Description
Cartalax is the synthetic tripeptide Ala-Glu-Asp (AED), assigned by its St. Petersburg developers to joint and cartilage function and found as the opening sequence of Epithalon, Cardiogen, Cortagen and Bronchogen. Pure Peptides Canada supplies it as a lyophilized research reagent in 20 mg vials, with an independent Janoshik HPLC and mass-spectrometry report, CAD pricing and tracked shipping from inside Canada.
Cartalax at a glance
- What it is: L-alanyl-L-glutamyl-L-aspartic acid (AED), a synthetic tripeptide from Vladimir Khavinson’s bioregulator programme.
- What researchers study: chondrocyte proliferation in cells from young and old rats, ageing markers in fibroblast, kidney and stem-cell cultures, and what a fourth residue changes in the AED-based tetrapeptides.
- Evidence level: a small set of cell-culture and rat studies, nearly all from the developers’ network; the chondrocyte data come from a single 2023 in-vitro study.
- Supplied as: sealed lyophilized powder, 20 mg, single vial or box of 10.
- Delivery: ships from inside Canada by tracked Xpresspost in 3–7 days ($25 CAD), or free in 4–12 days on orders over $299.
Cartalax
Ala-Glu-Asp · AED tripeptide · cartilage bioregulator
- A
- E
- D
The Ala-Glu-Asp core. Epithalon, Cardiogen, Cortagen and Bronchogen each add one residue to it.
- Length
- 3 amino acids
- Molecular formula
- C12H19N3O8
- Molecular weight
- ≈ 333.3 g/mol
- Family
- Khavinson short-peptide bioregulators
- Form
- Lyophilized powder, sealed vial
- Sizes
- 20 mg (single or box of 10)
- SKU
- PP-CARTALAX
Where the evidence stands
- Cell studies
- Animal models
- Controlled human trials
- Approved medicine
Published work comes mainly from the group that developed it. Cartalax is not an approved medicine.
What is Cartalax?
Cartalax is the trade name for L-alanyl-L-glutamyl-L-aspartic acid, one of the short synthetic peptides made at the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology. Its developers associate it with joints and cartilage, a link that reflects the programme’s naming scheme rather than a demonstrated tissue-specific effect. In research papers the name itself is rarely used: authors write AED, and one kidney-cell study coded it T-31.
Two of its three residues are acidic, so AED carries a net negative charge at neutral pH. It is also the shared opening of four tetrapeptides in this catalogue: adding glycine gives Epithalon (AEDG), arginine gives Cardiogen (AEDR), proline gives Cortagen (AEDP) and leucine gives Bronchogen (AEDL).
Its nearest relative is Epithalon, which is AED with a C-terminal glycine. The two have been compared directly: in ageing skin fibroblasts both were reported to reduce caspase-dependent apoptosis, while in old rats they produced different kidney profiles (see below). That makes AED a useful baseline for asking what the fourth residue adds to each tetrapeptide. Almost all published AED work comes from the developers and their collaborators, and the chondrocyte data we could find come from a single 2023 cell-culture study.
What published studies report
- Rat chondrocytes: Myakisheva and colleagues (Vrach, 2023) cultured chondrocytes from 3-month-old and 20-month-old rats and reported cell counts 1.4–1.8 times control with AED in young-animal cultures and 1.6–2.1 times control in old-animal cultures over five days. A polypeptide complex extracted from bovine cartilage was tested alongside; it is a different material from the synthetic tripeptide. Cell number was the only outcome reported in the abstract.
- Ageing skin fibroblasts: Lin’kova and colleagues (Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine, 2016) compared AED with KE, KED and AEDG in skin fibroblasts ageing in culture. All four lowered MMP-9 and raised Ki-67 and CD98hc; only AED and AEDG also suppressed caspase-dependent apoptosis. These were immunofluorescence marker readouts, not measures of tissue function.
- Human mesenchymal stem cells: Ashapkin and colleagues (Molecular Biology Reports, 2020) added AED, KED or KE to a fetal bone-marrow stem-cell line aged either by serial passage or by holding cultures at confluence. AED raised IGF1 mRNA about 4.6- to 5.6-fold and, in the confluent model only, lowered TERT and TNKS2 mRNA. The authors called the findings preliminary because protein levels were not measured.
