Selank
Selank (Tuftsin Analog with Pro-Gly-Pro)
Also called Selank, TP-7, tuftsin analogue
The anxiolytic peptide
Selank is a Russian anti-anxiety peptide built from a fragment of an immune protein with a short tail added so it survives longer. What makes it interesting is that it calms anxiety without the sedation, dependence or withdrawal that benzodiazepines bring. Usually taken as a nasal spray.
A Russian-developed anxiety peptide built from a fragment of a natural immune molecule, with a short tail added so it survives longer than a few minutes. It is one of very few compounds here with human trials, including a head-to-head against a benzodiazepine, though nearly all of that work was done in Russia and published in Russian.
- Route
- Intranasal
- Typical dose
- 250–500 mcg 1–3x/day
- Availability
- Research-only
Human trials published, with more underway
135 papers · 6 clinical trials
What people use Selank for
Reported uses, roughly in order of how often they are the reason someone goes looking. Whether it works for any of them is a separate question, answered under each one.
- Anxiety without sedation
- The main reason people use it. Reported as taking the edge off without making you drowsy or foggy, which is the trade-off that puts people off traditional anti-anxiety medication.
- Focus under stress
- Often described as clearing the mental noise that anxiety creates rather than sharpening thinking directly, which is a subtler claim than the nootropic marketing suggests.
- Alongside Semax
- A common pairing: Semax for drive and focus, Selank for the anxiety underneath. Both come from the same Russian research lineage.
Mechanism of Action
How Selank works
Selank starts from an odd place: a fragment of tuftsin, a small piece of an antibody that normally tells immune cells to get moving. Somebody noticed it also had effects on behaviour, and Selank is that fragment with a short tail bolted on so it does not vanish immediately.
Why it does not feel like a benzodiazepine
Benzodiazepines work by turning up the volume on your brain's main calming signal. That works, and the cost is well known: sedation, dependence, and a rebound when you stop.
Selank appears to act more indirectly, influencing that same calming system and the balance of serotonin and related messengers, without forcing the switch. The practical difference reported in the trials is that people were less anxious but not obviously sedated, and there is no withdrawal picture of the kind benzodiazepines produce.
It also raises BDNF, a growth factor that helps neurons form new connections, which is the same thing exercise and antidepressants are thought to do.
How seriously to take the evidence
Better than most things here, with a real caveat. There are published human trials, including a comparison against phenazepam, a benzodiazepine used in Russia, in patients with anxiety disorders.
The caveat is that this research was almost all conducted in Russia and published in Russian journals, and it has not been replicated by independent groups in the West. That does not make it wrong. It does mean the evidence has not been through the adversarial checking that Western drug approval involves.
Selank dosage calculator
Opens at 250 mcg, from the doses reported for Selank. Change any box to match your own vial. It works out where to pull the plunger to.
How much is in the vial?
Printed on the label, in milligrams
How much water did you add?
Bacteriostatic water, in millilitres
What dose are you taking?
The dose you already intend to use
Which syringe?
Barrel size, printed on the wrapper
Draw to
5 units
on a 0.5 mL insulin syringe (0.05 mL)
- Strength once mixed
- 5 mg/mL
- Doses in the vial
- 40
10 mg in 2 mL makes 5 mg/mL. A 250 mcg dose is 0.05 mL of that, which is 5 units.
Want a rounder number? Adding 4 mL instead would put this dose at exactly 10 units, which is easier to draw accurately.
This is arithmetic, not advice. It converts a dose you already have into a mark on a syringe. It does not tell you what dose to take, and Selank is not prescribed by us. Dosing belongs with a qualified clinician.
Selank side effects: what people reported
One of the gentler compounds here. Most of what people report comes from the nasal spray itself rather than the peptide.
What people report
- Nasal irritation or a runny nose from the spray
- Mild drowsiness at higher doses, though far less than sedatives
- Occasional headache
Worth keeping an eye on
- Effects are subtle and short-lived, so people tend to escalate the dose looking for more, which mostly produces more nasal irritation
Source: Russian clinical use and reported experience; little Western trial data. This is a summary of published findings, not a complete safety profile and not medical advice. Selank should only be considered with a qualified clinician who knows your history.
