Cartalax
AED tripeptide / Ala-Glu-Asp / T-31
A synthetic tripeptide (Ala-Glu-Asp) from the Khavinson family of short peptide bioregulators. Studied in cell culture for cartilage matrix biology and connective tissue gene expression. Evidence is entirely preclinical — cell culture and gene expression studies from a single Russian research group. No human clinical trials exist as of 2026.
Mechanism of action
Proposed epigenetic mechanism — short peptides interacting with gene-regulatory regions to influence tissue-specific gene expression in cartilage and connective tissue cells. The most concrete finding is a 3.5 to 5.6-fold increase in IGF-1 gene expression in aging human mesenchymal stem cells in cell culture (Ashapkin et al., 2020). IGF-1 signaling is involved in tissue maintenance and repair. This is a gene-expression change in a dish — not a measured improvement in any tissue, animal, or human.
Effects in the body
Cartalax is among the most early-stage compounds in the Khavinson bioregulator family. Unlike Epitalon (which has 40+ years of research behind it) or Thymosin Alpha-1 (approved in 70+ countries), Cartalax has a small set of cell culture and gene-expression studies as its entire evidence base. It is studied for joint health, cartilage maintenance, and age-related tissue changes in laboratory models. No animal efficacy studies have been published in peer-reviewed English-language literature as of 2026.
Pros & cons (from the literature)
- Part of the Khavinson bioregulator family with an established research framework
- Mechanistically plausible IGF-1 signaling connection to tissue repair
- Short tripeptide structure suggesting stability and tolerability similar to other Khavinson peptides
- Emerging interest from research community in 2026
- Tier 1 evidence only — cell culture studies from a single research group
- No published animal efficacy data in peer-reviewed English-language literature
- No human clinical trials
- No established research protocol or dosing data
- Among the weakest evidence profiles in our database
- Marketing claims significantly outpace the actual evidence
Protocol summary (from published research)
Dosing ranges reproduced from published research literature. Not a prescription, not medical advice.
FDA & regulatory status
Evidence base
Ashapkin et al. 2020 cell culture IGF-1 gene expression study. Myakisheva et al. chondrocyte proliferation research. No peer-reviewed animal studies. No human clinical trials. Lowest evidence tier in this database.
Primary research sources
Peer-reviewed literature referenced throughout this profile is drawn from PubMed, Cell Metabolism, and clinical trial registries cited in the evidence base above.