Selank

What is selank and where does it come from?

Selank is a synthetic peptide made of seven amino acids (Thr–Lys–Pro–Arg–Pro–Gly–Pro). It was developed at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, together with the V. V. Zakusov Institute of Pharmacology. As described by Volkova and colleagues, selank is an analog of tuftsin (Thr–Lys–Pro–Arg), a short fragment of the human immunoglobulin G heavy chain; three amino acids (Pro–Gly–Pro) were added to its end so that the molecule is broken down later in the body and its effect is prolonged. ^[7]

The same Pro–Gly–Pro tail is present in semax, also developed in Russia. The two substances are often mentioned together online, but their origins differ: semax is derived from a fragment of the hormone ACTH and is in the nootropic group in Russia. ^[1]

What does the Russian license mean?

The 2022 review by Deigin and colleagues lists 14 peptide products registered in the Russian Federation; selank appears on this list as an anxiolytic. ^[1] The same review attributes the lack of international recognition of Russian peptide drugs to a marked delay in implementing “good industry practices,” such as good laboratory and good clinical practice. ^[1]

Registration in Russia shows that the product was evaluated by that country’s drug authority; it does not mean that the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the FDA, or TİTCK (Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency) reviewed the same data. In the US, the situation is the reverse: Doyno and White note that selank is “incomprehensibly” sold to consumers in the US as a dietary supplement. ^[6]

Has selank been tested in anxiety disorders?

The published human studies were conducted in Russia and appear in PubMed only with Russian full text and a short English abstract. The designs of the three studies differ from one another.

PubMed labels the 2008 and 2015 studies as “randomized controlled trial” and the 2014 study as “clinical trial”; none of the abstracts describes how random allocation or blinding was done. ^{[2] [3] [4]} Being found “similar” to an active drug can also be explained by a small study lacking the statistical power to detect a difference; such designs are not considered sufficient to prove that a drug is effective.

The author lists also stand out. In all three studies, N. F. Myasoedov of the Institute of Molecular Genetics, where selank was developed, is among the authors. ^{[2] [3] [4]} This does not show that the results are wrong; however, it means the findings have not been replicated by teams independent of the developer.

The Zozulia study also measured the half-life of leu-enkephalin in blood. In patients this value was found to be low and was related to disease duration and the severity of anxiety-asthenia symptoms; it rose during selank treatment, especially in those with generalized anxiety disorder. ^[2] This is a laboratory marker and does not substitute for evidence of clinical benefit.

Does it have an effect on immunity?

Because tuftsin is a peptide related to the immune system, selank’s effects in this area have also been investigated. Uchakina and colleagues reported that in the laboratory, selank suppressed interleukin-6 (IL-6) gene expression in blood cells of patients with depression but not in healthy controls; in the same cell culture, however, IL-6 level increased significantly. Changes in the Th1/Th2 cytokine balance were detected in the blood of patients with generalized anxiety disorder and neurasthenia who received selank for 14 days. ^[5]

The authors suggest that selank could be used as a new immunomodulator in these patients and could be useful in preventing infections in older adults; infection prevention was not measured in this study. The abstract does not give the number of participants or the comparison group for the part conducted in patients. ^[5]

What do animal studies show?

How selank acts has not been shown in humans; mechanism hypotheses rest on animal and cell studies.

• GABA system: Volkova and colleagues examined the expression of 84 genes related to neurotransmission in the cerebral cortex of rats; 7 were excluded from analysis because of low expression. One hour after selank or GABA was given, the expression of a total of 45 genes changed, and at 3 hours that of 22 genes; these numbers come from evaluating the two substances together. Changes at hour 1 showed a positive correlation between selank and GABA, and those at hour 3 a negative one. The authors conclude that one possible mechanism is allosteric modulation of the GABA system. The study was supported by a Russian Science Foundation grant, and the authors reported no commercial conflict of interest. ^[7]
• Interaction with a benzodiazepine: Kasian and colleagues gave selank and diazepam separately and together to rats in an unpredictable chronic mild stress model (6 animals per group). Under stress, the most marked reduction in anxiety was seen in the group given both substances together; drug courses administered without stress worsened anxiety measures, and this worsening was milder with selank. ^[8]

These results show that selank can alter the effect of a benzodiazepine in rats; whether such an interaction exists in humans has not been studied. The authors of both studies are from the institute that developed selank. ^{[7] [8]}

What are the risks of selank?

Human clinical safety data are insufficient. The FDA writes that for some routes of administration of compounded drugs containing selank acetate, there may be a risk of immune response (immunogenicity) because of aggregation and peptide-related impurities, and that important information on the safety problems it may cause when administered to humans is lacking. ^[9]

Doyno and White discuss selank among sedative-hypnotic substances thought to act through the GABA system. According to the authors, respiratory depression, coma, and death have been seen when the GABA-acting drugs covered in the review are used at high doses or together with other sedatives; the authors stress that new substances affecting the GABA system should be evaluated for abuse potential before being offered to the public. ^[6] No study measures these risks for selank itself; co-use with a benzodiazepine, sleep medication, or alcohol is therefore an unanswered safety question. ^[8]

There are no data for pregnancy, breastfeeding, and childhood. In products sold online, contents, purity, and sterility are unknown; the general risks of unlicensed peptides are covered in a separate guide: Peptide side effects.

What does the FDA say in the US?

In the US, the discussion runs through the bulk substances that can be used in compounding, in which pharmacies prepare drugs for a patient. In the archived copy of the FDA page dated September 27, 2024, selank acetate (TP-7) appears in the table of “other bulk drug substances that may present significant safety risks.” ^[10] On the FDA page dated April 22, 2026, the same substance is in the table of substances withdrawn by nominators; the statement that safety information is lacking has not changed. ^[9] These tables are not an approval or ban decision but a record of the FDA’s safety evaluation. The FDA advisory committee’s semax decision at its 2026 peptide meeting is described on the Semax page.

Is selank banned in sport?

The WADA 2026 Prohibited List does not name selank. The S0 section of the list always prohibits substances that appear nowhere else in the list and are not approved by any governmental health authority for therapeutic use in humans. ^[11] Selank, however, is a drug registered in Russia ^[1]; the list does not separately explain how such substances registered in another country are treated under S0.

Pokrywka and colleagues examined 120 synthetic substances sold in online supplement stores in Poland with “brain doping” promises and classified selank among substances of “unclear status” with respect to WADA; unlike semax, they did not liken selank to a specific substance on the list. The authors stress that the WADA list is open-ended and that the principle “what is not banned is free” is not enough to prevent a positive doping test. ^[12]

Is selank legal in Türkiye?

General framework: Are peptides legal? and What does research peptide mean?

Evidence table: claim, population, and limits

Limits of this guide

This page summarizes published human and animal data on selank, its registration status in Russia, and FDA, WADA, and TİTCK sources. The summaries in PubMed, not the Russian full texts, were relied on. It contains no dose, course, route of administration, preparation, or product sourcing information. Anxiety disorders are managed with treatments whose efficacy has been shown in placebo-controlled trials and with physician evaluation. Regulatory information is current as of October 2026.