Your Genetics & Selank
The genes involved in how Selank works
Selank works through the receptors these genes build, and the genes vary from person to person. Researchers have linked some of that variation to differences in how people respond. A DNA report tells you which versions you carry.
COMT · ••
Met/Met carriers (worrier phenotype) have higher baseline anxiety due to elevated prefrontal catecholamines and may be the strongest responders to Selank's anxiolytic effects. Val/Val carriers (warrior phenotype) may notice more subtle benefits, primarily in stress resilience.
SLC6A4 · ••
Determines serotonin reuptake efficiency. The low-expressing S/Lg alleles reduce serotonin clearance and increase anxiety susceptibility. Selank's serotonin-stabilizing effect may be especially valuable for carriers of low-function transporter variants.
GABRA2 · ••
GABRA2 variants affect GABA-A receptor composition and sensitivity in the amygdala. Since Selank works partly through GABA-A enhancement, receptor subunit variants determine anxiolytic response magnitude and may explain inter-individual efficacy differences.
FKBP5 · ••
FKBP5 regulates glucocorticoid receptor sensitivity, shaping HPA axis stress response. T-allele carriers have prolonged cortisol elevation after stress. Selank's stress-resilience effects may be particularly beneficial for these individuals.
The dots after each gene are where your own result goes. Your report fills them in with the two letters you carry at that position.
Which variants do you carry?
Upload your DNA data, or get tested through our partner, to find out.
Commonly combined with
What Selank is most often paired with, and why:
Semax
Cognitive Balance StackEmerging EvidenceSemax (ACTH 4-10 Analog with Pro-Gly-Pro)
A synthetic heptapeptide derived from ACTH (4-10) with a C-terminal Pro-Gly-Pro tripeptide extension for stability. Developed in Russia and approved there for stroke recovery and cognitive enhancement. Semax upregulates BDNF, modulates the melanocortin system, and supports neuroplasticity without stimulant-like side effects.
4
Gene variants
40+
Studies
GHK-Cu
Neuroprotective + RepairModerate EvidenceGlycyl-L-Histidyl-L-Lysine Copper Complex
A naturally occurring copper-binding tripeptide, studied mainly for wound healing and skin. It carries copper into tissue, where copper is the cofactor the enzyme that cross-links collagen cannot work without. Most of the evidence is topical or in rats; the widely quoted gene-expression claims rest on far less than they appear to.
BPC-157
Gut-Brain Axis StackModerate EvidenceBody Protection Compound 157
BPC-157 is the peptide people reach for when something will not heal. Tendons, ligaments, a gut that has been irritated by painkillers, an injury that has stalled. It is a short chain of amino acids copied from part of a protein your stomach already makes, and the animal research on it is unusually consistent for this category: across a lot of separate rat studies, injured tissue healed faster than it did without it. The gap is that this has largely not been repeated in people, and it is not an approved medicine, so nobody is checking what is in the vial you buy.
3
Gene variants
19+
Studies
Sourcing & access
Where to buy Selank
Selank is sold as a research compound, not a licensed medicine, so quality and legal status vary widely by country and vendor. If you're sourcing it, treat independent purity testing as non-negotiable.
- Insist on a recent third-party Certificate of Analysis (COA) for the exact batch — labs like Janoshik verify purity and identity.
- Check the legal status where you live before ordering — it differs from country to country.
- Reconstitute correctly with bacteriostatic water and start at a conservative dose.
Before you buy: see whether your DNA actually responds to Selank, and at what dose. Analyze my DNA — $99 →
Educational information only, not medical advice. Some outbound links are affiliate links (disclosed, at no extra cost to you). Most peptides are not FDA-approved — consult a qualified professional and check your local laws before purchasing.
Worth knowing before you consider Selank
Interactions and situations where there is a specific reason to be careful. Where the honest answer is that nobody has studied something, it says so and says what that leaves open.
- Almost all the research is Russian and hard to check
- It has been used clinically there for years, but much of the literature is not in English and has not been replicated in Western trials. That is not the same as it being untested; it is harder to verify.
- Anxiety is worth diagnosing
- If anxiety is affecting daily life, that is a conversation with a doctor rather than a nasal spray bought online.
