Research
Semax
A seven-amino-acid peptide: residues 4–7 of adrenocorticotropic hormone followed by a Pro-Gly-Pro tail that slows its breakdown. The tail stands in for residues 8–10, which is why the literature calls it an analogue of ACTH(4–10).
Available in the catalogue
Supplied as research material. Sizes and pricing are on the product page. Availability is not a statement about what a compound does.
What is being investigated
Directions the published work points at, and how far each has actually got. These are open questions, not established effects: most of what looks promising in cells does not replicate in animals, and most of what works in animals does not work in people. Nothing here is a claim about what this compound does for anyone.
- Recovery after ischaemic stroke
The indication it is registered for in Russia, and where its human trials were run. Those trials are largely published in Russian and have seen little independent replication outside the country, which is a real limit on how much weight they carry.
Human trials
- BDNF and the neurotrophin system
Rat work reports raised levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and its receptor trkB in the hippocampus and basal forebrain — the mechanism most often offered for everything else on this list.
Animal studies
- Attention and cognitive performance
Studied in rodent learning and memory tasks, following the observation that the parent ACTH fragment affects them without the hormonal activity of the full molecule.
Animal studies
- Optic nerve and retinal conditions
A separate clinical strand in the Russian literature, with the same limits on replication.
Human trials
Published research
Every reference below was checked against the published record before being listed, with the model each study used.
- Dolotov et al. (2006)Journal of Neurochemistry
Reported specific binding of the peptide and increased levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor protein.
rat basal forebrain Source
Further reading
Longer articles on handling, analysis and what the published work reports.
- Semax: what the research says
An ACTH(4-10) analogue registered as a medicine in Russia and unknown to Western regulators. What the BDNF work reported, and why the English record looks thin.
- How to store research peptides
Lyophilised peptides at -20°C, reconstituted at 2–8°C, ambient in transit. Why the dry cake tolerates shipping, and what actually degrades a vial.
- Peptide shelf life and stability
How long lyophilised and reconstituted peptides keep, and the four things that shorten it: temperature, moisture, light and oxidation. Storage figures included.
- How to reconstitute lyophilised peptides
How to reconstitute a lyophilised peptide with bacteriostatic water without damaging it: why you run the liquid down the vial wall and never shake it.