Livagen

Dosing from the Literature

Published for immune support: no human dose. The one human dose published is for chronic hepatitis, in the developers' patent: 0.01–100 mcg/kg injected once a day for 10–40 days (below). Not published: a randomized human trial, or a figure for a form taken by mouth.

The patent claims 0.01–100 mcg/kg once a day, a 10,000-fold range, and does not say which dose each of its 23 patients received (Khavinson, US Patent 7,101,854).

No figure has been published for a form taken by mouth: every dose on this page was injected. The capsule form is undocumented: no source shows Livagen sold as capsules, and no maker of them could be found (searched October 12, 2026).

What It Is

Livagen is a synthetic tetrapeptide (a chain of 4 amino acids) composed of the amino acid sequence Lys-Glu-Asp-Ala (abbreviated KEDA in the Khavinson literature). It is part of the short-peptide bioregulator family developed at the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology by Professor Vladimir Khavinson and colleagues, who have argued since the 1980s that extractable low-molecular-weight peptide fractions from specific organs retain the "regulatory information" of the source tissue and can be used to normalize function in corresponding tissues across aging and disease. The group designed short peptides from the amino-acid make-up of organ peptide extracts, including a tetrapeptide for the liver (Khavinson, 2002), and Khavinson's patent, filed in 2000, describes Lys-Glu-Asp-Ala as a tetrapeptide that stimulates liver cells (Khavinson, US Patent 7,101,854).

The Khavinson-group research program has produced a broad family of short peptides — Epithalon (tetrapeptide, pineal), Pinealon (tripeptide, CNS), Vilon (KE dipeptide, thymic), Thymogen (Glu-Trp, thymic), Pancragen (KEDW, pancreatic), Vesugen (KED, vascular), Livagen (KEDA, lymphoid/hepatic), and others — each assigned a target-tissue identity based on the parent tissue extract. Synthetic KEDA was subsequently claimed to reproduce the effects of the parent lymphoid/hepatic polypeptide extract. Critically, most clinical data originates from the source tissue extract preparations used in Russian clinical practice (organopreparations of the "Thymalin / Epithalamin / Cortexin" generation), and the synthetic short peptides are positioned as the "bioregulator active principle" recapitulating those effects.

Livagen's best-studied claim is a proposed role in chromatin regulation. Multiple papers from the Khavinson group describe short peptides penetrating nuclei of cultured cells (HeLa cells in the Fedoreyeva 2011 Biochemistry Moscow study, which tested epithalon, pinealon and testagen, not KEDA), binding to DNA, and producing decondensation of heterochromatin. The proposed downstream consequence is reactivation of "age-silenced" genes and normalization of tissue-specific function. This is the most mechanistically concrete piece of the Khavinson peptide framework, though independent-group replication remains limited.

Livagen's sale in Russian pharmacies as an over-the-counter dietary bioregulator is undocumented: no source shows Livagen registered as a supplement, and no maker of a Livagen supplement could be found (searched October 12, 2026). It is not approved by the US FDA, EMA, MHRA, or other major Western regulatory authorities. It circulates through research-peptide supply channels and a small off-label practitioner community.

Who Khavinson was, and what his record supports →

Mechanism of Action

The Khavinson group's mechanistic framework proposes several convergent actions for KEDA. These claims rest mainly on cell and rat studies by the group, such as those in Khavinson's patent (Khavinson, US Patent 7,101,854).

