Epitalon or Epithalon? Same Peptide, Two Spellings
Two spellings, one compound, and a lot of confusion. Epitalon and Epithalon refer to the same tetrapeptide. Neither is wrong. The variation comes from transliteration of the Russian literature where the compound originates, and both forms are in circulation, including in published papers.
If you searched one spelling and found a supplier using the other, that is not a red flag on its own. What matters is whether the identity data matches.
The identity, in full
The compound on the Epitalon 10 mg page is published with this block, and it is the thing to compare between suppliers:
- Compound: Epitalon (also written Epithalon)
- Sequence: Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly (AEDG)
- Molecular formula: C14H22N4O9
- Molecular mass: 390.35 g/mol
- CAS registry number: 307297-39-8
A CAS number is unambiguous in a way a product name is not. If two listings quote 307297-39-8, they are describing the same substance whatever they have written on the label. If one quotes a different number, the spelling is the least of the differences.
Four residues, and why that is analytically unusual
AEDG is a tetrapeptide: alanine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, glycine. At 390.35 g/mol it is very small — for comparison, BPC-157 is 1419.5 g/mol and Tesamorelin is 5136 g/mol. Epitalon is roughly a quarter the mass of the first and a thirteenth of the second.
Small, highly polar peptides behave differently on reversed-phase HPLC than larger ones. They are weakly retained, so they elute early, closer to the solvent front where buffer components and small-molecule contaminants also appear. A method tuned for a 3000 g/mol peptide will not necessarily resolve a 390 g/mol one properly. This is a legitimate reason to look at the chromatogram rather than the headline percentage: what you want to see is a resolved peak clear of the void volume, not a number attached to a peak that co-elutes with everything else that is small and polar.
Two glutamate and aspartate residues also mean the molecule carries a meaningful negative charge at neutral pH, which affects how it behaves in solution and which counterion it carries out of purification.
What the certificate settles
Mass confirmation against 390.35 g/mol establishes identity — and for a four-residue sequence there are not many near-neighbour masses to confuse it with, which makes the mass spectrum unusually decisive here. Purity by RP-HPLC establishes uniformity. Neither addresses sterility, endotoxin or residual solvents; those are separate tests and a report that does not list them did not perform them.
Certificates for tested lots are published on the product page or on the certificates of analysis page, and vials are matched to theirs by cap and crimp colour. Not every lot has one posted — ask and we will send what we hold. If an independent laboratory contradicts a certificate, the purity guarantee refunds the product and the test.
Checking net peptide content on a small peptide
Counterion and residual water make up a larger proportion of a small peptide by mass than they do of a large one, simply because the peptide itself weighs so little. That makes net peptide content more consequential for a tetrapeptide than for a 40-residue analog, and it is the figure to look for before you calculate anything.
Buying it in Canada
The 10 mg vial ships from inside Canada with no customs step. Cost per milligram sits on the price index alongside every other compound, quantity pricing applies in the cart from two vials, and shipping is free and tracked over $200 CAD. Related compounds are grouped under mitochondrial and cellular compounds.
All compounds referenced here are supplied by ExoLabz for laboratory research use only. They are not for human or veterinary use, are not authorised by Health Canada as a drug or natural health product, and nothing on this page is guidance on preparation, administration or use.