Peptide

Cortagen

Cortagen (Ala-Glu-Asp-Pro, AEDP)

A synthetic tetrapeptide isolated from bovine cortex extracts. The purified form of the Cerluten tissue complex, with a specific epigenetic-modulation claim on aged lymphocytes.

Editor approved

Summary Does Cortagen have proven benefits for memory or healthy aging? Show / hide ↓

Cortagen is a lab-made chain of four amino acids, isolated from extracts of cow brain tissue. Laboratory studies on blood cells from older people found changes linked to less tightly packed genetic material, which may make some genes easier to switch on. These studies used Cortagen together with other peptides and did not show better memory or longer life. Cortagen is used in Russia as part of the larger Cortexin extract, but that does not prove that Cortagen works on its own. There are no large, independent, placebo-controlled human trials for cognitive benefits; Russian courses commonly use 10 to 20 mg daily for 10 to 20 days.

What this means for you: Cortagen has an interesting laboratory theory but weak evidence for real-world memory or longevity benefits. There is not enough evidence to buy it for healthy aging.

weak evidence

Research snapshot No human clinical trials. Khavinson bioregulator peptide.

Updated 2026-08-11

Cortagen is a Russian-developed peptide bioregulator claimed to support immune function. Evidence is limited to preclinical and Russian-language studies. No independent human trials in indexed Western journals exist. Its immune benefits remain unproven by international standards.

Evidence tierTier 5, Mechanistic hypothesis, minimal human data

Typical doseRussian format: 10 to 20 mg per day orally, evening, 10 to 20 consecutive days, one to two cycles per year. US supplement format (CogniPep): roughly 200 mcg per capsule.

SafetyReported side effects in Russian literature are mild and rare. No long-term independent safety monitoring exists.

Categoryresearch peptide (Cytogen)

Last verified2026-08-05

Cortagen sits at the boundary between mainstream Russian neurology and the Khavinson bioregulator program. Its parent extract, Cortexin, has been on the Russian pharmacopoeia since 1999 and is used clinically for stroke recovery, traumatic brain injury, and pediatric neurology. Cortagen is the specific tetrapeptide isolated from that extract by the Saint Petersburg gerontology institute.

The most-cited Cortagen result is epigenetic. In lymphocytes from elderly donors, incubation with Cortagen (alongside Epitalon, Livagen, and Vilon) reduced chromatin condensation and reactivated ribosomal genes that had been silenced with age. This has been published across several Russian and English-language papers from the Khavinson group. It provides the mechanistic frame for the claim that these peptides re-open silenced gene regions in aged tissue.

Clinically, Cortagen is used in Russia in short courses for post-stroke recovery and mild cognitive impairment, at doses of 10 to 20 mg per day for 10 to 20 days. As part of the CogniPep formulation sold by Integrative Peptides in the US, Cortagen is dosed at roughly 200 mcg per capsule, several orders of magnitude below the Russian oral dose.

Human trial data outside the Khavinson consortium is thin. There are no large, independent, placebo-controlled trials of Cortagen for cognitive endpoints on ClinicalTrials.gov. The peptide's inclusion in the Russian neurology pharmacopoeia rests on the parent extract Cortexin, not on Cortagen alone as a standalone product.

Our position: Cortagen sits at Tier 5. The epigenetic mechanism claim is intriguing and mechanistically specific, which is what a rigorous replication study would need to target. Users cycle it as short 10 to 20 day courses on the assumption that the effect is a pulse of epigenetic modulation, not a chronic pharmacological effect.

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