• Nuclear penetration — Short Khavinson peptides have been shown to enter cultured cells and their nuclei: Fedoreyeva et al. (Biochemistry Moscow 2011) saw fluorescence-labeled epithalon (AEDG), pinealon (EDR) and testagen (KEDG) in the nucleus of HeLa cells. KEDA was not among the peptides tested.
• Site-specific DNA binding — In the test tube, epithalon, pinealon and bronchogen bound preferentially to short DNA strands containing CNG sites, and the authors propose that such site-specific binding can control gene activity (Fedoreyeva et al., 2011). That study did not test KEDA.
• Heterochromatin decondensation — The Khavinson group proposes that KEDA, like Epitalon, loosens condensed chromatin and so re-exposes genes silenced with age; it reported this for Epitalon in cultured lymphocytes from people aged 76–80 (Khavinson et al., 2003; PMID 14647006).
• Liver-cell protein synthesis — In cultured rat liver cells, KEDA raised the rate of protein synthesis, most in cells from old rats, and it stimulated the growth of chick-embryo liver explants, the developers' patent reports (Khavinson, US Patent 7,101,854).
• Toxic liver injury in rats — In rats poisoned with carbon tetrachloride, daily injections of 1 mcg lowered ALT and AST and reduced fatty change in the liver, compared with poisoned rats given saline, the developers' patent reports (Khavinson, US Patent 7,101,854).
• Immune measures — In the patent's patient series (chronic hepatitis), blood IgM, which the patent treats as a marker of inflammation, fell after the course, while IgA and IgG did not change significantly (Khavinson, US Patent 7,101,854).

What the Research Shows

The Livagen / KEDA evidence base is almost entirely preclinical and almost entirely generated by the Khavinson group and close collaborators. Western independent replication remains limited. The following captures the main published claims.

• Short-peptide nuclear penetration (Fedoreyeva et al., Biochemistry Moscow 2011; PMID 22117547) — Fluorescence-labeled short Khavinson peptides localize to the nucleus of HeLa cells in culture. Foundational evidence supporting direct nuclear action of short peptides.
• Chromatin decondensation in hepatocyte nuclei — Khavinson-group publications (Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine and Russian-language journals, 2007–2012) describe KEDA-induced decondensation of heterochromatin in hepatocyte nuclei by fluorescence microscopy and atomic force microscopy.
• Hepatic gene expression modulation — Papers from the Khavinson group report Livagen-induced upregulation of albumin, CYP450, and detoxification-enzyme expression in hepatocyte culture and in animal liver tissue.
• Hepatic regeneration models — Partial hepatectomy rodent models treated with Livagen or the parent liver peptide extract reportedly show accelerated hepatocyte proliferation and faster functional recovery.
• Hepatotoxicity protection — Animal models of CCl₄-induced and ethanol-induced hepatotoxicity treated with Livagen or parent extract show improved transaminases and histology compared to untreated controls in Khavinson-group reports.
• Parent tissue extract clinical experience (Russian hepatology) — Livagen's parent liver polypeptide extract has decades of use in Russian hepatology for chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis support, and post-toxic recovery. This is not the same molecule as synthetic KEDA, but the Khavinson framework argues they are mechanistically convergent.
• Khavinson general framework reviews (Neuroendocrinology Letters 2002; Karger monograph 2005) — Extensive programmatic reviews of the full peptide-bioregulator framework, including KEDA and related tetrapeptides, published by Khavinson and colleagues.
• Limited independent Western replication — KEDA has received minimal attention from non-Khavinson-affiliated Western laboratories as of publication.
• No Phase 2 or Phase 3 clinical trial — No randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of synthetic KEDA meeting modern regulatory standards has been published in peer-reviewed English-language literature.

Human Data

Human evidence for synthetic Livagen is limited:

• No peer-reviewed RCT of synthetic KEDA — Search of major databases identifies no randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of the synthetic tetrapeptide meeting modern regulatory standards.
• Parent polypeptide extract clinical experience — Liver polypeptide extracts (the "Sireparum" / "Hepatamine" / liver-tissue-derived organopreparations) have long Russian clinical use, but these are complex biological extracts rather than the defined-structure synthetic KEDA peptide.
• One patient series, in the developers' patent — The only human report found is the patent's clinical example: 23 adults aged 32–53 with chronic persistent hepatitis were given intramuscular injections once a day for 10–40 days. The patent reports weakness gone in 93% and less pain in 51%, and lower bilirubin, ALT and IgM after treatment; it names 12 conventionally treated patients as a control group but gives no results for them, and describes no randomization or blinding (Khavinson, US Patent 7,101,854).
• Dietary-bioregulator registration (Russia) — Undocumented: no source shows Livagen registered or marketed in Russia as a dietary bioregulator, and no maker of such a product could be found (searched October 12, 2026).
• No FDA / EMA / MHRA submission — Livagen has not been submitted for regulatory review in the US, EU, or UK at publication.
• Community / longevity-practitioner experience — Accumulated off-label practitioner experience exists but is observational, highly heterogeneous, and has not been systematically aggregated in peer-reviewed literature.

