This is a working overview of ACTH(4–10), written for readers who want more than a one-paragraph summary but less than a textbook.
This page was last updated on 2025-09-22 and is reviewed periodically as new material appears.
The peptide is prone to several degradation pathways. Oxidation of the methionine residue produces a sulfoxide that elutes close to the parent peak in many chromatographic systems. Hydrolysis of peptide bonds and deamidation of susceptible residues in related sequences also reduce purity over time. Lyophilised material kept dry at minus twenty degrees Celsius and shielded from light is the most stable form commonly described in laboratory practice.
Material sold for laboratory use varies widely in stated purity and documentation. A certificate of analysis should list the analytical method, the column and detector used, and the observed purity value. Independent verification by an outside laboratory is the practical way to confirm identity when documentation is absent or internally inconsistent. Regulatory status differs by country, and a product legal in one jurisdiction may be unapproved or controlled in another.
Semax is a synthetic seven-amino-acid peptide whose sequence extends the ACTH(4-10) fragment with a C-terminal proline-glycine-proline tripeptide. The commonly cited sequence is Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro, giving a molecular formula near C37H51N9O10S and a molecular weight close to 813.9 g/mol. It belongs to the broader class of synthetic ACTH fragments studied for central nervous system effects rather than for adrenal steroid stimulation. In practice the material appears as a lyophilized white powder for laboratory work or as a dilute saline solution in clinical settings.
Development is attributed to researchers at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow during the early 1980s, building on earlier Soviet work with ACTH fragments. Russian regulatory approval followed for intranasal use, and the compound has remained commercially available there for decades. Most published human data originate from Russian and, later, some Eastern European clinical reports, which are not always accessible in English translation. Outside that region the material is generally handled as a research chemical rather than a licensed medicine.
Regulatory status differs sharply between jurisdictions. In Russia the peptide is registered as a prescription nasal preparation, while agencies such as the United States Food and Drug Administration have not approved it for any indication. Products sold elsewhere are typically labeled for laboratory research only, and such labels shift responsibility for safe handling to the purchaser. Because the same name covers pharmaceutical-grade nasal drops and bulk research powder, identity and purity documentation becomes the main practical concern when comparing sources.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Lyophilised solid |
| Solubility class | Freely soluble in water | Also dissolves in aqueous buffers |
| Typical storage temperature | -20 °C | Dry, desiccated, protected from light |
| Typical analytical method | RP-HPLC with UV detection | Often paired with LC-MS |
| Water content | Reported as Karl Fischer value | Freeze-dried material is hygroscopic |
Published studies are dominated by animal models of stroke, ischemia, and cognitive impairment, with a smaller number of human trials conducted in Russia. Many of the human reports are small, single-center, and published in Russian-language journals, which limits independent scrutiny. Outcome measures vary between studies and often rely on clinician-rated scales rather than objective biomarkers. Systematic reviews have noted the methodological weaknesses and called for larger, preregistered trials before firm conclusions can be drawn.
Claims about enhanced focus, memory, or mood in healthy people rest mostly on anecdotal reports and community discussion rather than on controlled data. It remains unclear whether any cognitive benefit observed in patients recovering from brain injury would extend to uninjured users. Dose-response relationships, long-term safety, and interactions with other drugs are not well characterized in the peer-reviewed literature. Questions about optimal route of administration and treatment duration likewise remain open.
Semax binds to melanocortin receptors and is thought to influence neuronal survival and plasticity rather than to act through the adrenal axis. Laboratory work has shown increased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor in treated tissue. Changes in c-Fos, a marker of neuronal activation, have also been reported. Because the peptide is rapidly degraded by peptidases, its effects are generally attributed to downstream signaling cascades rather than to sustained receptor occupancy.