- Kidney cells and old rats: in rat kidney cells aged to passage 14, AED (coded T-31) lowered expression of the pro-apoptotic protein p53 about 1.3-fold without changing IL-8 or MMP-14 (Khavinson and colleagues, Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine, 2014). In old rats, Zamorskii and colleagues (Advances in Gerontology, 2019) reported higher urine output and lower urinary protein with AED; AEDG also lowered urinary protein but, unlike AED, reduced glomerular filtration by about a fifth.
Reported in studies
- More chondrocytes in rat cell culture (one study)
- Lower MMP-9 and less caspase-dependent apoptosis in ageing fibroblasts
- Shifts in IGF1, TERT and TNKS2 expression in aged stem-cell cultures
- Lower p53 in aged kidney cells and changed urine measures in old rats
Not established
- That AED acts selectively on cartilage or joints
- Whether it enters the nucleus; in docking it fitted its proposed DNA site (ACCT) only weakly
- Replication by laboratories outside the developers’ network
- Any controlled study in people
Regulatory status: Cartalax is not an authorized drug in Canada. We sell it strictly as a laboratory reagent for in-vitro research.
Why researchers order Cartalax from Pure Peptides Canada
Add a 20 mg vial or a box of 10 above. Orders over $299 ship free across Canada.
See lab resultsCartalax FAQ
Where can I buy Cartalax in Canada?
Pure Peptides Canada stocks Cartalax as a lyophilized research reagent in 20 mg vials and ships it from inside Canada by tracked Xpresspost in 3–7 days ($25 CAD), or free in 4–12 days on orders over $299.
How is Cartalax related to Epithalon?
Cartalax is Ala-Glu-Asp and Epithalon is the same sequence with glycine added (AEDG); Cardiogen, Cortagen and Bronchogen add arginine, proline and leucine instead. In a fibroblast ageing study AED and AEDG were the only two of four peptides reported to suppress caspase-dependent apoptosis.
Has Cartalax been studied in cartilage cells?
Yes, in a 2023 cell-culture study. Chondrocytes from young and old rats multiplied faster with AED over five days, with a somewhat larger effect in cells from old animals (Myakisheva and colleagues, 2023). We found no independent replication.
Is Cartalax the same as a cartilage extract?
No. Cartalax is a single synthetic tripeptide. Several studies test it alongside polypeptide complexes extracted from animal tissue, such as bovine cartilage or calf kidney, which are mixtures of many peptides, so results for one should not be read across to the other.
Can Cartalax be used in people or animals?
No. This product is for in-vitro laboratory research only and is not a drug, supplement or food. We do not provide dosing or administration information.
References
- Myakisheva SN, Linkova NS, Polyakova VO, Ryzhak GA. Peptides of cartilage tissue: regulation of chondrocyte proliferation, geroprotection and prospects for use in osteoarthrosis. Vrach. 2023;(10):46–49. DOI
- Lin’kova NS, Drobintseva AO, Orlova OA, Kuznetsova EP, Polyakova VO, Kvetnoy IM, Khavinson VKh. Peptide regulation of skin fibroblast functions during their aging in vitro. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2016;161(1):175–178. DOI
- Ashapkin V, Khavinson V, Shilovsky G, Linkova N, Vanuyshin B. Gene expression in human mesenchymal stem cell aging cultures: modulation by short peptides. Mol Biol Rep. 2020;47(6):4323–4329. DOI
- Khavinson VKh, Lin’kova NS, Polyakova VO, Durnova AO, Nichik TE, Kvetnoi IM. Peptides regulate expression of signaling molecules in kidney cell cultures during in vitro aging. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2014;157(2):261–264. DOI
- Zamorskii II, Shchudrova TS, Zeleniuk VG, Linkova NS, Nichik TE, Khavinson VKh. The influence of peptides on the morphofunctional state of kidneys in old rats. Adv Gerontol. 2019;9(1):75–80. DOI
- Khavinson VKh, Lin’kova NS, Tarnovskaya SI. Short peptides regulate gene expression. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2016;162(2):288–292. DOI
For laboratory research use only. Not a drug, supplement, food or cosmetic, not for human or veterinary use, and not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
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