Ovagen

Ovagen is a commercial name from the Khavinson bioregulator programme, the St Petersburg series of short peptides and parent tissue preparations. Public chemical databases do not recognise it: PubChem holds no record under the name, no CAS number resolves, and no PubMed-indexed paper studies a compound called Ovagen. Research-grade material is supplied as a lyophilized (freeze-dried) solid. Vendors list the tripeptide Glu-Asp-Leu, written EDL, with the molecular formula C15H25N3O8 and a molecular weight of 375.37 g/mol. That structure exists in PubChem as CID 444128 but carries no Ovagen synonym, so the link between name and sequence rests on catalogues rather than a primary source.

Retail listings describe it differently again, as a peptide complex of leucine, glutamic acid and aspartic acid with no order given. An amino acid composition is not a sequence: three residues can be arranged six ways, and each arrangement is a different molecule with the same formula. The name also collides with an unrelated veterinary reagent, which is what a literature search on the word returns. The Certificate of Analysis, not the trade name, is the statement of what a vial contains.

The programme began in the 1970s with polypeptide fractions from animal organs, then moved to short synthetic sequences said to reproduce their activity. Ovagen is sold as part of that second generation, but the trade name never entered the peer-reviewed record, so its background must be read through the sequence attached to it.

The tripeptide Glu-Asp-Leu does appear in the group’s own work, under the internal label T-35. A 2014 study reported expression markers in cultured cells exposed to T-35 and the related tripeptide T-31 (PubMed 24958378), and a companion Russian-language paper described the same two peptides (PubMed 25946838). Beyond those, the compound appears only inside series-level reviews of the DNA-binding hypothesis (PubMed 27909961; PubMed 34834147).

The record here is the thinnest in the series. No published study uses the name Ovagen. The two primary papers using the sequence are from the originating group, in cell culture, with no replication elsewhere. There is no human trial and no toxicology package.

The mechanism proposed for this class is transcriptional rather than receptor-mediated. Its authors argue that peptides of two to four residues reach the nucleus, contact DNA and histone tails, and alter expression of a small set of genes. Where Glu-Asp-Leu has been examined, the endpoints are expression markers in cultured cells (PubMed 24958378; PubMed 25946838), and a later modelling paper asks only whether such peptides could enter cells via known transporters (PubMed 36979488).

The distinction worth drawing is with the defined members. Epitalon, Testagen, Cartalax and Prostamax each have a fixed sequence, formula and mass a laboratory can confirm. Ovagen, as sold, does not. If the material is Glu-Asp-Leu, it is the only member built with a hydrophobic residue, which changes its polarity and reverse-phase retention relative to the acidic members.

The methodology caveat follows. Published work uses programme labels such as T-31 and T-35, and no public document connects those labels to a commercial vial. When the test article’s identity is uncertain, results cannot be attached to the product with confidence.

Sealed lyophilized Ovagen is held frozen at -20°C, shielded from light, in its original container. Lyophilized material draws water from air, so a container reaches ambient temperature before it is opened.

Repeated freeze-thaw cycles are avoided. Stability for a lot is documented on its Certificate of Analysis rather than as a general duration.

Reconstitution means returning a lyophilized compound to solution. No preparation procedure is given here: solvent and concentration belong to a study protocol. Peptides of this kind are handled as aqueous-soluble material.

Solubility is harder to state for a compound whose composition is not settled: a leucine-containing peptide is less polar than the acidic members. Solubility and water content for a lot appear on its Certificate of Analysis.

Documentation matters more here than elsewhere in this group, because there is no public identity record to check a vial against. Identity and purity of research-grade material are established by reverse-phase HPLC and mass spectrometry, and verified purity is documented per lot on the Certificate of Analysis.

The specification to read first is the sequence, stated in order rather than as a list of amino acids, together with the observed mass. Without both, a lot cannot be distinguished from any other arrangement of the same residues, and counter-ion content shifts the mass again.

Ovagen is sold alongside short peptides and preparations from one programme.

• Cartalax.
  Indexed as the tripeptide Ala-Glu-Asp, a defined three-residue member.
• Epitalon.
  The tetrapeptide Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly, the most published compound in the series.
• Pinealon.
  The tripeptide Glu-Asp-Arg, whose sequence is not in dispute.
• Testagen, Prostamax and Cardiogen.
  Defined tetrapeptides with resolvable structures.
• Vilon and Thymalin.
  The dipeptide Lys-Glu and the preparation that preceded the synthetics.

Khavinson VKh, Lin’kova NS, et al. (2014). Peptides regulate expression of signaling molecules in kidney cell cultures during in vitro aging. Bull Exp Biol Med.
PubMed 24958378

Khavinson VKh, Tarnovskaia SI, et al. (2014). [Tripeptides slow down aging process in renal cell culture]. Adv Gerontol.
PubMed 25946838

Khavinson VK, Lin’kova NS, Tarnovskaya SI (2016). Short Peptides Regulate Gene Expression. Bull Exp Biol Med.
PubMed 27909961

Khavinson VK, Popovich IG, et al. (2021). Peptide Regulation of Gene Expression: A Systematic Review. Molecules.
PubMed 34834147

Khavinson VK, Linkova NS, et al. (2023). Feasibility of Transport of 26 Biologically Active Ultrashort Peptides via LAT and PEPT Family Transporters. Biomolecules.
PubMed 36979488

Ovagen is stocked in one format: a sealed lyophilized vial from a single supplier brand, listed at a 20mg fill. The per-vial strength is a product specification. Each lot is batch tested with a published Certificate of Analysis documenting verified purity and identity, the only identity reference available for a compound with no public database entry.

• Browse all Ovagen research products
• Verified Peptides Ovagen, 20mg lyophilized vial

These products are sold for Research Use Only and are not intended for human consumption.