Reviewed & approved by Dr. Nova Reyes · Last checked 2026-10-25. ← Back to Evidence Library

Cartalax: what the evidence says

At a glance

What it is: a synthetic tripeptide (Ala-Glu-Asp, "AED") from V. Kh. Khavinson's "peptide bioregulator" program, sold for cartilage, joint and spine health. Unknown The name "Cartalax" does not appear in PubMed; no published study tests AED on cartilage or joints. Unknown

What the evidence says: no published study, in people or animals, tests the cartilage, joint or spine use it is sold for. The only AED studies found used other models (skin cells, rat kidney), listed in Study details. ^R1–R3

Biggest risks: unknown. No human safety data were found. Unknown Gray-market products add quality risks.

Rating


Human Human evidence	No human data
Animal Animal / lab evidence	None for the marketed use. Other models (skin cells, rat kidney) in Study details only ^R1–R3
Regulatory	Not FDA-approved (no Drugs@FDA entry found) ^R5 · Russia: registration status UNVERIFIED · WADA: not named on the 2026 List ^R4; S0 status UNVERIFIED
Established human dose	None. Study details lists what studies used where reported

Evidence verdict: Human: No human data · No published studies of the marketed use (cartilage) Card verdict: No human data · No published studies of the marketed use (cartilage) Card note: No published study tests the cartilage or joint use it is sold for.

This page reports what studies used. It is not dosing advice.

Legend: HUMAN data · ANIMAL / LAB data · UNKNOWN · UNVERIFIED: not yet confirmed against a primary source

About the evidence (developer-led): most of this literature comes from V. Kh. Khavinson's St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology and allied Russian, Ukrainian and Georgian groups. Many papers are short, Russian-language, and not independently repeated. Read the findings as the developers' own reports.

What is it?

Cartalax is sold as a 3-amino-acid peptide (Ala-Glu-Asp). Khavinson's group calls these "tissue-specific bioregulators." ^R1 The link between the AED sequence and cartilage comes from sellers and the developer's naming, not from studies we could find. Unknown

Does it work?

Unknown Cartilage, osteoarthritis or spine (the marketed use): no published studies found in PubMed. UNVERIFIED whether Russian-language clinical or lab reports exist outside PubMed.
Unknown Human clinical trials: none found.
Studies of AED on other models (skin fibroblasts, rat kidney) are listed in Study details, labeled by model. They do not test the marketed use. ^R1–R3

Is it safe?

Unknown No human safety data found.
Unknown Long-term effects unknown.

Gray-market "research use only" Cartalax: extra risks

Unknown contents. Vials or capsules sold online as "research use only" are not made under drug-quality rules, so identity, strength and sterility are unknown. This is a general caution; we have not found independent testing data for this product. Unknown Vendor claims about effects in people are marketing, not evidence. Unknown

What we don't know

Unknown Whether it does anything in people
Unknown Whether a short peptide like this survives digestion or reaches tissues when swallowed or injected
Unknown What is actually in a gray-market vial or capsule sold under this name

Is it legal?

US: not FDA-approved; no application found in Drugs@FDA data (Oct 25, 2026). ^R5 Russia: UNVERIFIED whether registered as a medicine in GRLS or sold only as a dietary supplement. EU, UK, Japan, China: UNVERIFIED not checked against EMA, MHRA, PMDA or NMPA. WADA: not named on the 2026 Prohibited List ^R4; S0 (non-approved substances) would apply if it holds no current approval anywhere, which is UNVERIFIED.

Study details

These are amounts researchers used, not recommendations.

R1 Animal Lab: human skin fibroblasts, KE vs AED (Fridman 2020)

Study	People / model	Route	Amount used	Follow-up	Reported	Side effects / limitations	Citation
Fridman 2020	Aging human skin fibroblasts	In vitro	Not in abstract	Not applicable	Effects on sirtuins, collagen I, IL-1, TGF-β, NF-κB compared between KE and AED	Cells only; developer-led	PMID 33231794

R2 Animal Lab: human skin fibroblasts (Lin'kova 2016)

Study	People / model	Route	Amount used	Follow-up	Reported	Side effects / limitations	Citation
Lin'kova 2016	Aging human skin fibroblasts	In vitro	Not in abstract	Not applicable	KE, KED, AED, AEDG effects on Ki-67, CD98hc, caspase-3, MMP-9	Cells only; developer-led	PMID 27259496

R3 Animal Animal: rat cisplatin kidney injury (Zamorskii 2015)

Study	People / model	Route	Amount used	Follow-up	Reported	Side effects / limitations	Citation
Zamorskii 2015	Rats with cisplatin-induced acute kidney failure	Not in abstract	Not in abstract	Not in abstract	AED lowered urine protein and electrolytes	Animal; other tissue (kidney); developer co-author	PMID 26515176

Full reference list (PubMed entries checked Oct 25, 2026)

^R1 Fridman NV, et al. Comparison of the Effects of KE and AED Peptides on Functional Activity of Human Skin Fibroblasts during Their Replicative Aging. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2020. PMID 33231794
^R2 Lin'kova NS, et al. Peptide Regulation of Skin Fibroblast Functions during Their Aging In Vitro. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2016. PMID 27259496
^R3 Zamorskii II, et al. Peptides Restore Functional State of the Kidneys During Cisplatin-Induced Acute Renal Failure. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2015. PMID 26515176
^R4 WADA. The 2026 Prohibited List (in force 1 January 2026). https://www.wada-ama.org/en/prohibited-list
^R5 FDA. Drugs@FDA data (openFDA drugsfda endpoint), searched "cartalax" Oct 25, 2026: no application found. https://api.fda.gov/drug/drugsfda.json?search=products.active_ingredients.name:cartalax · Drugs@FDA: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/daf/

Disclaimer

This page is for education and harm reduction, not medical advice or a recommendation to use Cartalax. Talk to a clinician you trust before using any drug, and report problems to FDA MedWatch (https://www.fda.gov/safety/medwatch).

Approved for Adam Greene by Dr. Nova Reyes, 2026-10-25.