Selank
Tuftsin analogueTP-7Evidence
Approved (ex-US)
Half-life
0.5 h
Typical vial
5 mg
Route
Nasal
What it is
A seven-amino-acid peptide developed in Russia and used there for anxiety. Nasal rather than injected, and the sibling compound to Semax.
Selank comes from the same Russian research programme as Semax and shares its shape: a short synthetic peptide, used nasally, developed domestically and approved there while holding no approval anywhere else.
It derives from tuftsin, a naturally occurring immune-signalling peptide, with a stabilising tail added. Where Semax is discussed for focus, Selank is discussed for anxiety. Russian clinical use describes it as an anxiolytic without the sedation or dependence that comes with benzodiazepines.
The evidence limitation is identical to Semax's and worth repeating rather than assuming a reader arrived from that page. There is a real clinical literature, it is essentially all Russian and domestic, and it has not been replicated by independent groups elsewhere. That is a meaningful constraint, and it is different from having no evidence at all.
How it works
Selank is reported to influence GABAergic signalling, the same broad system benzodiazepines act on, but to do it indirectly and without the receptor binding that produces sedation and tolerance. That indirect route is the stated explanation for why it is described as anxiolytic without being sedating.
It has also been reported to affect expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and to influence serotonin turnover. As with Semax, these come from the originating research programme rather than from independent replication.
What it is studied for
Each entry states the evidence behind it. We do not rank indications by effectiveness — for most compounds here, that would be a claim nobody can support.
Anxiety
Published reviewIts indication in Russian clinical use.
EvidenceRussian clinical studies, including comparisons against benzodiazepines. Not independently replicated outside Russia.
Cognition and stress resilience
Published reviewCommonly discussed outside Russia.
EvidencePreclinical work and Russian clinical literature.
Regulatory status
Last reviewed 12 Aug 2026. Positions in this category change frequently, so we date the line.
Approved and used clinically in Russia as an anxiolytic. Not approved in the United States, the EU or the UK, where material sold under this name is an unapproved substance with no manufacturing standard behind it.
Identity and clearance
What the molecule is, and how long a dose stays measurable.
Molecule
- Class
- Tuftsin analogue, heptapeptide
- Molecular weight
- 751.9 Da
- Length
- 7 amino acids
Sequence
Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro
Tuftsin with a Pro-Gly-Pro tail, the same stabilising strategy used in Semax.
Pharmacokinetics
Published reviewShort-acting. Reported effects on neurotransmitter systems are described as outlasting the peptide itself.
Dose protocols reported in sources
Displayed for reference only. Every row says where it came from, and a trial protocol and a community convention are not the same kind of information. None of this is fed into the calculator, and none of it is a recommendation.
A week-by-week progression is also reported for Selank. See it against a 5 mg vial, where the syringe units can be worked out.
| Goal | Dose | Frequency | Route | Units, 5 mg vial | Source | Start this protocol |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commonly described nasal dose | 250 mcg – 500 mcg | Once to three times daily, split between nostrils | NasalUsed as drops or spray, not injected. | 10–20 u | Community practice | Start this |
The doses above in syringe units, for the vial you have:
Start this copies a row into a protocol of your own, which you can then edit. Where a source gave a dose range or an ambiguous frequency, those fields arrive empty — we will not pick a number on your behalf.
CheckRows marked community practice describe what people commonly do, drawn from public discussion. They are not derived from any trial and are not evidence that a dose is safe or effective.
Safety
Reported effects, the situations that need care, and the ones that mean stop.
Reported effects
- Nasal irritation or drynessCommunity practice
Commonly reported
A consequence of the route rather than the compound.
- Fatigue or flatnessCommunity practice
Occasionally reported
Reported more often than with Semax, which is usually described as stimulating.
- HeadacheCommunity practice
Occasionally reported
- Long-term effects outside clinical supervisionCommunity practice
Unknown
Russian clinical use is short-course and supervised. Extended self-directed use is not what the literature covers.
When to stop
- Persistent nasal pain, bleeding or crusting.
- Any allergic response: rash, facial swelling or difficulty breathing. Seek urgent care.
- Worsening mood, or any thoughts of self-harm. Anxiety treatments can move mood in unexpected directions and this one has no independent safety monitoring behind it.
- Any new neurological symptom.
Interactions and situations that need care
- Prescribed psychiatric medicationUse caution
Selank is reported to affect GABAergic and serotonergic signalling. Adding it to an antidepressant or anxiolytic someone is being titrated on introduces an unquantified variable into a treatment that is being carefully adjusted.
- Pregnancy and breastfeedingAvoid
No reproductive or developmental safety data outside Russian clinical use.
- Using it in place of treatment for a diagnosed anxiety disorderUse caution
An unapproved nasal peptide with no independent replication is not a substitute for treatment that has been evaluated, and substituting one for the other is the realistic harm here.
