Cognition & Mood
Selank
aka TP-7 · Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro · TKPRPGP · tuftsin analogue heptapeptide · selank nasal · n-acetyl selank amidate · na-selank · na selank amidate
Grade
A nasal-spray anxiety peptide developed and prescribed in Russia, with promising but mostly Russian small-scale human evidence and no licence in the UK.
- Class
- Synthetic heptapeptide; tuftsin (immunopeptide) analogue; investigational anxiolytic/nootropic
- Evidence
- Grade C · Early / limited human data
- Sport / WADA
- Not listed on the WADA Prohibited List as a named substance and not a recognised performance-enhancing agent. Athletes should still exercise caution given its unlicensed status.
- Last reviewed
- 2026-06
Grade C · Early / limited human data
Why this grade
Human data exist and are more substantial than for most grey-market peptides. Selank is a registered intranasal medicine in Russia, and several Russian clinical studies report anxiolytic effects in generalised anxiety disorder and neurasthenia, including a small randomised comparison against the benzodiazepine medazepam. These trials are small, single-country, and largely from the originating groups; they have not been replicated in independent Western RCTs. It is not licensed anywhere in the West. That places it at early/limited human data rather than robust RCT evidence. Grade C: kept above D by the genuine human data, and below B by the absence of large, well-controlled, independently reproduced trials.
What is it?
Why people buy it
People take it as a nasal spray for anxiety and stress. Some also hope it helps focus and mood.
What we actually know
- •It is a registered medicine in Russia, for anxiety and nervous exhaustion.
- •Small Russian studies in people found it eased anxiety about as well as a common anxiety pill.
- •These studies were small and mostly by the people who made it. Nobody else has repeated them.
- •It is not a licensed medicine in the UK, Europe or the US.
What might happen
- •It might calm anxiety a little. The proof is limited and comes from one country.
- •The Russian studies reported less drowsiness than anxiety pills. This has not been checked elsewhere.
- •Nobody knows much about long-term safety in people.
- •Online sellers often claim it works like anxiety pills with no downsides. The evidence does not show that.
- •It is sold online as 'not for human use'. Nobody checks what is really in the bottle.
Bottom line
More real human data than most peptides, but small and only from Russia. Not proven.
Know someone taking this?
Send on WhatsAppThink of Selank as a medicine that graduated from a single school. It has a real diploma, but only from Russia. Most peptides sold online never sat the exam at all, so Selank looks impressive by comparison. A qualification no other country has checked is not the same as one the world has verified, and the cheerful online claim that it matches a benzodiazepine 'with no downsides' runs well ahead of the small, home-team evidence that earned the diploma.
How is it meant to work?
A tuftsin-derived heptapeptide given intranasally. Rather than binding a single receptor, it appears to act broadly: inhibiting breakdown of endogenous enkephalins, modulating GABAergic neurotransmission (described both as positive allosteric modulation of GABA binding and as changes in GABA-A receptor subunit gene expression, not direct agonism), normalising serotonin and dopamine turnover, raising BDNF, and exerting immunomodulatory effects on cytokines such as IL-6. Much of this characterisation is from animal work. The net reported clinical effect is anxiolysis without the sedation or dependence typical of benzodiazepines.
What's it studied for?
Research contexts. Not proven uses, and not recommendations.
Does the human evidence stack up?
Genuine human evidence exists, which is unusual for a grey-market peptide. Selank is a registered intranasal medicine in Russia for GAD and neurasthenia, and several Russian clinical studies report meaningful anxiolytic effects, including a small randomised head-to-head comparison against the benzodiazepine medazepam (around 62 patients) using standard psychometric scales (Hamilton, Zung, CGI). Anxiolytic efficacy was characterised as broadly comparable to medazepam, with added antiasthenic effects and without sedation or dependence. These trials are small, mostly conducted by or close to the originating Russian institutions, and have not been independently replicated in large, blinded Western RCTs. There are no UK/EU/US-regulated efficacy trials. It is more evidenced than most peptides in its market niche, but the evidence base remains early, limited and geographically narrow.
What could go wrong?
- !Not a licensed medicine in the UK, EU or US. It is registered only in Russia. Western product sold online is an unlicensed 'research chemical', often labelled 'not for human consumption'.
- !Most efficacy data come from small Russian studies, largely from the developers, without independent Western replication.
- !Grey-market material has no guarantee of identity, purity or sterility; intranasal or injectable use of unregulated product carries contamination and mislabelling risk.
- !Long-term safety data in humans are sparse; immunomodulatory effects (cytokine changes) are not well characterised over time.
- !Marketing frequently overstates benefits ('benzo-equivalent, no downsides') beyond what the limited evidence supports.
Is it legal in the UK?
Not licensed by the MHRA. Selank has no UK marketing authorisation and is not an approved or prescribable medicine in the UK. It is registered only in Russia. Material sold to UK buyers is an unlicensed, unapproved substance typically marketed as a 'research chemical' and labelled 'not for human consumption'. Supplying or selling it for human use would fall foul of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. It is not a controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
Sources
- 01Peptide-based Anxiolytics: The Molecular Aspects of Heptapeptide Selank Biological Activity, Protein and Peptide Letters (2018)
Review of Selank structure, tuftsin origin and proposed molecular mechanisms, including positive allosteric modulation of GABA binding.
- 02Selank Administration Affects the Expression of Some Genes Involved in GABAergic Neurotransmission, Frontiers in Pharmacology (2016)
Mechanistic rat study linking Selank to GABA-A subunit gene expression; animal data, not human.
- 03Efficacy and possible mechanisms of action of a new peptide anxiolytic selank in the therapy of generalized anxiety disorders and neurasthenia (Zozulia, Neznamov et al.), Zhurnal Nevrologii i Psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova (Russian) (2008)
Small randomised Russian clinical study (~62 patients) comparing Selank with medazepam in GAD/neurasthenia.
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Before you trust a vial
Peptides are freeze-dried for a reason. If you have seen Selank sold pre-mixed in a ready-to-use pen or syringe, here is why that is a red flag for potency, sterility and dosing.
Storage & stability →Stay posted
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