Selank research comes almost entirely from Russia, where the peptide originated, and that shapes everything about the evidence: the studies are small, many appear only in Russian-language journals, and independent replication outside Russia is rare. This page summarises what has been published, with links to every paper on PubMed. We supply Selank for laboratory research only, so nothing here is a claim about effects in humans.
What is Selank?
Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide that derives from tuftsin, a short immune-modulating fragment of an antibody molecule, which adds a proline-glycine-proline tail to slow its breakdown. A 2018 review in Protein and Peptide Letters sets out the molecular work on how it behaves. Researchers usually give it intranasally. For example, a 2016 comparative study in Eksperimental’naia i Klinicheskaia Farmakologiia compared intranasal with intraperitoneal routes in two mouse strains.
Selank research: the main areas studied
Three strands dominate: animal behavioural models, a small Russian clinical literature, and cell-level work on gene expression. We summarise each below, and the whole reference list sits at the end.
Animal behavioural models
Firstly, a 2008 study in Zhurnal Vysshei Nervnoi Deiatel’nosti examined effects on genetically-based and situation-provoked depression-like behaviour in two rat strains and in mice. More recently, a 2022 paper in the Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine reported attenuation of aversive signs of morphine withdrawal in rats. In addition, a 2020 paper in Doklady Biological Sciences took a functional connectomic approach to comparing Selank and Semax, our overview of which sits in the research library.
The Russian clinical literature
Meanwhile, two studies in Zhurnal Nevrologii i Psikhiatrii report on anxiety disorders: a 2014 comparison of Selank with phenazepam, a benzodiazepine used in Russia, and a 2015 paper on optimising treatment. These are small, conducted in a single country’s clinical system, and published in Russian. They are the strongest human data that exists, which tells you as much about the state of the field as it does about the compound.
Gene expression and mechanism
A 2017 study in Frontiers in Pharmacology examined how GABA, Selank and olanzapine affect the expression of genes involved in GABAergic neurotransmission in IMR-32 cells. However, work of this kind generates hypotheses about mechanism; it does not demonstrate effects in a living organism.
Limits of the current evidence
The honest summary is that the Selank research base is geographically concentrated, methodologically small, and largely unreplicated outside Russia. Moreover, language is a real barrier: several key papers are available in English only as an abstract, so the methods cannot be scrutinised by most readers. Furthermore, there are no large multicentre trials and no regulatory approvals outside Russia. Consequently, careful researchers treat Selank as an interesting but lightly-evidenced compound rather than an established anxiolytic.
Research use only
AurumLabs supplies Selank strictly for laboratory research. It is not for human or animal use, and it is not a medicine or supplement. Our Selank vials ship with a batch-specific Certificate of Analysis, and you can browse more summaries in our research library.
References
- Vyunova TV et al. Peptide-based anxiolytics: the molecular aspects of heptapeptide Selank biological activity. Protein Pept Lett, 2018. PMID: 30255741
- Sarkisova KIu et al. Effects of heptapeptide Selank on genetically-based and situation-provoked symptoms of depression in behavior in WAG/Rij and Wistar rats and in BALB/c mice. Zh Vyssh Nerv Deiat Im I P Pavlova, 2008. PMID: 18661785
- Vasil’eva EV et al. Comparison of pharmacological effects of heptapeptide Selank after intranasal and intraperitoneal administration to BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice. Eksp Klin Farmakol, 2016. PMID: 29787664
- Konstantinopolsky MA et al. Selank, a peptide analog of tuftsin, attenuates aversive signs of morphine withdrawal in rats. Bull Exp Biol Med, 2022. PMID: 36322304
- Filatova E et al. GABA, Selank, and olanzapine affect the expression of genes involved in GABAergic neurotransmission in IMR-32 cells. Front Pharmacol, 2017. PMID: 28293190
- Medvedev VE et al. A comparison of the anxiolytic effect and tolerability of Selank and phenazepam in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova, 2014. PMID: 25176261
- Medvedev VE et al. Optimization of the treatment of anxiety disorders with Selank. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova, 2015. PMID: 26356395
- Panikratova YR et al. Functional connectomic approach to studying Selank and Semax effects. Dokl Biol Sci, 2020. PMID: 32342318
