Is Prostamax (Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro) an approved medicine?

No. Prostamax is supplied strictly for laboratory research use only. It is not an approved drug, has not been evaluated by Health Canada, the FDA or the EMA for safety or efficacy, and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any condition.

What does the published research actually show?

The peer-reviewed evidence is limited to in-vitro cytogenetic studies on cells from elderly donors, where the peptide was reported to decondense aged chromatin and increase markers such as sister-chromatid exchanges and Ag-positive nucleolar organiser regions. There are no human clinical trials and no pharmacokinetic data, and prostate-specific efficacy in humans has not been established.

Prostamax Dosage, Half-Life & Research

Prostamax is a synthetic linear tetrapeptide (Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro) belonging to the family of short peptide “bioregulators” associated with the work of V. Kh. Khavinson at the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology.³ Vendors market it for “prostate support,” but the published peer-reviewed evidence is narrow: it consists chiefly of cytogenetic experiments on cultured cells from elderly donors, where the peptide was reported to relax (“deheterochromatinize”) condensed chromatin.¹Prostate-specific efficacy in humans has not been established, and no clinical trials, dosing data, or pharmacokinetic studies are available in the indexed literature. Most claims circulating on retail sites are not supported by primary sources and should be treated as unverified.¹⁴

Structure

Sequence & identity

LysGluAspPro

Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro · C₂₀H₃₃N₅O₉ · 487.5 g/mol

Linear tetrapeptide; identity per PubChem CID 9848296, InChIKey WUCUNGRTSFLCLI-XUXIUFHCSA-N.²

What the research shows

Mechanisms studied

Khavinson short peptides are hypothesised to act as epigenetic regulators that bind chromatin and alter the accessibility of specific gene regions rather than altering DNA sequence.³ In cultured lymphocytes from donors aged 75–86 years, the Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro peptide was reported to induce decondensation of pericentromeric heterochromatin (notably on chromosomes 1 and 9) and to increase markers of transcriptional and replicative activity, including Ag-positive nucleolar organiser regions and sister-chromatid exchanges.¹ The proposed interpretation is that loosening age-associated heterochromatin could re-expose genes silenced during ageing; this remains a hypothesis derived from in-vitro observations and has not been confirmed in vivo for prostate tissue.¹⁴

Reported in studies

Dosing in the research literature

The figures below summarise regimens as reported in published research — they are not recommendations or directions for use.

Source / model	Regimen reported	Notes
No published clinical or pharmacokinetic studies	Not established	No peer-reviewed human dosing, route, or half-life data were located for the Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro peptide (PubMed search returned no pharmacokinetic records). Retail “protocols” are not derived from published trials and are not reproduced here.

Research use only. Peptigo products are sold to qualified researchers for laboratory use. This information summarises published research for reference and is not medical advice, a dosing recommendation, or directions for human or animal use.

Reported in studies

Effects observed in research

Reported effects are limited to cytogenetic endpoints in cultured cells from elderly individuals: increased sister-chromatid exchanges (reported as rising from 5.9 ± 0.2 to 12.0 ± 0.28 per cell), an increase in Ag-positive nucleolar organiser regions (reported from 0.95 to 2.5 per cell), and a reduced frequency of large pericentromeric heterochromatin segments.¹ These are laboratory measures of chromatin state, not clinical outcomes. No controlled human data demonstrate an effect on prostate health, urinary function, or any disease endpoint.¹⁴

Honest assessment

Strength of evidence

Grade C

Limited published data. The chemical identity (sequence, formula, mass) is well defined.² The biological evidence is confined to a small number of in-vitro cytogenetic studies on aged-donor cells from a single research group, plus general bioregulator reviews.¹³ There are no randomised human trials and no pharmacokinetic data, so the prostate-directed marketing claims are not substantiated by the indexed literature. Graded C (animal/in-vitro only).

Handling

Reconstitution & storage

Reconstitute with bacteriostatic water for laboratory handling. Store lyophilised material frozen and reconstituted material refrigerated. Use Peptigo’s reconstitution calculator and storage cheat sheet for working figures.

References

Dzhokhadze TA, Buadze TZh, Gaiozishvili MN, Baratashvili NA, Lezhava TA. Deheterochromatinization of chromatin in advanced age induced by an oligopeptide bioregulator (Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro). Georgian Med News. 2012;(212):76-82. PMID: 23221144.
National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem Compound Summary for CID 9848296, Prostamax (Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro). CAS 473578-47-1; InChIKey WUCUNGRTSFLCLI-XUXIUFHCSA-N. Accessed 2026.
Khavinson VKh. Peptides and Ageing. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2002;23 Suppl 3:11-144. PMID: 12374906.
Khavinson VKh, Lezhava TA, Malinin VV. Effects of short peptides on lymphocyte chromatin in senile subjects. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2004;137(1):78-81. PMID: 15085253.

Written by the Peptigo Research Team · scientifically reviewed by Peter, Peptigo Research Team · Last reviewed June 2026. We cite primary literature and flag where evidence is limited. Our sourcing & RUO policy →