What it is
Thymalin is not one peptide. It is a mixture of many short peptides taken from calf thymus. The thymus is the gland where T cells mature. Because it is a mixture, it has no single formula or sequence. Two of its known active parts are the dipeptides Glu-Trp and Lys-Glu. A dipeptide is 2 amino acids joined together. Vladimir Khavinson and V.G. Morozov developed it in St. Petersburg, Russia in the 1970s. It is sold as a prescription drug in Russia. It is not the same as Thymulin, which is a single 9 amino acid peptide. See the Thymulin entry for that compound. Other names: Timalin, Thymaline, calf thymus polypeptide complex.
What researchers study it for
- T cell development from stem cells
- Inflammation signals in immune cells
- Hospital patients with COVID-19
- Aging and death rates in older adults
- Tumor growth in rats
What the studies found
1. It pushed human blood stem cells toward becoming T cells.
A 2020 study added Thymalin to human blood stem cells in a dish. Two markers of young, unready cells dropped 2 to 3 times. CD28, a marker of mature T cells, rose 6.8 times. The authors say this means the stem cells matured into T cells faster. Lab cells only.
2. Inflammation markers dropped faster in COVID-19 patients.
A 2021 trial at one St. Petersburg hospital enrolled 92 patients with COVID-19. Forty-two got Thymalin plus standard care. Fifty got standard care alone. IL-6, C-reactive protein, and D-dimer dropped faster in the Thymalin group. These are blood markers of inflammation and clotting. Everyone knew who got the drug, and the trial was not repeated. Human data.
3. Older adults on yearly courses had lower death rates over 6 to 8 years.
A 2003 study followed 266 older adults for 6 to 8 years. Some got yearly courses of Thymalin, Epithalamin, or both. Epithalamin is the pineal extract Epithalon was built from. Death rates were reported as 2 times lower with Thymalin and 4.1 times lower with both each year. Colds and flu were also less common. There was no blinding, and no outside group has repeated it. Human observational data.
4. Its two known dipeptides lowered inflammation signals in human blood cells.
A 2023 study used computer models and lab tests. In the computer models, each dipeptide attached to a different DNA pattern. In human blood cells made inflamed in a dish, Thymalin and both dipeptides lowered three inflammation signals: IL-1 beta, IL-6, and TNF-alpha. The drop ranged from 1.4 to 6 times. Computer and lab cell data.
5. Tumors shrank or stopped growing in more than half of treated rats.
A 2018 study from a separate lab in Rostov, Russia gave Thymalin to rats with transplanted sarcoma tumors. Tumors stopped growing or shrank in more than half the rats. In the rest, tumor growth was 78 percent slower. The thymus showed more immune cell activity. Rat data only.
How much research exists
Decades of use and study in Russia. One small open-label trial and one long observational study in humans. Almost all research comes from one St. Petersburg group. No blinded trial has been published. No Western agency has reviewed it.
Facts
- Formula: none. It is a mixture.
- Weight: none. It is a mixture.
- CAS number: none found
- Sequence: none. Known active parts include Glu-Trp and Lys-Glu.
- Time in the blood: never measured
- Storage: keep the dry powder in the fridge.
Legal status
Registered as a prescription drug in Russia. Not approved by the FDA or any Western agency.
For research use only. Not for human use. Nothing here is medical advice.