The evidence behind Selank
Better evidenced than most things here, with one large caveat: nearly all of it was conducted in Russia and published in Russian-language journals, and it has not been replicated by independent groups elsewhere. That does not make it wrong. It does mean it has not been through the adversarial checking that Western approval involves, so treat it as promising rather than settled.
The literature, counted
Counted in PubMed on 3 August 2026 for selank. Every figure links to the search that produced it, so you can re-run it. “Tagged human” is not the same as a human trial: that tag also covers work on human cells and reviews discussing people, which is why the trial count is given separately.
Studied in people
2 of 3The only kind that directly answers whether it works in humans.Zhurnal Nevrologii i Psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova · 2014
HumanA comparison of the anxiolytic effect and tolerability of selank and phenazepam in the treatment of anxiety disorders
Medvedev VE, Tereshchenko ON, Kost NV, et al.
The most useful study for a reader: a head-to-head against phenazepam, a benzodiazepine, in patients with anxiety disorders. Comparing against an active drug is a much harder test than comparing against placebo.
A comparison of the anxiolytic effect and tolerability of selank and phenazepam in the treatment of anxiety disorders — source for Selank (opens in a new tab)Read the paperZhurnal Nevrologii i Psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova · 2008
HumanEfficacy and possible mechanisms of action of a new peptide anxiolytic selank in the therapy of generalized anxiety disorders and neurasthenia
Zozulia AA, Neznamov GG, Siuniakov TS, et al.
The main clinical trial in generalised anxiety disorder, and the source of most claims made for the compound.
Efficacy and possible mechanisms of action of a new peptide anxiolytic selank in the therapy of generalized anxiety disorders and neurasthenia — source for Selank (opens in a new tab)Read the paper
Every source behind this page42 more
- Functional Connectomic Approach to Studying Selank and Semax EffectsVolgin AD, Yakovlev OA, Demin KA, et al. · Doklady Biological Sciences · 2020Human
- Peptide-based Anxiolytics: The Molecular Aspects of Heptapeptide Selank Biological ActivityKolomin T, Shadrina M, Slominsky P, et al. · Protein and Peptide Letters · 2018Review
Everything we cite for Selank, including animal work and early research. Each link goes to the source itself, so you can judge it rather than take our word for it.
Last updated · literature counts verified against PubMed on
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Selank used for?
Selank is used for anxiety reduction, mood stabilization, and mild cognitive enhancement. It modulates GABA and serotonin systems to reduce anxiety without the sedation, tolerance, or dependence associated with benzodiazepines. In Russia, it is approved for generalized anxiety disorder. Elsewhere, it is used as a research peptide.
How does Selank compare to benzodiazepines?
Selank produces anxiolytic effects through GABA-A modulation similar to benzodiazepines, but without sedation, cognitive impairment, tolerance buildup, or dependence risk. It enhances GABA receptor sensitivity rather than directly forcing the channel open, producing a gentler, more physiological anxiolytic effect.
Does genetics affect Selank response?
Yes. COMT Val158Met determines baseline anxiety tendency — Met/Met carriers typically respond most strongly. SLC6A4 (serotonin transporter) variants affect the serotonergic pathway Selank modulates. GABRA2 variants influence GABA-A receptor sensitivity. A genetic report identifies your likely response profile before starting.
Learn more about Selank
27 guides mention Selank→safety
Peptides for Beginners: The Complete Starter Guide (2026)
18 min read
how it works
In depthDoes Selank Increase BDNF? How the Russian Anxiety Peptide Actually Repairs Your Brain
12 min read
peptide guides
In depthBest Peptides for Anxiety in 2026: Selank, Semax, and Why One of Them Backfires
13 min read
peptide guides
In depthSelank for Anxiety: What 40% of Patients Felt in 3 Days
10 min read
comparisons
In depthSemax vs Selank: Which Actually Works for Anxiety and Focus?
14 min read
stacking
In depthSemax, Selank, Dihexa Stack: 7 Rules for Dosing by Genotype
14 min read
Your next move
Two ways forward with Selank.
Not sure it's for you?
How does Selank relate to your genes?
Your report scores Selank against your receptor, pharmacogene and pathway variants and shows the genetic markers relevant to it, with commonly cited dosing information to review with a clinician.
Analyze my DNA — $99Already decided?
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