The
research
caught up.

A pentadecapeptide sequence originally isolated from human gastric juice, and the most heavily published compound of the six. Three decades of preclinical literature examine it in tendon, ligament, muscle and gastrointestinal injury models — much of the foundational work coming out of Sikirić’s group in Zagreb.

The synthetic fragment corresponding to the active actin-binding region of thymosin beta-4, a protein present in nearly every human cell and in wound fluid. The research literature centers on cell migration, tissue regeneration and flexibility following injury.

The C-terminal tripeptide of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone — lysine, proline, valine. Studied primarily in models of intestinal and cutaneous inflammation, where the interest is that it appears to carry the anti-inflammatory activity of the parent hormone without its pigmentary effects.

One of a small class of peptides encoded by mitochondrial rather than nuclear DNA, identified at USC in 2015. Research examines its role in metabolic regulation and exercise capacity. It is the youngest literature on this list — which cuts both ways.

A tetrapeptide developed from pineal gland extract by Vladimir Khavinson’s group in St. Petersburg. Published work spans telomerase activity and circadian regulation, including long-running Russian cohort studies that Western literature has not replicated at scale.

A heptapeptide analog of ACTH fragment 4-10, developed in Russia where it has been on the national registry of medicines for decades. Research addresses cognition, attention and neuroprotection — a substantial body of work, most of it published in Russian.