What is Selank?
Selank is a synthetic peptide made of seven amino acids: Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro. The first four make up tuftsin, a natural peptide cut from part of the antibody immunoglobulin G, where it plays a role in immune activity. The last three, Pro-Gly-Pro, were added to slow its breakdown in the body. Selank was developed by Russian scientists and has been used clinically in Russia as nasal drops, mainly for anxiety.
Selank is often called an anti-anxiety peptide. That label reflects what it has been studied for, not a settled finding. Researchers have also looked at its effects on memory, mood and the immune system, mostly in animals and in small studies from the institutes that created it.
How does Selank work?
The exact mechanism is not settled, but animal and lab studies point to several possible actions. Selank appears to influence the GABA system, the calming signaling system that anti-anxiety drugs such as benzodiazepines also act on, although Selank is not a benzodiazepine. In lab tests, it slowed the breakdown of enkephalins, natural peptides involved in pain and stress. Rat studies also reported higher BDNF activity in the hippocampus and shifts in serotonin signaling. How well these findings carry over to people is not known.
What has research looked at?
- Anxiety
- Small clinical studies in Russia in people with generalized anxiety disorder and related conditions reported lower anxiety scores. Some compared Selank with a benzodiazepine and described similar reductions in anxiety scores with less sedation, but the studies were small.
- Memory and learning
- In rat studies, Selank improved performance on some learning and memory tasks, including under stress. Human data on memory are very limited.
- Immune effects
- Lab and animal studies reported that Selank affected immune signaling molecules, in keeping with its origin in tuftsin. What this means for people is unclear.
- Viral infections
- Some Russian animal and cell studies reported activity against influenza viruses. This is early research with no confirmed benefit in people.
The evidence base is thin by modern standards. Most studies come from the Russian institutes that developed Selank, many are published only in Russian, and large independent placebo-controlled trials have not been published. That makes it hard to judge how well the reported effects would hold up in wider use.
Selank vs N-acetyl Selank
N-acetyl Selank amidate is a chemically modified form, with extra chemical groups added at each end of the peptide. Changes like these are often made to slow breakdown, and the modified form is often described online as stronger and longer lasting. Published research on it is very limited, so those claims are not well established. The studies described on this page were done with standard Selank.
Side effects and cautions
In the Russian clinical studies, Selank was generally described as well tolerated, with less sedation than a benzodiazepine comparator. Long-term safety has not been studied in large trials, and interactions with anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants or alcohol are largely unknown. Anxiety disorders are medical conditions with established treatments, so anyone dealing with ongoing anxiety should talk to a qualified clinician.
- Allergic reactions and taste
- Selank is given as nasal drops in its clinical use. Russian prescribing information lists allergic reactions and an unpleasant taste as possible side effects.
- Fading effects
- Informal reports describe effects fading with long, continuous use. This has not been tested in controlled studies.
- Mixing with sedatives
- Because Selank is thought to act on the GABA system, combining it with sedatives or alcohol has unknown effects.
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding
- There are no safety data for pregnancy or breastfeeding.
Further reading
This page summarizes the research in plain words. To read the studies yourself:
- Published studies on Selank PubMed, US National Library of Medicine
