Selank

Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro, tuftsin-Pro-Gly-Pro, Селанк; N-acetyl Selank and NA-Selank amidate are community variants

Cognitive & neuro

Awaiting medical reviewEN ES DE FR PT ZH+ Follow for updates

Note on this profile. Selank is an approved prescription medicine in Russia, where it is sold as a nasal spray for anxiety disorders. It is not approved in the EU, UK, US, Australia or South Africa. The clinical literature is mostly Russian-language and does not meet the design standards of Western regulatory trials.

Summary

Class: Synthetic heptapeptide (7 amino acids): the natural immune tetrapeptide tuftsin (Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg) with a Pro-Gly-Pro tail for stability
Mechanism: Appears to modulate GABA-A receptor signalling, slow the breakdown of the brain's enkephalins, and shift serotonin and inflammatory cytokine balance — producing anxiety reduction without sedation in animal and small human studies
Routes studied: Intranasal drops/spray (all human studies; 0.15% solution); intranasal and intraperitoneal (rodent); intranasal and subcutaneous (community)
Dose range reported: Russian label: 0.15% solution, 2–3 drops per nostril 3 times daily (roughly 900–2,700 µg/day) for up to 14 days. Community: 250–500 µg intranasal 1–3 times daily; N-acetyl variants often lower. Label and community figures, not recommendations
Half-life: Very short in blood (minutes); behavioural effects reported to last hours
Storage: Nasal solution: refrigerate, use within the labelled period after opening. Lyophilised: refrigerate, protect from light
Regulatory status: Approved in Russia. Not approved elsewhere

Doses are as reported in studies or by the community — never recommendations.

1What it is

Selank comes from the same Moscow institute as Semax and was designed on the same principle: take a short natural peptide with interesting brain effects and add a Pro-Gly-Pro tail so it survives long enough to work. The starting fragment here is tuftsin, a four-amino-acid piece of the antibody molecule IgG that normally stimulates immune cells. Animal work had shown tuftsin analogues also reduced anxiety. Selank was registered in Russia in 2009 for generalised anxiety disorder and neurasthenia (a diagnosis still used there for stress-related fatigue and irritability).

It is a synthetic compound, though derived from a sequence that occurs naturally in human antibodies. In the community it is used as an anxiolytic and sometimes paired with Semax.

2How it's thought to work

GABA system. in rodent studies Selank altered expression of GABA-A receptor subunit genes and showed effects that resembled low-dose benzodiazepines without sedation or dependence (Volkova 2016).

Enkephalins. inhibits enkephalin-degrading enzymes in human blood, prolonging the action of endogenous opioid peptides — proposed to explain the calming effect.

Serotonin. raises serotonin metabolism in some brain regions in rats and modulated serotonin turnover under stress.

Immune and cytokine effects. alters expression of interleukin-6 and other cytokine genes; the parent compound tuftsin is an immune peptide and some of these effects persist.

BDNF. increases BDNF expression in rat hippocampus, like Semax though less strongly.

Proposed: slows the enzyme that breaks down enkephalins at the synapse and modulates GABA-A receptor signalling — calming without sedation in small studies.Schematic — not to scale

3What the research shows

Generalised anxiety disorder

A Russian comparative study in patients with GAD and neurasthenia reported Selank was comparable to the benzodiazepine medazepam on anxiety scales, with fewer side effects and without sedation or withdrawal (Zozulia 2008, Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr). Open-label, small. Another study reported benefit when added to benzodiazepines in GAD (Medvedev 2014). No placebo-controlled trial published. [2][6]

Anxiety and stress in healthy volunteers

Small studies reported reduced anxiety and improved attention under stress with intranasal Selank. Uncontrolled or poorly described.

Anxiolytic effects in rodents

Consistent anxiolytic-like behaviour in elevated plus maze, open field and conflict models at intranasal and intraperitoneal doses, without motor impairment (Kozlovskii & Danchev 2003; Semenova 2010). Comparable to benzodiazepines in effect size in these models. [1][3]

Memory and learning in rodents

Improved learning and memory consolidation in several rat paradigms, including under stress or after cholinergic blockade (Kozlovskaya 2003, Neurosci Behav Physiol).

