Cardiogen
Also known as: Cardiogen · AEDR (vendor-reported sequence) · Cardiac Cytogen peptide
Research focus
Heart / myocardium — proposed support of cardiac tissue and age-related myocardial decline
US regulatory status
Not FDA-approved · Not compoundable
Evidence rating
No Human Data
Origin
Cardiogen is a synthetic short peptide attributed to the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology (the Khavinson group), part of the 'Cytogen' family of tissue-targeted bioregulators and marketed for cardiac/myocardial support. It is reported as the tetrapeptide Ala-Glu-Asp-Arg (AEDR), but the primary research papers describe it only as 'the synthetic tetrapeptide cardiogen' and do not print the sequence — so the AEDR assignment comes from secondary/vendor sources rather than the indexed literature. It is not FDA-approved and is not a registered drug in the US or EU.
Plain-language summary
Cardiogen is a lab-made short peptide from the Russian 'Khavinson' bioregulator family, marketed for heart support. Unlike some Cytogens it does have a small published record — but it is entirely in rats and cell cultures from the originating institute: reports that it stimulates heart-tissue cell growth in young and old rats, and separately that it slowed a transplanted sarcoma in aged rats. There are no human studies of any kind, no independent replication, and the amino-acid sequence sold to consumers (Ala-Glu-Asp-Arg) is not actually printed in the primary papers. It is not FDA-approved and is sold online only as an unregulated 'research chemical.'
Claimed mechanism (as reported)
Within the Khavinson 'peptide bioregulator' framework, cardiogen is proposed to act as a tissue-specific regulator influencing gene expression and cell renewal in cardiac tissue. The supporting data are preclinical: in organotypic rat myocardial cultures, cardiogen reportedly stimulated cell proliferation in both young and aged tissue and reduced p53 expression, interpreted by the authors as an anti-apoptotic effect (Chalisova et al., Advances in Gerontology, 2009). No receptor-level mechanism has been established and no human pharmacology exists; mechanistic claims come from a small set of affiliated groups and are reported, not proven.
Evidence summary
A small but real preclinical literature exists, concentrated in the originating Russian institute and published largely in Russian-language gerontology journals (Advances in Gerontology; Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine). Reported findings include stimulation of myocardial cell proliferation in young and aged rat organotypic cultures (Chalisova et al., 2009), tissue-specific stimulation across heart/lung/prostate/pancreas cultures (Zakutskii et al., 2006), and a dose-dependent tumor-modifying effect on transplanted M-1 sarcoma in senescent rats (Levdik & Knyazkin, 2009). All of this is animal and cell-culture work from affiliated groups; there are no human clinical or observational studies, no independent replication, and no pharmacokinetic data in English-language indexed literature as of 2026.
What the research reports
Effect of amino acids and cardiogen on myocardial tissue culture from young and old rats
Grade DChalisova NI, Lesniak VV, Balykina NA et al. · Advances in Gerontology (Uspekhi Gerontologii) · 2009
Reported finding: The synthetic tetrapeptide cardiogen reportedly stimulated cell proliferation in myocardial explants from both young and aged rats and decreased p53 protein expression, interpreted by the authors as inhibition of apoptosis.
Sample: Rat myocardial explants (3- and 24-month-old rats)
Methodology: D — in-vitro organotypic rat tissue culture, single group, no in-vivo or human data
Limitations: In-vitro explant model only; Russian-language; single originating group; proliferation and p53 are surrogate readouts, not clinical outcomes.
Tissue-specific effect of synthetic peptide bioregulators (cardiogen, bronchogen, prostamax, pancragen) in organotypic culture
Grade DZakutskii AN, Chalisova NI, Ryzhak GA et al. · Advances in Gerontology (Uspekhi Gerontologii) · 2006
Reported finding: At low concentrations the peptides reportedly produced tissue-specific stimulation of their corresponding organ cultures versus controls; the authors speculated about use for reparative processes during ageing.
Sample: Heart/lung/prostate/pancreas explants from young and aged rats
Methodology: D — in-vitro organotypic rat cultures, single group
Limitations: In-vitro only; the authors’ clinical extrapolation is not supported by any human data; Russian-language; single group.
Tumor-modifying effect of cardiogen peptide on M-1 sarcoma in senescent rats
Grade DLevdik NV, Knyazkin IV · Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine · 2009
Reported finding: Cardiogen injections were associated with dose-dependent inhibition of M-1 sarcoma growth via increased tumor-cell apoptosis and hemorrhagic necrosis, reportedly acting through the tumor vasculature rather than by direct cytotoxicity.
Sample: Rats with transplanted M-1 sarcoma
Methodology: D — animal tumor-transplant model, single group
Limitations: Transplanted-tumor rat model; single originating institute; no human relevance established.
Administration reported in studies
Published work is in-vitro and in animal models (peptide added to tissue cultures at picomolar–nanogram concentrations, or injected into rats); there is no established human dosing. Vendor 'Cytogen' capsule products imply oral courses, but no human pharmacokinetic or dosing study supports any regimen. This is a summary of research conditions — not a dosing recommendation and not a protocol endorsed by TPC.
This section reports what published studies describe. It is not a dosing recommendation from TPS.
Safety record
No human safety data exist. Preclinical reports describe low toxicity in the originating group’s tissue-culture and rat work, but absence of reported harm in a few single-group animal/in-vitro studies is not evidence of human safety. Long-term effects, immunogenicity, and interactions are uncharacterized in people, and material sold online is unregulated and not tested for identity, purity, or sterility by any independent authority.
US legal status
Not FDA-approved. Not on the 503A compoundable bulk substances list. Not legally compoundable for human clinical use in the United States. Sold online only as a 'research chemical' or unregulated supplement — vendors in that channel are unregulated and not verified by TPC.
Open research questions
- ? Do cardiogen’s reported myocardial and tumor effects replicate outside the originating institute?
- ? Is the marketed Ala-Glu-Asp-Arg sequence actually the compound used in the published rat studies?
- ? Is there any human pharmacokinetic, safety, or efficacy data at all?
- ? How would a picomolar tissue-culture effect translate to an oral capsule in humans?
Get new bioregulator research as it publishes
Summaries of the Russian and English-language literature, bias-checked and plainly framed.
Subscribe Free →