Selank at a glance
Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide, Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro, which some papers list under the code TP-7. The opening four residues are tuftsin, a piece of the immunoglobulin G heavy chain that stimulates phagocytic white blood cells. Najjar and Nishioka described tuftsin in 1970, and its name refers to Tufts University. Free tuftsin disappears from the body quickly, so chemists at the Institute of Molecular Genetics (Moscow) attached Pro-Gly-Pro to its end, the same protective device found in Semax.
Although its parent is an immune peptide, Selank was developed in Russia as an anxiolytic and is supplied there as a nasal solution.
- Seven amino acids, 751.9 Da: tuftsin plus a Pro-Gly-Pro tail.
- A registered intranasal anxiolytic in Russia; not authorised in the EU.
- Two proposed mechanisms: modulation of GABA signalling and slower breakdown of enkephalins.
- Clinical evidence: a single small Russian comparison with a benzodiazepine.
How Selank works
Two explanations are on the table, and neither has been confirmed in patients. The first involves GABA, the chief inhibitory transmitter of the brain and the system on which benzodiazepines act. In rats, Selank alters the expression of genes tied to GABA signalling, and the pattern resembles the one GABA itself produces. Its developers propose an allosteric action, one that changes how strongly the receptor answers without occupying the GABA site.
The second explanation involves the enkephalins, short opioid peptides that the body makes and destroys within minutes. In experiments on human blood outside the body, Selank slowed the enzymes that do the destroying, which would let endogenous opioid signals last longer. Rat studies also report BDNF changes, and animal stress experiments have recorded cytokine shifts. The fact-checked material behind this profile gives no half-life for Selank, so none is quoted.
The evidence ladder for Selank
| Evidence level | Model or trial | Main finding |
|---|---|---|
| In vitro | Human plasma; Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine, 2001 | Enkephalin breakdown was inhibited more strongly as the concentration rose, with 15 µM giving half-maximal inhibition; Selank outperformed the reference inhibitors in the same assay |
| Animal study | Rats; Volkova et al., Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2016 | One 300 µg/kg dose changed 45 of 84 neurotransmission genes in the frontal cortex one hour after dosing and 22 after three hours; the pattern correlated with that of GABA |
| Small human study | Zozulia et al., 2008; 62 patients, diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder or with neurasthenia | Similar anxiolytic effect in the 30 patients on Selank and the 32 on medazepam; anti-asthenic and psychostimulant effects also reported for Selank; leu-enkephalin half-life, short at the outset, lengthened during treatment |
| Licensed use | Russia only | Registered for intranasal use against anxiety; never assessed by the EMA or the US FDA |
Every rung below the clinical one is indirect. A plasma assay measures nothing in a brain. A shift in gene expression fits an action on GABA signalling, but it is no proof of receptor binding in a living animal, let alone in a person.
The clinical rung is a single study. It was small, its abstract mentions no blinding, the comparator was an active drug and not a placebo, and the paper appeared in Russian. No placebo-controlled trial of Selank has turned up in the international literature. The claim that it calms without the sedation and dependence linked to benzodiazepines has only small Russian studies behind it, and no study has run for the months that anxiety treatment involves, so tolerance and cumulative effects are unknown as well. Epithalon, where nearly all data come from one research school, poses a similar problem.
Selank doses reported in studies
These are reference values from published work, not guidance for use in people.
| Setting | Dose | Schedule | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rat frontal cortex study (Volkova et al., 2016) | 300 µg/kg | Single dose | GABA was given to a comparison group |
| Clinical comparison (Zozulia et al., 2008) | Absent from the English abstract | 30 patients on Selank, 32 on medazepam | Russian nasal medicine |
| European Union | No authorised dose | – | Research material only |
The dosing behind the Russian nasal medicine is published mainly in Russian, and figures that could not be checked against the original are left out on purpose. The rat figure is expressed per kilogram and has no human equivalent.
Safety findings and open questions
Short courses of Selank were well tolerated according to the Russian studies. With so few participants, rare effects had little chance to show up, and the base for any conclusion is narrow.
- Does Selank add to the effects of alcohol, benzodiazepines or opioids? If it really acts on GABA-A receptors and lifts enkephalin levels, it might. Nobody has studied this.
- What does repeated exposure do to immune function? The tuftsin part targets phagocytes, and cytokine effects under stress appear in animal work. The question is uncharacterised.
- Would the anxiolytic effect hold up in a blinded, placebo-controlled trial? None has been published.
Bench notes: storing and reconstituting Selank
Selank arrives as a lyophilised powder, and the data panel specifies −20 °C for it. Leave the vial sealed and dry until the day of use, and let it warm to room temperature before opening.
Bacteriostatic water is the usual solvent in the laboratory. Run it slowly down the inside of the glass, swirl and do not shake. Keep the solution refrigerated and split it into aliquots, because repeated freezing and thawing damages peptides. Selank and Semax are often kept side by side and look identical as white powder, so label them clearly. The full routine is in the storage and reconstitution protocol.
Status in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg
Marketing authorisations in the EU run through the European Medicines Agency and apply equally in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Selank holds none. Russia registers it as an anxiolytic for intranasal use, and the sources for this profile know of no national authorisation in any member state.
Within the Benelux, Selank is therefore a research chemical, and laboratory powder is not the Russian medicine. Anyone who offers it as an anxiety treatment turns it into a medicinal product in the eyes of EU law, and such a product may not be marketed without authorisation. Possession and personal import are regulated nationally, and universities and institutes set their own conditions, so check both. The primer on research peptides describes how an authorised medicine differs from a laboratory compound.
In sport, the WADA Prohibited List does not name Selank. Its S0 section does catch substances that lack approval for therapeutic use in humans, and a purely Russian registration leaves the position unclear. That question belongs with an anti-doping organisation, not with a supplier.
Ordering Selank for research in the Benelux
King Peptides lists Selank 10 mg, a lyophilised powder for research. The lab reports page of the shop lists Selank at an HPLC purity of 98.88% or higher, not the 99% or higher that applies to most of its products. On the certificate of analysis for your lot, look for an HPLC result at or above that level, a lot number identical to the one on the vial, and a mass spectrum that fits 751.9 Da. Semax carries the same three closing residues, yet the two peptides are 62 Da apart, so the spectrum settles any mix-up at once. Each lot has its own certificate with HPLC and mass spectrometry; see the guide to checking a certificate of analysis.
The shop dispatches from the Netherlands and sends a tracked parcel. Expect 1–2 business days for a Dutch address as a rule, and 3–5 business days for Belgium and Luxembourg. The parcel never leaves the EU, so no customs clearance is involved. For the broader supplier checklist, see buying research peptides in the Benelux.
Selank: quick answers
Is Selank an immune peptide or an anxiolytic? Both descriptions have a basis. Four of its seven residues are the immune fragment tuftsin, but Russia registered it as an anxiolytic.
Does Selank bind the GABA receptor? That has not been shown. Rat gene-expression data resemble the effect of GABA, and allosteric modulation is a proposal, not a demonstrated binding event.
Has Selank been tested against placebo? Not in any trial found in the international literature. The one clinical study compared it with medazepam.
What purity should the certificate show? The shop lists 98.88% or higher by HPLC for this product, and the certificate for your lot should meet that figure.
Research use only. This page describes Selank for laboratory and scientific research. Research material has no marketing authorisation, whatever the status of the molecule as a medicine elsewhere, and is not meant for human or veterinary use. Nothing on this page is medical advice; the doses above are those reported in published studies, not recommendations. Check the rules that apply in your country and at your institution before ordering.