What to expect
What the sources describe over time, and how confident anyone can be about it.
- Human clinical evidence exists and is essentially all Russian, domestic, and unreplicated by independent groups. Weigh it accordingly rather than dismissing or over-reading it.
- Its clinical use there is short-course and supervised, not indefinite self-directed use.
- Reported effects are usually described as subtle and same-day rather than accumulating.
- Nasal irritation is the most consistently reported downside and follows from the route.
Storage and combinations
How to keep it, and what it does and does not go with.
Storage and handling
- Freeze-dried powder
- Refrigerated at 2–8 °C, protected from light.
- After mixing
- Refrigerated at 2–8 °C. A nasal solution is entered repeatedly over weeks, so bacteriostatic rather than sterile water matters here.
- Long-term, frozen
- Unopened powder is stable at −20 °C or colder.
With other peptides
- Adalankcaution
Adalank is a modified Selank. Running both is taking the same compound twice, once in a form with Russian clinical registration and once in a form with none.
- Semaxsynergistic
Commonly used together — Semax described as stimulating, Selank as calming. Both come from the same research programme, and no study has tested the combination.
Stacks with Selank in them
Documented combinations and plans people have published, with full schedules.
Published by people running it. Their plans, not ours — one person doing something is not evidence that it works.
Checking your vial
Research chemicals carry no manufacturing standard, so what the vial looks like is often the only quality signal available before you use it.
White cake, clear solution
Standard for a short peptide.
Cloudy solution
Particularly relevant for a nasal preparation used repeatedly.
Vocabulary on this page
- Sterile technique
- The handling that keeps a vial and an injection free of contamination: clean hands, an alcohol-wiped stopper, a fresh needle every time.
- Evidence level
- The category of human evidence behind a compound, from preclinical through to approved. Stated on every profile here as a category, not an adjective.
- Stack
- Several separate compounds run at the same time, each in its own vial and on its own schedule.
- Peptide
- A short chain of amino acids: the same building blocks as a protein, in a chain short enough to behave differently.
- Protocol
- One compound, with a dose, a frequency and a length: the plan, as opposed to what was actually taken.
Questions
- How is Selank different from Semax?
- Same research programme, same nasal route, different target. Semax is discussed for focus and is often described as stimulating; Selank is used in Russia as an anxiolytic and is not.
- Is it like a benzodiazepine?
- It is described in the Russian literature as anxiolytic without the sedation, tolerance or dependence associated with benzodiazepines, and it acts on GABAergic signalling indirectly rather than binding those receptors. That comparison comes from the originating literature and has not been independently tested.
References
Everything on this page that came from a source, with the source.
Selank: an anxiolytic peptide, pharmacology and clinical use
Review literature, 2017 · Review
Humans and animal models
Reviews reported anxiolytic activity without sedation, proposed effects on GABAergic and serotonergic signalling, and Russian clinical use.
Commonly reported community protocols
BioAlmanac editorial summary of public community sources, 2026 · Not a study
Summarises nasal dose ranges described in public discussion outside Russia. Carries no evidential weight about safety or effect.
Compiled community protocols
BioAlmanac editorial summary of a public protocol compilation, 2026 · Not a study
Records a week-by-week progression described on a vendor-adjacent protocol site, retrieved August 2026. Only the doses are taken from it. Its own syringe-unit conversions were checked against the vial sizes it states and several understate the volume by half, so nothing computed by that source is reproduced here — the units on this site are worked out from the vial in front of you. Carries no evidential weight about safety or effect.
Selank compared with
Also compared with Cerebrolysin, Dihexa, N-Acetyl Semax Amidate, Adamax, Adalank, Noopept.
Related compounds
Adalank
Selank with both ends capped against degradation. The same trade as the amidated Semax: longer-lasting, and no human evidence for the modified form.
Semax
A seven-amino-acid peptide developed in Russia and approved there for stroke and cognitive indications. It holds no approval elsewhere and is used nasally rather than injected.
Cerebrolysin
A pig-brain peptide preparation approved as a medicine in around forty countries. Decades of trials, and systematic reviews that still cannot find a clear benefit.
Dihexa
A small peptide reported as vastly more potent than BDNF at forming new synapses in animals. No human has been studied on it, and the potency is the concern, not the selling point.
Next
What to do with Selank
- Keep a record of itTurn a dose and a schedule into a protocol, then log what you actually take. Selank is filled in for you.
- See what it costsPer-milligram prices read from vendor sites and confirmed by a person, so vial sizes compare.
- Check a combinationWhat our profiles record about Selank alongside each other compound — including the pairs where nothing is recorded.
Keep this page honest
If something here is wrong, out of date, or missing a source, tell us and we will fix it and say that we did.
This page is educational. It describes what published research reports, not what you should do. Peptides discussed here are largely not approved for human use, and nothing on BioAlmanac is medical advice. No clinician reviews these pages.
Page last updated 12 Aug 2026