Graded C/D

Gene expression in the GABAergic and immune systems

Rat studies reported expression changes in GABA-A receptor subunit genes and in inflammatory genes (Volkova 2016, Front Pharmacol; Kolomin 2013). [4][5]

Not gradednone

Western randomised controlled trials

As with Semax, there is no English-language placebo-controlled .

4Reported side effects and interactions

Literature-reported

Reported as well tolerated in Russian studies; nasal irritation, occasional drowsiness or headache. No dependence or withdrawal reported in trials.

Community-reported

nasal stinging, fatigue or flatness of mood in some, mild headache, occasional reports of reduced motivation or "emotional blunting", tolerance with daily use. Many report no effect.

Theoretical. GABA and enkephalin modulation could interact with alcohol, benzodiazepines, opioids and other CNS depressants; long-term neurotrophic effects unknown; the immune-derived origin raises an untested question about chronic immune modulation.

Interactions. none formally established. Additive effects with benzodiazepines were used therapeutically in one Russian study; the same applies as a caution.

Markers researchers commonly monitor

Marker	Why it's watched
No compound-specific laboratory markers are established
Anxiety and mood rating scales (e.g. GAD-7, HADS)	the only outcome measures used in the literature.
Sleep quality self-ratings	reported effects run both ways.
Inflammatory markers (hs-CRP, IL-6)	only if investigating the cytokine effects; no clinical threshold applies.
General baseline panels (CBC, CMP) are reasonable; no specific concern is flagged in the literature

Free for everyone. Safety information is never behind a paywall.

5Reconstitution and handling

The approved product is a ready-made nasal solution. Research-market powder is with for nasal spray or injection; nasal doses are in the hundreds of micrograms per spray, so concentration maths matter.

Open in calculator, pre-loaded →

6Commonly studied alongside

Semax (most common pairing — "stack" discussions treat Selank as the calming half); benzodiazepines (as add-on in one Russian study); Cerebrolysin and noopept in Russian nootropic literature.

Informational cross-links. Not stack recommendations.

7Regulatory status by region

Region	Status (checked —)
United States	Not FDA-approved; not on the 2023 Category 2 compounding list as far as this review could establish †
European Union	Not authorised
United Kingdom	Not licensed
Australia	Not approved; prescription-only classification for peptides applies †
South Africa	Not registered
Russia / CIS	Approved prescription medicine (nasal drops 0.15%) for anxiety disorders and neurasthenia
Sport	Not specifically named by WADA; S0 (non-approved substance) applies in most jurisdictions †

8Open questions

Would the anxiolytic effect hold against placebo in a blinded trial?
How much reaches the brain intranasally in humans, and does the Pro-Gly-Pro tail survive?
Are the N-acetyl and amidated variants (research market only) pharmacologically equivalent? No data.
Do the immune-gene effects matter clinically with long-term use?

9References

1Kozlovskii II, Danchev ND (2003). The optimizing action of the synthetic peptide Selank on a conditioned active avoidance reflex in rats. Neurosci Behav Physiol. PubMed · DOI
2Zozulia AA et al. (2008). Efficacy and possible mechanisms of action of a new peptide anxiolytic selank in the therapy of generalized anxiety disorders and neurasthenia. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. PubMed
3Semenova TP et al. (2010). Comparison of the effects of selank and tuftsin on the metabolism of serotonin in the brain of rats pretreated with PCPA. Eksp Klin Farmakol. PubMed
4Volkova A et al. (2016). Selank administration affects the expression of some genes involved in GABAergic neurotransmission. Front Pharmacol. PubMed · DOI
5Kolomin T et al. (2013). A new generation of drugs: synthetic peptides based on natural regulatory peptides. Neurosci Med. DOI
6Medvedev VE et al. (2014). The peptide anxiolytic selank in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (comparison with benzodiazepines). Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. PubMed

References are being resolved to PubMed/DOI identifiers; links search PubMed for the citation until then.

† Being confirmed by our reviewers against current sources.

10Community

forum threads →

community protocols include this →

Threads and protocols are visible to members. Joining is free.

Self-reported side effects Phase 2

Not enough data yet. 0 of the 50 members needed have logged this compound for 4+ weeks. We don't show anything below 50, so no one can be identified.

11Page history

25 Oct 2026Profile published — awaiting medical review

Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Found an error? Report it · Editorial standards — corrections are logged here.