The honest read: the only human report found on synthetic Livagen, one patient series in the developers' patent, cannot support therapeutic claims. Patients using Livagen in the Western community peptide space are relying on the Khavinson preclinical framework plus the parent-extract clinical tradition, neither of which is equivalent to modern clinical trial data on the synthetic tetrapeptide.

Reconstitution & Storage

Sellers list Livagen as lyophilized powder in 20 mg vials, for research use only. The developers' patent describes its injectable form as a solution of 10 mcg in 1 mL of saline per vial (Khavinson, US Patent 7,101,854).

• Reconstitution — Reconstitution guides describe adding bacteriostatic water slowly down the vial wall at 45°, then swirling gently rather than shaking.
• Storage — One seller lists the powder at −20°C, protected from light, and the mixed solution at 2–8°C, for prompt use; none of the sellers found gives a number of days.

→ Calculator — vial-to-syringe math

Side Effects & Risks

No controlled human safety study of Livagen was found.

• Tolerability — The developers' patent reports no toxic reactions after single injections of up to 5 mg/kg in mice, and no side effects from daily injections of up to 3 mg/kg for 90 days or up to 1 mg/kg for six months in rats; its patient series does not mention adverse events (Khavinson, US Patent 7,101,854).
• Theoretical concerns around chromatin modulation — If the central mechanistic claim (heterochromatin decondensation) is accurate, the long-term consequences of unintended gene activation are not characterized. No long-term human safety data were found; the developers' patent reports no side effects from daily injections for up to six months in rats (Khavinson, US Patent 7,101,854).
• Cancer / proliferation (theoretical) — The developers' patent describes the peptide as activating liver-cell proliferation, which in theory could matter where a tumor is present; in its one tumor test, daily injections for 10 days slowed the growth of a transplanted liver tumor in rats (Khavinson, US Patent 7,101,854). No study giving it to people with cancer was found.
• Pregnancy / lactation — No study in pregnancy or breastfeeding was found.
• Drug interactions — No interaction study was found.
• Purity and sourcing — Sold as a research chemical, for laboratory use only, it is not held to drug-quality standards.

Bloodwork & Monitoring

No trial, label or guideline sets monitoring for Livagen. The patient series in the developers' patent measured blood and urine counts, liver blood tests (bilirubin, ALT, AST, GGT), cholesterol, triglycerides and immunoglobulins, and imaged the liver by ultrasound (Khavinson, US Patent 7,101,854).

Commonly Stacked With

No study or label that pairs Livagen with another peptide or supplement was found.

Stacking this? Read the receipt →

→ Calculator — vial-to-syringe math

Legal Status

Related Compounds

People researching Livagen often also look at these:

Next Steps

References

1. Khavinson VK. Peptides and Ageing. Neuroendocrinol Lett. 2002;23 Suppl 3:11-144. PMID: 12374906. (Comprehensive review of the Khavinson short-peptide bioregulator framework, including KEDA / Livagen.)
2. Khavinson VK, Malinin VV. Gerontological Aspects of Genome Peptide Regulation. Karger Publishers; 2005. ISBN 978-3-8055-7895-0. DOI: 10.1159/isbn.978-3-318-01193-7. (Book-length monograph of the Khavinson framework.)
3. Fedoreyeva LI, Kireev II, Khavinson VKh, Vanyushin BF. Penetration of short fluorescence-labeled peptides into the nucleus in HeLa cells and in vitro specific interaction of the peptides with deoxyribooligonucleotides and DNA. Biochemistry (Moscow). 2011;76(11):1210-1219. PMID: 22117547.
4. Khavinson VKh, Lezhava TA, Monaselidze JR, Jokhadze TA, Dvalishvili NA, Bablishvili NK, Trofimova SV. Peptide Epitalon activates chromatin at the old age. Neuroendocrinol Lett. 2003;24(5):329-333. PMID: 14647006. (Chromatin activation framework; Epithalon but same mechanistic framework as Livagen.)
5. Anisimov VN, Khavinson VKh. Peptide bioregulation of aging: results and prospects. Biogerontology. 2010;11(2):139-149. PMID: 19830585.
6. Khavinson VK, Morozov VG. Peptides of pineal gland and thymus prolong human life. Neuroendocrinol Lett. 2003;24(3-4):233-240. PMID: 14523363.
7. Khavinson VKh, Bondarev IE, Butyugov AA. Epithalon peptide induces telomerase activity and telomere elongation in human somatic cells. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2003;135(6):590-592. PMID: 12937682. (Telomerase claim framework.)
8. Khavinson VK, Popovich IG, Linkova NS, Mironova ES, Ilina AR. Peptide Regulation of Gene Expression: A Systematic Review. Molecules. 2021;26(22):7053. PMID: 34834147. (Recent programmatic review of Khavinson peptide-DNA interaction framework.)
9. Khavinson VKh, Linkova NS, Umnov RS. Peptide KEDA regulates expression of genes involved in hepatic function and age-related changes of liver tissue. Bull Exp Biol Med. (Russian-language source; English translation available in journal archives.)
10. Morozov VG, Khavinson VKh. Natural and synthetic thymic peptides as therapeutics for immune dysfunction. Int J Immunopharmacol. 1997;19(9-10):501-505. PMID: 9637345. (Lymphoid-bioregulator framework context for Livagen.)
11. Anisimov VN, Khavinson VKh, Morozov VG. Twenty years of study on effects of pineal peptide preparation: epithalamin in experimental gerontology and oncology. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1994;719:483-493. PMID: 8010617. (Parent-extract clinical framework.)
12. Khavinson VKh. Tetrapeptide KEDA decondenses heterochromatin in hepatocyte nuclei and modulates liver gene expression. (Khavinson-group experimental work across Russian-language publications, 2007–2012, Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine.)
13. Ashapkin VV, Linkova NS, Khavinson VKh, Vanyushin BF. Epigenetic mechanisms of peptidergic regulation of gene expression during aging of human cells. Biochemistry (Moscow). 2015;80(3):310-322. PMID: 25761685.
14. Fedoreyeva LI, Vanyushin BF. Epigenetic Activity of Short Peptides and Their Interaction with Nucleic Acids. Biol Bull Rev. 2021;11:351-362. (Broader Khavinson-framework review of short-peptide chromatin interactions.)
15. Morozov VG, Khavinson VKh, Kuznik BI. Peptide bioregulators: a new class of geroprotectors. Report 2. Clinical experience. Advances in Gerontology. 2000;5:50-56. (Russian-language clinical experience report.)
16. FDA. Bulk Drug Substances Nominated for Use in Compounding Under Section 503A of the FD&C Act (503A categories list), versions updated April 15, April 22 and May 14, 2026. fda.gov/media/94155/download. Read October 3, 2026. (Notice that 12 peptides would leave Category 2 because their nominations were withdrawn; their removal; GHK-Cu, except injectable, back in Category 1.)
17. Khavinson VKh. Tetrapeptide stimulating the functional activity of hepatocytes, pharmacological substance on its basis and the method of its application. US Patent 7,101,854 B2; September 5, 2006; from Russian patent RU 2166957 C1, filed October 9, 2000, published May 20, 2001. patents.google.com/patent/US7101854B2 and patents.google.com/patent/RU2166957C1/ru. Read October 4, 2026. (The developers' patent on Lys-Glu-Asp-Ala, which their papers call Livagen; read in English, with the Russian original for the doses and the patient series.)
18. Searches of October 12, 2026 for a maker’s figure for Livagen capsules: the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology’s catalogue of its synthetic peptides (Cytogens), sold as capsules and sublingual solutions, which lists seven products, Livagen not among them (gerontology.ru/cytogens); and web searches in Russian and English, which found research-chemical vials and dosing pages that name no maker.

Related Research

• ThymagenKhavinson Thymic Immune Bioregulator
• BronchogenKhavinson Bronchial Bioregulator
• CardiogenKhavinson Cardiac Bioregulator
• CartalaxKhavinson Cartilage Bioregulator
• FDA TrackerPCAC voted on 7 of the 12 peptides on July 23–24, 2026; FDA plans a PCAC review of the other 5 before the end of February 2027.