Prostamax

1 Identity

Short-chain bioregulator of the Khavinson series: a synthetic unmodified linear tetrapeptide of four proteinogenic L-residues, free at both termini, supplied as the lyophilized acetate or trifluoroacetate salt. and forms no part of the identity stated here. which is an organ-targeting marketing tag and not a chemical name: it carries no analytical meaning. and "prostate bioregulator" in seller copy. CAS 473578-47-1 as printed by at least one seller. Not to be confused with PROSTAMOL or with "Prostamax" branded herbal capsule products sold under the same word, which are different articles entirely, nor with the tissue-extract preparation "Prostatilen", which is an extract and not a defined tetrapeptide. Nearest catalog neighbors by name and by mass are Cortagen (AEDP) and Livagen (KEDA).

Sequence

H-Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro-OH (KEDP). Four residues, all L, free N-terminal alpha-amino group, free C-terminal carboxyl on proline, no acylation, no amidation, no cyclization, no cysteine and therefore no disulfide, no non-proteinogenic residue. Three carboxyl groups (Glu2 side chain, Asp3 side chain, C-terminal Pro) against two basic centers (the N-terminal amine and the Lys1 epsilon-amine). No aromatic residue and therefore no 280 nm chromophore, which on this molecule is a positive identity test rather than a footnote. The Asp3-Pro4 bond is the structural feature that governs the specification: aspartyl-prolyl is the most acid-labile amide bond in peptide chemistry. The sequence attribution is derived from seller monographs rather than confirmed against a primary registry entry, and the class-level entry for the series does not give this peptide's sequence, so the class page is not offered as support for the attribution.

Molecular formula

C20H33N5O9 (free acid, free base form). The formula reconciles independently against the sequence: Lys C6H14N2O2 plus Glu C5H9NO4 plus Asp C4H7NO4 plus Pro C5H9NO2, minus three waters, gives C20H33N5O9 exactly.

Average mass

487.510 Da, from C20H33N5O9 on IUPAC 2021 abridged conventional atomic weights. Two independent seller monographs print 487.50 and 487.5 for the same formula, which is the same number to the stated precision. Series neighbors on the identical calculator, for the reason given in the salt and variant note: Livagen KEDA 461.472, Testagen KEDG 447.445, Bronchogen AEDL 446.457, Cortagen AEDP 430.414, Pancragen KEDW 576.607, Vesugen KED 390.393, Epitalon AEDG 390.349.

Monoisotopic mass

487.22783 Da neutral. Working ions: [M+H]+ 488.23510, [M-H]- 486.22055, [M+Na]+ 510.21704. A 5 ppm window on the neutral is plus or minus 0.0024 Da. Negative mode is the sensible default on a molecule carrying three carboxylates. Series neighbors monoisotopic: Livagen 461.21218, Testagen 447.19653, Bronchogen 446.20128, Cortagen 430.16998, Pancragen 576.25438, Vesugen 390.17506, Epitalon 390.13868.

Salt / variant note

Five axes, all on one calculator. (1) sequence permutations: KDEP, EKDP, KEPD and every other ordering of the same four residues are C20H33N5O9 at exactly 487.22783 and are excluded only by MS/MS b- and y-ion assignment or by Edman degradation. Mass cannot see residue order. (2) series neighbors filled in the same facility, which is the real substitution risk because three of them sit within 60 Da: Livagen KEDA 461.472 / 461.21218 (minus 26.04 average); Testagen KEDG 447.445 / 447.19653; Bronchogen AEDL 446.457 / 446.20128; Cortagen AEDP 430.414 / 430.16998, the same C-terminal proline with Ala for Lys; Vesugen KED 390.393 / 390.17506, which is this molecule minus its C-terminal proline. (3) single-residue substitutions a nominal instrument will accept: KEEP (Glu for Asp) 501.537 / 501.24348, plus 14.02; KEDV 489.526 / 489.24348, plus 2.02 and the closest confusable in the set; REDP (Arg for Lys) 515.524 / 515.23398; KEDT 491.498 / 491.22274. (4) the aspartyl-prolyl degradant, which is this molecule's defining liability: acidic cleavage at the Asp3-Pro4 bond gives the tripeptide KED — Vesugen, 390.393 / 390.17506 — plus free proline, so the characteristic degradation product of this article is another item in this catalog, and the two would be filled in the same facility. Any lot showing 390.175 above the specified limit is either degraded or cross-contaminated and the certificate cannot tell you which. That single fact drives the degradant limit, the low-pH stability arm and two of the red flags on this record. (5) salt form: two basic centers, so a trifluoroacetate salt can carry two moles of counterion, 228.05 Da on a 487.51 Da article, over 31 percent of the powder mass and a direct error of the same size in any content calculation that ignores it.

2 Class & testing panel

Form

Single article

Testing panel

P1 — panel definition

3 Primary sources & evidence

The index reports the design and provenance of the literature, not a conclusion about effect.

Published literature exists at series level and is graded D: animal and in-vitro work only. The Khavinson short-peptide corpus runs to roughly 160 PubMed-indexed publications spanning 1993 to 2025, is overwhelmingly authored or co-authored by V. Kh. Khavinson and affiliated with the Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology and associated Russian institutions, and consists substantially of reviews rather than primary trials. Identifiers by study type: Khavinson 2002, PMID 12374906, review; Khavinson, Kuznik and Ryzhak 2012, PMID 23734519, review of animal work, with the companion 2013, PMID 24003726, review of human studies; Khavinson and Kvetnoi 2000, PMID 11276315, animal study in rats; Khavinson 2020, PMID 31808038, mechanism review; Mironova 2020, PMID 32593244, review; Avolio 2022, PMID 35408963, DOI 10.3390/ijms23073607, in vitro in the human THP-1 monocytic cell line and internationally co-authored — that last study evaluated Epitalon, Vilon, Thymogen, Thymalin and Chonluten, and not this peptide. Under the name Prostamax or the sequence KEDP specifically, no primary human study and no independent toxicology has been identified. No independently conducted, randomized, adequately powered human trial of any member of the series published in an indexed international journal has been identified. The research page prints the count by study type at the top so the size of the base is visible before the first line of text.

4 Storage & specification

Storage

White to off-white lyophilized powder, acetate or trifluoroacetate salt as declared, in the sealed original container with in-pack desiccant. Store at -20 degrees C plus or minus 5 degrees C, desiccated, protected from light, equilibrated to room temperature before opening — on a 487 Da peptide, condensation on cold solid moves the water figure enough to move the net peptide claim, and that claim is the label. 2-8 degrees C is acceptable for transit and for working stock held no longer than 30 days; shipping validation covers a 72-hour excursion to 25 degrees C. Short polar peptide salts of this type are strongly hygroscopic, so the desiccant is a control with an acceptance check rather than a courtesy. Not to be stored in solution: the Asp-Pro bond is the reason, and reconstituted material is used promptly or discarded.

Shelf life

Provisional 24 months at -20 degrees C plus or minus 5 degrees C, desiccated and light-protected, assigned by protocol and not measured, pending this company's own three-lot study. The attributes to trend are water content, counterion content, D-Asp and D-Glu, and above all the Asp3-Pro4 cleavage product KED at 390.175. Long-term arm at -20 degrees C with pull points at 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months; accelerated arms at 25 degrees C / 60 percent RH and 40 degrees C / 75 percent RH; and a low-pH solution arm whose only purpose is to force the aspartyl-prolyl bond so that the degradant method is demonstrated against real degraded material rather than against a spike. Printed retest date on every vial, first-expiry-first-out enforced against it. The label is shortened on data and never extended without a completed dataset.