Prostamax Research: The Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro Tetrapeptide and Its Literature
Prostamax is the KEDP tetrapeptide of the Khavinson short-peptide family. Almost its entire published record is chromatin biophysics in cultured lymphocytes rather than anything to do with the organ its name points at. This is a deliberately short page that says so. Family context is on the peptide bioregulator overview.
What is Prostamax?
What is Prostamax? A synthetic tetrapeptide — four amino acids, Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro, written KEDP. It shares its Lys-Glu-Asp N-terminus with Vesugen (KED) and Pancragen (KEDW), and its C-terminal proline with Cortagen (AEDP). Spellings vary between sources — “Prostamax” and “Prostomax” both appear, including within the originating group’s own publications.
Unlike most of its siblings, this one has an unambiguous public chemical record: PubChem CID 9848296 carries “Prostamax” as its primary synonym along with CAS 473578-47-1, and Dzhokhadze et al. (2012) title their paper for the oligopeptide bioregulator “(Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro)” and name it Prostamax in the abstract. The identity is well pinned down; the biology is not.
Reference data
Identity and form only, from the public chemical record (PubChem CID 9848296).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Peptide class | Tetrapeptide (4 residues) |
| Sequence | Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro (KEDP) |
| Also known as | Prostamax, Prostomax |
| Molecular formula | C₂₀H₃₃N₅O₉ |
| Molecular weight | ≈ 487.5 g/mol |
| CAS number | 473578-47-1 |
| Physical form | Lyophilized powder |
| Storage | Kept cold and dry as supplied; protected from light |
No handling quantity, reconstitution procedure or route is given or implied.
What the literature has examined
- Chromatin denaturation by calorimetry — Meskhi et al. (2004, Biofizika, PMID 15612551, Russian-language) measured denaturation endotherms of chromatin in human lymphocytes in situ, reporting shifts of 2.9 °C and 1.0 °C in two transitions and interpreting them as partial relaxation of the 30-nm fibre.
- Cytogenetic markers in donor lymphocytes — Dzhokhadze et al. (2012, Georgian Med News, PMID 23221144) examined lymphocytes from donors aged 75–86, reporting sister-chromatid-exchange frequency rising from 5.9 to 12.0 per cell and silver-positive nucleolar organiser regions from 0.95 to 2.5 per cell. Both changes are presented by the authors as chromatin decondensation; a reader should note that increased sister-chromatid exchange is conventionally interpreted as a marker of genomic instability, and that the interpretation offered here is the authors’.
- Comparative chromatin study — Khavinson et al. (2004, Bull Exp Biol Med, PMID 15085253) examined Prostamax alongside Vilon, Epithalon, Livagen and Cortagen in leukocytes from subjects aged 75–88, reporting that Prostamax, like Epithalon and Livagen, decondensed chromosome 1 pericentromeric structural chromatin.
- Microcalorimetry with metal ions — Kiladze et al. (2009, Georgian Med News, PMID 19359734) examined human blood lymphocyte cultures in the presence of copper, cadmium and prostamax.
- Organotypic explant screen — Zakutskii et al. (2006, Adv Gerontol, PMID 17152728, Russian-language) included prostate among four explant tissue types examined with four peptides at 0.05 ng/ml. This is the only located study touching prostate tissue at all, and it is a four-tissue screen rather than a prostate study.
Evidence status — what is not established
Three of the five studies above come from one Tbilisi laboratory group (Lezhava, Monaselidze, Jokhadze and colleagues), which is the closest thing to an author list independent of the Khavinson group in this compound’s record — with the caveat that the same Tbilisi group co-publishes with Khavinson on other papers, including PMID 15085253 above. Whether that counts as independent replication is a judgement the reader should make with the author lists in front of them.
The 2022 family review designates Prostamax a regulator of prostatic function and cites that designation to European Patent EP1353939 rather than to a study. As with Cardiogen and Cartalax, the assigned organ and the published literature do not meet.
What is not established: any effect on prostate tissue or function in an animal or a person, for which no study was located; any clinical evidence, of any kind; and any causal link between the chromatin changes reported and an outcome at any level above the cell. Nothing on this page is a claim about what this compound does in a person, and material is supplied for laboratory research use only.
How to verify this compound yourself
Mass spectrometry should confirm the measured mass against the expected ≈ 488 Da, which separates KEDP from the other Lys-Glu-Asp compounds — Vesugen (KED, ≈ 390 Da) and Pancragen (KEDW, ≈ 577 Da) — and from Cardiogen (AEDR, ≈ 490 Da), which is close enough in mass to be worth a careful look at the reported figure. HPLC purity is reported as a percentage. See how to read a COA and how to verify peptide purity, and check a specific batch on the verify tool.
Research-grade sourcing and verification
Prostamax is not held in stock. It is listed on our sourcing catalogue as available to order — our supplier lists it, we have not bought it, and material of this kind typically takes about two to three weeks to reach us. For laboratory research use only, it is supplied with a per-batch Certificate of Analysis reporting HPLC purity (%) and mass-spec identity confirmation. Related pages: the bioregulator overview, Vesugen, Pancragen and Vilon. This is sourcing and quality-assurance framing only.
Verify a batch
Every order ships with a per-batch Certificate of Analysis. Have a vial in hand? Enter its lot number to look up the COA for that exact batch.
Frequently asked questions
What is Prostamax?
What did the Prostamax studies actually measure?
Is there prostate research behind the name?
Is Prostamax established for anything?
Literature cited
- Meskhi T, Khachidze D, Barbakadze Sh, et al. “The influence of the peptide bioregulator prostamax on heterochromatin of human lymphocytes in situ.” Biofizika. 2004;49(6):1091–1093. PMID 15612551. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15612551 (Russian-language; English abstract only).
- Dzhokhadze TA, Buadze TZh, Gaïozishvili MN, Baratashvili NA, Lezhava TA. “Deheterochromatinization of the chromatin in old age induced by oligopeptide bioregulator (Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro).” Georgian Med News. 2012;(212):76–82. PMID 23221144. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23221144 (names Prostamax = KEDP).
- Khavinson VKh, Lezhava TA, Malinin VV, et al. “Effects of short peptides on lymphocyte chromatin in senile subjects.” Bull Exp Biol Med. 2004;137(1):78–81. PMID 15085253. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15085253.
- Kiladze M, Gorgoshidze M, Monaselidze J, Jokhadze T, Lezhava T. “Microcalorimetric study of human blood lymphocytes culture at presence of copper, cadmium and prostamax.” Georgian Med News. 2009;(168):104–107. PMID 19359734. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19359734.
- Zakutskii AN, Chalisova NI, Ryzhak GA. “The tissue-specific effect of synthetic peptides-biologic regulators in organotypic tissues culture in young and old rats.” Adv Gerontol. 2006;19:93–96. PMID 17152728. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17152728 (Russian-language; English abstract only).
- Khavinson V, Linkova N, Kozhevnikova E, et al. “Transport of Biologically Active Ultrashort Peptides Using POT and LAT Carriers.” Int J Mol Sci. 2022;23(14):7733. PMID 35887081. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35887081 (family sequence table; cites the prostatic designation to patent EP1353939).
- National Center for Biotechnology Information. “PubChem Compound Summary for CID 9848296, Prostamax.” pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/9848296 (formula, mass, CAS 473578-47-1).
RESEARCH USE ONLY — NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION. All products are sold strictly for in-vitro laboratory research and are not intended for human or veterinary use, ingestion, or administration. Nothing on this page is a medical or efficacy claim. You must be 21 or older to browse this catalog.