used to improve blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes. It is a third-line medication to metformin. Per the British National Formulary it is also less preferred than a sulfonylurea as of 2019, while the American Diabetes Association and European Association for the Study of Diabetes consider either a SGLT2 inhibitor or GLP-1 receptor agonist a reasonable second line medication in those with heart disease. Canagliflozin decreases HbA1c levels by 0.77% to 1.16% when given by itself, in combination with metformin, in combination with metformin and a sulfonylurea, in combination with metformin and pioglitazone, or in combination with insulin, from initial HbA1c levels of 7.8% to 8.1%. When added to metformin, canagliflozin does not appear worse than sitagliptin or glimepiride in reducing HbA1c levels, while canagliflozin maybe better than sitagliptin and glimiperide in decreasing HbA1c. It is unclear whether or not it has any unique cardiovascular benefits beyond lowering blood sugar.
==== Tertiary structures ==== Many proteins share analogous structural elements that arose independently across different genomes. There are several examples of convergent protein motifs sharing similar arrangements of structural elements. Whole protein structures too have arisen through convergent evolution.
Chemical potential is the partial molar free energy. The potential, μi, of the ith species in a chemical reaction is the partial derivative of the free energy with respect to the number of moles of that species, Ni:
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
=== Pharmacokinetics === Drostanolone propionate is not active via the oral route and must be administered via intramuscular injection. The elimination half-life of the drug via this route is approximately 2 days. It has a much longer elimination half-life via intramuscular injection than drostanolone. Drostanolone propionate is metabolized into drostanolone, which is the active form.
Upon image analysis, the subcellular localization of the protein has been classified into one or more of 49 different organelles and subcellular structures. In addition, the resource includes an annotation of genes that display single-cell variation in protein expression levels and/or subcellular distribution, as well as an extended analysis of cell cycle dependency of such variations. The Cell Line resource contains information on genome-wide RNA expression profiles of human protein-coding genes in 1206 human cell lines, including 1132 cancer cell lines. The transcriptomics analysis includes classification based on specificity analysis across 28 cancer types, distribution and expression cluster analysis across all cell lines and for selected cancer types also analysis of similarity of the cell lines to their corresponding cancer type. The Structure resource contains information about the predicted three-dimensional structure of 19904 human proteins and their related isoforms. Interactive 3D protein structures based on predictions generated using the AlphaFold source code are shown with the possibility to highlight selected regions and positions in the structure. The Protein Browser tool displays a variety of features for the different isoforms and can be used to select splice variants and highlight protein related features such as known antigen sequences, transmembrane regions and InterPro domains directly on the structures.
== Further information == Betz Laboratories (1976). Handbook of Industrial Water Conditioning (7th ed.). Betz Laboratories. Ion Exchangers (K. Dorfner, ed.), Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, 1991. C. E. Harland, Ion exchange: Theory and Practice, The Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, 1994. Friedrich G. Helfferich (1962). Ion Exchange. Courier Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-68784-1. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) Kemmer, Frank N. (1979). The NALCO Water Handbook. McGraw-Hill. Ion exchange (D. Muraviev, V. Gorshkov, A. Warshawsky), M. Dekker, New York, 2000. A. A. Zagorodni, Ion Exchange Materials: Properties and Applications, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2006. SenGupta, Arup K. (2017). Ion exchange in environmental processes: fundamentals, applications and sustainable technology. Hoboken, NJ. ISBN 978-1-119-42125-2. OCLC 1001290476.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) Dr., I., & Luqman, M. (2012). Ion Exchange Technology I : Theory and Materials. Springer Netherlands. Harland, C. E. (1994). Ion exchange : theory and practice (2nd ed.). The Royal Society of Chemistry.
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=== Labor concerns === Employees have criticized the company's productivity goals, in which they say volume and speed of work done is prioritized over quality. Labs face staffing shortages and employees say they are overworked. Labcorp has been criticized for its process of having all employees terminated upon hospital laboratory management acquisitions, and making them reapply with LabCorp, thereby losing accrued employee benefits, including employee eligibility for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) in the case of non-profit hospitals. In 2024, Labcorp stated that its goal is to "operate the company in a non-union environment." After Labcorp became the manager of laboratories of Legacy Health, outsourced laboratory personnel unionized with the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Semax is a synthetic seven-amino-acid peptide derived from a fragment of corticotropin. It is used in Russia as a nasal preparation, while elsewhere it is studied as a research compound. It is not approved as a medicine in most countries.
Its sequence corresponds to the 4-10 region of corticotropin extended by three residues. This fragment lacks the region responsible for adrenal steroid release, so it is explored for neural rather than hormonal effects. The relationship explains the compound's classification among ACTH-derived peptides.
It holds approval in Russia for several neurological indications as a nasal spray or drop formulation. Regulatory agencies in the United States and the European Union have not approved it. Products sold elsewhere are generally labeled for research use only.
It is associated with the melanocortin receptor family, particularly subtypes found in the central nervous system. This interaction is separate from the adrenal pathway activated by full-length ACTH.