What it is
Cortagen is a peptide made of 4 amino acids: alanine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, and proline. 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 Cortexin, a mixture of peptides taken from cow brain. Cortexin is sold as a drug in Russia. Cortagen is one defined molecule instead of a mixture. See the Cerebrolysin entry for a similar brain-derived mixture, and the Epithalon entry for a related short peptide. Other names: AEDP, Ala-Glu-Asp-Pro.
What researchers study it for
- Nerve repair after a cut nerve in rats
- Brain damage from low blood flow in rats
- Oxidative stress in the brain
- Tightly packed DNA in white blood cells from older people
- Gene activity in mice
What the studies found
1. Cut nerves in rats grew back faster and sent signals faster.
A 2000 study cut and stitched the sciatic nerve in rats. The sciatic nerve runs down the leg. Rats given Cortagen shots regrew nerve fibers 27 percent faster than untreated rats. Signals moved along the nerve 40 percent faster. This is the main Cortagen study. It has not been repeated. Rat data only.
2. Rats with low blood flow to the brain recovered behavior faster.
A 2011 study reduced blood flow to rat brains over a long period. Rats given Cortagen or Cortexin recovered normal behavior faster. Both also limited oxidative damage to fats in brain tissue. Rat data only.
3. It lowered markers of oxidative damage in rat blood and brain.
A 2007 study gave rats Cortagen or Epithalon. Both lowered two markers of oxidative damage, one for fats and one for proteins, in the blood and brain. Antioxidant enzyme activity also went down. The author says this means the tissue was under less oxidative stress, so it needed less defense. Rat data only.
4. 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. In a 2004 study, white blood cells from people aged 75 to 88 were treated in a dish with five short peptides, including Cortagen. The tight DNA loosened, and some genes that had been turned off turned back on. This measured DNA structure in cells, not health effects. Human cells in a lab only.
5. It changed the activity of 234 genes in mouse hearts.
A 2004 study gave mice Cortagen for 5 days, then checked more than 15,000 genes in their hearts. The activity of 234 changed. That is about 1.5 percent of the genes checked. What these changes mean has not been studied. Mouse data only.
How much research exists
A handful of rat, mouse, and lab cell studies. All come from one network of Russian and Georgian labs. No outside lab has repeated them. No human trial has been published.
Facts
- Formula: C17H26N4O9
- Weight: about 430 g/mol
- CAS number: 335591-03-2 (could not confirm)
- Sequence: Ala-Glu-Asp-Pro
- 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.