Seven-amino-acid tuftsin analog sold in Russia as nasal drops for anxiety; small Russian trials only, not approved in the US.
Also called TP-7, Selank acetate, Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro, Tuftsin analog
Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide made by taking tuftsin, a four-amino-acid fragment of an antibody protein that activates immune cells (Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg), and adding the same Pro-Gly-Pro tail used in Semax so it survives longer in blood. It came out of the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow and was registered in Russia in 2009 as 0.15% nasal drops for anxiety, neurasthenia and stress-related disorders in adults. Since 2025 the Russian label lists it as nonprescription.
The human evidence is two Russian clinical studies. In 62 patients with generalized anxiety disorder or neurasthenia, Selank reduced anxiety about as much as the benzodiazepine medazepam, without the sedation. In 70 patients with anxiety disorders, adding Selank to phenazepam got the benzodiazepine working sooner and cut its side effects. Neither study was blinded against placebo in the way an FDA trial would be, and neither has been repeated outside Russia.
In the lab, Selank slows the enzymes that break down enkephalins (the body's own opioid peptides), shifts expression of GABA-related genes in cells and changes immune signaling molecules in blood. Which of these explains the calming effect in people, if any, is not settled. FDA placed Selank in its compounding Category 2 list in 2023 over immunogenicity concerns and lack of human safety data; the nomination was later withdrawn.
What it binds to, and what happens inside the body after that, step by step.
Selank's calming effect is not explained by a single receptor. In human serum it inhibits the enzymes that degrade enkephalins, so these natural opioid peptides last longer. In cell and rat studies it changes expression of genes in the GABA system and of inflammatory cytokines. Radioligand work from the developers' institute in rat brain membranes suggests it changes GABA binding as a positive allosteric modulator at a site different from diazepam's. None of these mechanisms has been confirmed in people.
Human results and animal results are kept apart below. A result in rats tells you a mechanism is plausible. It does not tell you what happens in a person.
Two Russian clinical studies (62 and 70 patients) found Selank reduced anxiety comparably to a benzodiazepine or improved benzodiazepine treatment when added on, but neither was a placebo-controlled, double-blind trial published in full in English. The mechanism work is mostly in rats and cells. There are no data in healthy people for focus, mood or sleep, which is how it is usually sold.
62 patients with generalized anxiety disorder or neurasthenia; Selank (30) vs medazepam (32)
Anxiety scores fell about equally with both drugs; Selank also had anti-fatigue and mildly stimulating effects, and raised the shortened leu-enkephalin half-life in patients with GAD.
Read the study70 patients with anxiety-phobic, hypochondriac or somatoform disorders; phenazepam alone (30) vs phenazepam plus Selank (40)
Adding Selank made phenazepam work sooner on the HDRS rating scale and reduced sedation, memory and attention problems, and sexual side effects.
Read the studyPatients with GAD and neurasthenia treated for 14 days, plus blood cell cultures
Selank shifted the Th1/Th2 cytokine balance in serum and, in culture, suppressed IL-6 gene expression in cells from depressed patients but not healthy controls.
Read the study52 healthy volunteers given Selank, Semax or placebo
Resting-state fMRI showed changes in connectivity between the right amygdala and temporal cortex within 20 minutes; no anxiety outcome was measured.
Read the studyBlood from patients with anxiety and phobic disorders
Selank inhibited enkephalin breakdown in plasma with an IC50 of 15 microM, more potently than standard peptidase inhibitors.
Read the studyRats, frontal cortex gene expression after Selank
Selank changed expression of several genes in the GABA signaling pathway.
Read the studyRats under chronic mild stress
Selank given with diazepam reduced anxiety behavior more than diazepam alone.
Read the studyThese are questions the published research has not answered.
Not FDA- or EMA-approved. The current Russian registration is LP-010951, with the label last updated in July 2025, and the drops are sold without a prescription in Russia. Selank is not named on the 2026 WADA Prohibited List; because it is approved in Russia it does not clearly fall under WADA's S0 category, but athletes should confirm with their anti-doping authority.
No human half-life has been published for Selank, so we do not draw a clearance curve. Half-lives quoted online for it are usually estimates from animal data.
This table records the doses that trials and approved labels used, with the source for each row. It is a record of research, not a recommendation, and it is open to free members.
Which symptoms are expected and which mean stop and get help: side effects and red flags.
Tap a claim to see what the studies found.
One Russian study found anxiety relief similar to medazepam without sedation, but it was small and not placebo-controlled. Long-term dependence has not been studied.
No published trial measured cognition in healthy adults. The rat memory studies and a brain-scan study do not show this.
It is not shown to activate GABA receptors directly. Rat studies from the developers' institute show changes in GABA-related gene expression and an allosteric effect on GABA binding in brain membranes. None of this has been measured in humans.
It is derived from an immune peptide and shifted cytokine levels in anxious patients, but no study shows fewer infections.
It is registered only in Russia. FDA has never approved it and it cannot be legally compounded in the US.
These pairings come up often. Almost none have been tested together in a trial, and the evidence note on each says so plainly.
Keep frozen and dry, protected from light.
Registered drops: unopened at 2-8 C, protected from light, not frozen; once opened, at or below 25 C for no more than 15 days (Russian label).
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