Clinical reports describe use in ischaemic stroke, transient ischaemic attack, optic nerve conditions, and cognitive complaints, but most of these studies are small and were conducted in a single region. Systematic reviews have generally described the evidence base as limited in size and variable in methodological quality. Randomised controlled data suitable for international regulatory assessment are scarce. As a result, major treatment guidelines outside Russia do not include the peptide, and interest in it remains largely research-driven rather than routine clinical.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. It is described in the literature as an analogue of the ACTH(4–10) fragment, a short N-terminal portion of adrenocorticotropic hormone that retains some neurotropic activity without the full hormonal effects of the parent peptide. The molecule carries a methionine residue at the N-terminus and two proline residues near the C-terminus, features that shape both its interactions with receptor systems and its chemical stability. The free peptide corresponds to the formula C37H51N9O10S and a molecular mass near 813.9 Da.
The compound was developed in the 1980s at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow, where it emerged from research on short ACTH fragments and their effects on the central nervous system. Russian pharmaceutical listings describe it as a nootropic and neuroprotective agent, most often formulated as nasal drops. It is not a marketed medicine in the United States or the European Union, and no pharmacopoeial monograph covers it. Consequently, most published clinical experience with the substance originates from a small number of research centres, mainly in Russia and neighbouring countries.
==== MeSH D06.472.759 – placental hormones ==== MeSH D06.472.759.367 – chorionic gonadotropin MeSH D06.472.759.367.125 – chorionic gonadotropin, beta subunit, human MeSH D06.472.759.367.562 – glycoprotein hormones, alpha subunit MeSH D06.472.759.451 – gonadotropins, equine MeSH D06.472.759.692 – placental lactogen
== Prostate cancer == Bicalutamide is used primarily in the treatment of early and advanced prostate cancer. It is approved at a dosage of 50 mg/day as a combination therapy with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue (GnRH analogue) or orchiectomy (that is, surgical or medical castration) in the treatment of stage D2 metastatic prostate cancer (mPC), and as a monotherapy at a dosage of 150 mg/day for the treatment of stage C or D1 locally advanced prostate cancer (LAPC). Although effective in mPC and LAPC, bicalutamide is no longer indicated for the treatment of localized prostate cancer (LPC) due to negative findings in the Early Prostate Cancer (EPC) clinical trial programme. Prior to the introduction of the newer NSAA enzalutamide in 2012, bicalutamide was considered to be the standard-of-care antiandrogen in the treatment of prostate cancer, and still remains widely used for this indication. Compared to earlier antiandrogens like the steroidal antiandrogen (SAA) cyproterone acetate (CPA) and the NSAAs flutamide and nilutamide, bicalutamide shows an improved profile of effectiveness, tolerability, and safety, and for this reason has largely replaced them in the treatment of prostate cancer. In the early 1940s, it was discovered that growth of prostate cancer in men regressed with surgical castration or high-dose estrogen therapy, which produced very low levels of circulating testosterone, and accelerated with the administration of exogenous testosterone.
In spite of these warnings, the Luftwaffe did little to address this and treated the entire topic with some level of disdain. Their own radars were superior to CH in many ways, but had proven to be only marginally useful. During the Air Battle of the Heligoland Bight in 1939, a German Freya radar detected the raid while it was still an hour away from its target, yet had no way to report this to any of the fighter units that could intercept it. Getting the information from the radar to the pilots in a useful form appeared to be a difficult problem, and the Germans believed the British would have the same difficulty and thus radar would have little real effect. Some desultory effort was put into attacking the CH stations, especially during the opening stages of the Battle. British engineers were able to quickly return these units to service, or in some cases simply pretend to do so in order to fool the Germans into thinking the attacks failed. As the pattern of these attacks became clear, the RAF began to counter them with increasing effectiveness. The Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers were subjected to catastrophic losses and had to be withdrawn from battle. The Germans gave up trying to attack CH directly on any reasonable scale. Thus, CH was allowed to operate throughout the Battle largely unhindered. Although communications were indeed a serious problem, it was precisely this problem that the Dowding system had been set up to address, at great expense. The result was that every British fighter was roughly twice or perhaps more as effective than its German counterpart.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
==== Chlorophylls ==== Chlorophyll a is found in all chloroplasts, as well as their cyanobacterial ancestors. Chlorophyll a is a blue-green pigment partially responsible for giving most cyanobacteria and chloroplasts their color. Other forms of chlorophyll exist, such as the accessory pigments chlorophyll b, chlorophyll c, chlorophyll d, and chlorophyll f. Chlorophyll b is an olive green pigment found only in the chloroplasts of plants, green algae, any secondary chloroplasts obtained through the secondary endosymbiosis of a green alga, and a few cyanobacteria. It is the chlorophylls a and b together that make most plant and green algal chloroplasts green. Chlorophyll c is mainly found in secondary endosymbiotic chloroplasts that originated from a red alga, although it is not found in chloroplasts of red algae themselves. Chlorophyll c is also found in some green algae and cyanobacteria. Chlorophylls d and f are pigments found only in some cyanobacteria.
