Immune & longevity peptides

The peptides marketed for immunity, healthy ageing and “longevity” — the thymic peptides, the NAD⁺ supplements, the mitochondrial and senolytic compounds, and the Russian bioregulators — grouped by what they are, and marked for what the evidence actually is.

This is the thinnest-evidence corner of the field. A few thymic peptides are approved medicines; most of the rest are supplements or unapproved research chemicals whose anti-ageing claims rest on weak or single-group evidence. This is a factual map, not advice, and nothing here is medical advice.

What “longevity peptides” are

A loose family united by a promise — to slow ageing or boost immunity — more than by a shared mechanism. Some genuinely act on immune training (the thymic peptides) or cell metabolism (NAD⁺); others rest on striking but unreplicated claims. The grouping below is by what each compound is, with the evidence stage marked on every one.

Three ways in, side by side

A thymic peptide, a metabolic coenzyme and a bioregulator extract — three very different things.

	Thymosin alpha-1Thymalfasin, Zadaxin	NAD+NAD	EpithalamineEpithalamin, Epitalamin
Type	Thymic immune peptide	Metabolic coenzyme	Pineal bioregulator extract
Evidence	Registered; clinical data	Early clinical; thin	Preclinical; single-group
Status	Approved	In trials	Experimental

The full immune & longevity family

Every immunity- or ageing-marketed compound in the reference, grouped by type.

Thymic & immune peptides

Peptides from, or modelled on, the thymus — the gland that trains the immune system.

Thymosin alpha-1 (Thymalfasin, Zadaxin) Approved Synthetic 28-amino-acid thymus peptide, registered in dozens of countries for chronic hepatitis B and C.
Thymalin (Timalin, Thymalinum) Approved Bovine thymus extract from the Russian bioregulator programme, with mortality claims the evidence cannot carry.
Thymogen (Timogen) Approved Synthetic thymic dipeptide registered in Russia; the same molecule failed Western cancer trials as oglufanide.
Thymopentin (Timunox) Approved Synthetic pentapeptide fragment of thymopoietin, marketed as a prescription immunomodulator in several countries.
Thymulin (FTS) Experimental Zinc-dependent nine-amino-acid thymic hormone; well-described physiology, almost no modern clinical research.

NAD⁺ & its precursors

The coenzyme at the centre of the longevity-supplement market, and the oral precursors sold to raise it.

NAD+ (NAD) In trials Not a peptide but a coenzyme: central to energy metabolism, popular as an infusion on strikingly thin evidence.
NMN In trials Not a peptide but a nucleotide: an oral NAD+ precursor that reliably raises NAD+ and reliably little else.
Nicotinamide riboside (NR, Niagen) In trials Not a peptide but a vitamin B3 form: an oral NAD+ precursor, well studied, with modest clinical results.

Mitochondrial peptides

Peptides that act on the mitochondria — the cell’s power plants.

SS-31 (elamipretide) (Elamipretide, Bendavia) Approved Mitochondria-targeted tetrapeptide binding cardiolipin; US-approved for Barth syndrome since 2025.
Humanin (HN) Experimental Mitochondrially encoded 24-amino-acid peptide that inhibits cell death; studied as a marker, not a drug.

Anti-ageing & senolytic

The compounds aimed squarely at the biology of ageing — clearing senescent cells or shifting ageing-associated proteins.

FOXO4-DRI (Proxofim) Experimental Experimental senolytic peptide from a 2017 mouse study, sold to consumers despite zero human safety data.
GDF-11 Experimental TGF-beta family protein at the centre of an unresolved scientific dispute about whether it rejuvenates or harms tissue.
Klotho (KL) Natural hormone A large longevity-associated membrane protein with strong biology and no consumer product that plausibly delivers it.

Antimicrobial & antioxidant

Immune-supporting proteins and an endogenous antioxidant sold as supplements.

Lactoferrin (Lf, LTF) In trials An iron-binding milk protein sold as an oral supplement, with real randomised trial data and genuinely mixed results.
Glutathione (GSH) In trials Not a peptide drug but an endogenous tripeptide: the principal intracellular antioxidant.
VIP (vasoactive intestinal peptide) (Aviptadil, VIP) In trials Endogenous 28-amino-acid neuropeptide; intranasally known mainly from Shoemaker's CIRS protocol.
PNC-27 Experimental Synthetic p53-HDM-2 fusion peptide that lyses cancer-cell membranes in the lab; no human trials, sold to patients.

Khavinson bioregulator extracts

Short peptides and tissue-extract capsules from the Russian bioregulator programme, marketed for organ-specific “regulation” on thin evidence.

Epithalamine (Epithalamin, Epitalamin) Experimental Bovine pineal gland extract from the Khavinson programme and the source material from which Epitalon was derived.
Endoluten Experimental Bovine pineal extract capsule from the Khavinson Cytomax line, with no published study under that name.
Cerluten Experimental Bovine brain extract capsule from the Khavinson Cytomax line, with no published study under that name.
Ventfort Experimental Calf blood-vessel extract capsule from the Khavinson Cytomax line, with no published study by that name.
Vladonix Experimental Calf thymus extract capsule from the Khavinson Cytomax line; not the injectable Thymalin, and unstudied.
Ovagen Experimental Khavinson bioregulator sold for liver support; the marketed product is a synthetic peptide, not a liver extract.
Prostamax Experimental Khavinson synthetic tetrapeptide marketed for the prostate; chromatin claims from a single research group.
Chonluten Experimental Khavinson tripeptide marketed as a lung and bronchial bioregulator, with essentially no clinical evidence.

Immune & longevity peptides: common questions

What is thymosin alpha-1 used for?

Thymosin alpha-1 is a synthetic thymus peptide registered in a number of countries (as Zadaxin) as an immune modulator — used alongside treatment for some infections and cancers. It has the strongest evidence of the thymic peptides here.

Do NAD⁺ infusions actually work for anti-ageing?

The honest answer is that the human evidence is thin. NAD⁺ is genuinely central to cell metabolism, and levels fall with age, but that a drip or an oral precursor meaningfully slows ageing or restores youth is not something controlled trials have shown. It is a popular, expensive intervention on weak evidence.

What is the difference between NAD⁺, NMN and NR?

They are related: NMN and nicotinamide riboside (NR) are oral precursors the body converts toward NAD⁺, the coenzyme itself. The precursors are taken as capsules; NAD⁺ itself is usually given by infusion. All three ride the same thin evidence base.

Are the Khavinson bioregulator peptides (Epitalon, Thymalin) proven?

They come from a real, decades-long Russian research programme, but the evidence is largely from a single group, mostly not independently replicated, and thin by international standards. A registered use in Russia is not the same as robust proof. Treat them as experimental.

Are these longevity peptides legal and banned in sport?

A few are approved medicines (thymosin alpha-1, some thymic peptides); most are supplements or unapproved research chemicals. Status varies widely by country — see legal status and, for athletes, doping status.

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