Reviewed & approved by Dr. Nova Reyes · Last checked 2026-10-25. ← Back to Evidence Library
Selank: what the evidence says
At a glance
Selank is reported to be a registered medicine in Russia: UNVERIFIED, not checked against the Russian register. R1
What it is: a 7-amino-acid lab-made peptide based on tuftsin, a fragment of an immune protein, developed in Russia as an anti-anxiety drug and given as a nasal spray. R1, R2
What the evidence says: small Russian trials in anxiety disorders found effects similar to benzodiazepine comparators. No studies of gray-market wellness or "nootropic" use by healthy people. R1, R2
Biggest risks: side effects were not well reported in the trials we read. Unknown
Rating
| Human Human (generalized anxiety disorder, intranasal) | Limited: small Russian comparative trials vs medazepam and phenazepam, developer-linked authors R1, R2 |
| Human Human (brain connectivity in healthy volunteers, single intranasal dose) | Very limited: one resting-state fMRI study (54 healthy volunteers); surrogate imaging endpoint only R4 |
| Human Human (gray-market wellness / nootropic, subcutaneous or nasal) | No human data |
| Regulatory | Not FDA-approved (no Drugs@FDA record) · Not on 503A Bulks List; FDA flagged immunogenicity/impurity risks (FDA-2023-N-3392-0011) R5 · Registered in Russia as 0.15% nasal drops (ЛСР-003338/09, Vidal.ru mirror; direct GRLS <span class="tag unverified">UNVERIFIED</span>) R6 · WADA 2026: not named; S0 status of Russian-only drugs unruled R3 |
| Established human dose | None outside Russia. Trial arms are in Study details where reported |
Evidence verdict: Human (GAD): Limited · Human (gray-market wellness/nootropic): No human data Card verdict: Limited (generalized anxiety, small Russian trials) · Brain fMRI (single dose): Very limited · Nootropic/wellness use: No human data Card note: Varies by use, see page
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
What is it?
Selank (Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro) was developed at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow. R1 For Semax, a related Russian peptide, see Semax.
Does it work?
- Human GAD and neurasthenia: in 62 patients, selank (30) and medazepam (32) had similar anti-anxiety effects. R1
- Human Anxiety disorders: in 60 patients compared with phenazepam, selank showed "pronounced anxiolytic" effects per the authors. R2
- Human Healthy-volunteer brain connectivity (fMRI): in 54 healthy volunteers (
PMID 32342318), a single intranasal administration altered amygdala–temporal functional connectivity on resting-state fMRI—a surrogate brain-imaging signal (Very limited), not a clinical memory or anxiety outcome. R4 - Unknown Healthy-person "nootropic" or injected use: no clinical outcome studies.
Is it safe?
- Unknown Side-effect rates are not given in the abstracts we read. R1, R2
- Caution FDA compounding risk alert: in Docket
FDA-2023-N-3392-0011, FDA flagged potential immunogenicity and peptide-related impurity risks and placed Selank acetate on its Interim 503A Category 2 list (through Sept 2024). R5 - Caution Seized gray-market vials (Sciensano, Belgium): Belgium's official medicines control laboratory identified falsified, unlabeled vials containing Selank and Semax confiscated from shipments destined for human use (
PMID 31667971). R7
Gray-market "research use only" Selank: extra risks
Unknown contents. Products sold online as "research use only" or "not for human use" are not made under drug-quality rules, so identity, strength and sterility are unknown. This is a general caution; we have not found testing data for this product specifically. Unknown
What we don't know
- Unknown Independent, placebo-controlled trials
- Unknown Effects in healthy people
Is it legal?
Not FDA-approved in the US (no Drugs@FDA record, openFDA query Oct 24, 2026), and not on the 503A Bulks List (21 CFR 216.23; FDA-2023-N-3392-0011). R5 In Russia, 0.15% Selank nasal drops carry registration ЛСР-003338/09 (verified via Vidal.ru mirror; direct GRLS fetch <span class="tag unverified">UNVERIFIED</span>). R6 EU, UK, Japan, China: UNVERIFIED not checked against EMA, MHRA, PMDA or NMPA. WADA: not named on the 2026 Prohibited List. S0 covers only substances with no current approval anywhere, so whether it applies depends on the Russian registration, which is UNVERIFIED R3.
Study details
These are doses researchers used, not recommendations.
R1–R2 Human Human
| Study | People / model | Route | Dose used | Follow-up | Reported | Side effects / dropouts | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zozulia 2008 | 30 selank vs 32 medazepam; GAD and neurasthenia | Not in abstract | Not in abstract | Not in abstract | Similar anxiolytic effect; added anti-asthenic effect | Not in abstract | PMID 18454096 |
| Medvedev 2014 | 60 patients, selank vs phenazepam | Not in abstract | Not in abstract | Not in abstract | Anxiolytic effect lasting a week after stopping | Not in abstract | PMID 25176261 |
| Panikratova 2020 | 54 healthy volunteers (Selank, Semax, control) | Intranasal | Single administration | Acute fMRI scan | Altered right amygdala–temporal cortex functional connectivity | Surrogate neuroimaging endpoint only | PMID 32342318 |
Full reference list (PubMed entries verified Oct 24, 2026)
- R1 Zozulia AA, et al. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2008;108(4):38-48. PMID 18454096
- R2 Medvedev VE, et al. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2014;114(7):17-22. PMID 25176261
- R3 WADA. World Anti-Doping Code International Standard: Prohibited List 2026 (in force Jan 1, 2026). https://www.wada-ama.org/sites/default/files/2025-09/2026list_en_final_clean_september_2025.pdf (text read Oct 24, 2026)
- R4 Panikratova YR, et al. Dokl Biol Sci. 2020;490(1):9-11. doi:10.1134/S001249662001007X. PMID 32342318
- R5 US FDA. Compounding Risk Alerts and Docket FDA-2023-N-3392-0011 (Selank acetate); 503A Bulks List (21 CFR 216.23). https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/compounding-risk-alerts
- R6 Vidal.ru Russian registry mirror for Selank (
ЛСР-003338/09, Peptogen). https://www.vidal.ru/drugs/selank__18557 - R7 Vanhee C, et al. Drug Test Anal. 2020;12(2):275-280. doi:10.1002/dta.2693. PMID 31667971
Disclaimer
This page summarizes published research for education and harm reduction; it is not medical advice or a recommendation to use Selank. Talk to a clinician you trust before using any drug, and report side effects to FDA MedWatch.
Approved for Adam Greene by Dr. Nova Reyes, 2026-10-25.