=== Narratives === Œuvres (P.O.L, 2002). Works, trans. Jan Steyn (Dalkey Archive, 2014) Journal (P.O.L, 2004). Newspaper, trans. Jan Steyn and Caite Dolan-Leach (Dalkey Archive, 2015) Autoportrait (P.O.L, 2005). Autoportrait, trans. Lorin Stein (Dalkey Archive, 2012) Suicide (P.O.L, 2008). Suicide, trans. Jan Steyn (Dalkey Archive, 2011)
Many other species worldwide within the family Muricidae, for example Plicopurpura pansa, from the tropical eastern Pacific, and Plicopurpura patula from the Caribbean zone of the western Atlantic, can also produce a similar substance (which turns into an enduring purple dye when exposed to sunlight) and this ability has sometimes also been historically exploited by local inhabitants in the areas where these snails occur. (Some other predatory gastropods, such as some wentletraps in the family Epitoniidae, seem to also produce a similar substance, although this has not been studied or exploited commercially.) The dog whelk Nucella lapillus, from the North Atlantic, can also be used to produce red-purple and violet dyes.
A perchlorate is a chemical compound used mainly in making rocket fuel and fireworks, as well as some other industrial uses. In many countries it is used to treat hyperthyroidism, but (mainly because of its effect on the thyroid gland) it is an environmental toxin which endangers human health when it contaminates food and water. Perchlorates contain the perchlorate ion, ClO−4, the conjugate base of perchloric acid (ionic perchlorate). As counterions, there can be metal cations, quaternary ammonium cations or other ions, for example, nitronium cation (NO+2). The term perchlorate can also describe perchlorate esters or covalent perchlorates. These are organic compounds that are alkyl or aryl esters of perchloric acid. They are characterized by a covalent bond between an oxygen atom of the ClO4 moiety and an organyl group. In most ionic perchlorates, the cation is non-coordinating. The majority of ionic perchlorates are commercially produced salts commonly used as oxidizers for pyrotechnic devices and for their ability to control static electricity in food packaging. Additionally, they have been used in rocket propellants, fertilizers, and as bleaching agents in the paper and textile industries. Ionic perchlorates are typically colorless solids that exhibit good solubility in water. The perchlorate ion forms when they dissolve in water, dissociating into ions. Many perchlorate salts also exhibit good solubility in non-aqueous solvents.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography is the standard method, with detection in the ultraviolet range. Peak area percentage yields a purity figure for the main component. Mass spectrometry is normally run alongside to confirm molecular identity.
Dry lyophilised powder is generally kept at minus twenty degrees Celsius, protected from light and moisture. Repeated freeze-thaw cycles are avoided because they encourage aggregation and moisture uptake. Solutions are less stable than the solid form and degrade faster at room temperature.
A certificate documents what the supplier measured, not what an independent party confirmed. Methods, instruments and acceptance criteria can differ between suppliers. Third-party testing is the usual way to resolve discrepancies.
It is a short synthetic peptide built from seven amino acids: methionine, glutamic acid, histidine, phenylalanine and three prolines. The sequence derives from the 4-10 fragment of adrenocorticotropic hormone with an added proline-glycine-proline tail. No plant or animal extract is involved; the material is produced by solid-phase peptide synthesis.