What it is
Livagen is a peptide made of 4 amino acids: lysine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, and alanine. It is made in a lab. It comes from Vladimir Khavinson's group in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was built from the amino acid makeup of peptide extracts from liver. The group assigns it to the liver. It differs from Testagen by only the last amino acid. See the Epithalon entry for a related short peptide. Other names: KEDA, Lys-Glu-Asp-Ala.
What researchers study it for
- Protein making in rat liver cells
- Tightly packed DNA in white blood cells from older people
- Enzymes that break down enkephalins, the body's own pain-control peptides
- Digestive enzymes in young and old rats
What the studies found
1. It loosened tightly packed DNA in white blood cells from older people.
As cells age, some DNA packs more tightly, which turns off genes in that area. A 2002 study treated white blood cells from older people with Livagen in a dish. The tight DNA loosened. Genes that make parts of ribosomes, the cell's protein factories, turned back on. This measured DNA structure, not health effects. Human cells in a lab only.
2. It blocked enzymes that break down enkephalins in human blood serum.
Enkephalins are small peptides the body makes to help control pain. A 2003 study mixed Livagen with human blood serum in a test tube. It blocked the enzymes that break down enkephalins. It was about 25 times stronger at this than Epithalon. It did not attach to opioid receptors in rat brain tissue. Lab data only.
3. Rat liver cells made more protein, most of all in cells from old rats.
A 2001 study grew liver cells from rats aged 1 to 24 months. Livagen raised protein making in cells from every age group. The biggest change was in cells from old rats. Epithalon did not change protein making in the same cells. Lab cells from rats only.
4. Digestive enzymes in old rats moved closer to young-rat levels.
A 2005 study gave Livagen by mouth to young and old rats for 2 weeks. Digestive enzyme activity went down in young rats and up in old rats. In most cases, old rats ended up closer to young rats. Enzymes in the gut broke down only a little of the peptide in a test tube. Rat data only.
How much research exists
A handful of lab and rat studies, many in Russian. All come from the Khavinson research network. No outside lab has repeated them. No human trial has been published.
Facts
- Formula: C18H31N5O9
- Weight: about 462 g/mol
- CAS number: 433257-50-2 (could not confirm)
- Sequence: Lys-Glu-Asp-Ala
- Time in the blood: never measured
- Storage: powder in the freezer.
Legal status
Not approved by the FDA or any other agency for human use.
For research use only. Not for human use. Nothing here is medical advice.