Cardiogen
Also known as: AEDR, Ala-Glu-Asp-Arg, H-Ala-Glu-Asp-Arg-OH
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Cardiogen
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Key Facts: Cardiogen
- Category
- Bioregulators
- FDA Status
- Not FDA Approved
- Clinical Status
- Preclinical research only. Not approved by the FDA, EMA, or any major regulator for any indication. Not named on the 2026 WADA Prohibited List, but as a substance with no human therapeutic approval it falls under WADA's catch-all S0 (Non-approved substances), prohibited at all times for tested athletes. Russian supplement status not independently verified.
- Banned in Sport (WADA)
- Not named on the WADA list. Its Russian registration may not count as drug approval (many Khavinson bioregulators are sold as supplements), so WADA's S0 catch-all may cover it; treat it as a risk.
- Administration
- Intraperitoneal or intramuscular injection in rats
- Typical Dose
- No established human dose
- Frequency
- Not established
- Duration
- Single doses to 10 days in animal models
How does Cardiogen work?
Like the rest of the Khavinson line, Cardiogen is proposed to work at the level of gene expression rather than through a classic receptor. The group's in-vitro work reports that AEDR binds histone proteins (H1, H2B, H3 and H4) and can either speed up or slow down how certain endonucleases cut DNA, depending on DNA methylation. The idea is that this opens up gene promoter regions and nudges heart and blood-vessel cells toward 'younger' expression patterns. The patent also describes increased growth of cultured rat heart tissue explants, which the authors read as a proliferative effect. All of this comes from one research group, and none of it has been independently replicated, so treat the mechanism as a hypothesis.
What does the research show?
There is not much to work with. The main primary source is US patent 7,662,789 (Khavinson and colleagues, priority 2004), which reports rat and guinea pig experiments: in rats with a tied-off coronary artery, three tiny injections (0.05 micrograms per animal) cut 24-hour mortality from 45% to 15% and shrank the dead-tissue zone; it also reports better recovery of isolated guinea pig hearts after ischemia, less damage in adrenaline-induced and toxin-induced heart injury, and fewer deaths in a calcium chloride arrhythmia model, with 0.2 micrograms per kg working best. A 2021 systematic review by the same group in Molecules lists AEDR as a peptide for 'regulation of cardiovascular system function', but the supporting data cited are histone-binding and DNA-cleavage experiments in a test tube, not heart studies. Patents report the inventor's own results, are not peer reviewed in the usual sense, and have not been repeated by outside labs. No human trials, no pharmacokinetics in people, no long-term safety data. If someone tells you Cardiogen repairs heart muscle in humans, they are well ahead of the evidence.
What doses have been studied?
Note: Animal study doses may not translate directly to humans.
Typical Dosingⓘ
Community experience
No established human dose
Not established in any published study
Not established
Khavinson-style bioregulators are usually run as short courses (10-30 days), but no published study has tested any human dose of Cardiogen. The only real dosing data are microgram-per-kg amounts in rats.
Research Dosingⓘ
Scientific studies
Doses from animal studies only. No published human dosing exists.
Doses from Studies
0.05 mcg per animal, 3 doses after coronary ligation
Preclinical Research - Khavinson et al., US Patent 7,662,789, rat myocardial infarction model ↗
0.05-1.0 mcg/kg single dose
Duration
Single doses to 10 days in animal models
Administration
Intraperitoneal or intramuscular injection in rats
When and how is Cardiogen taken?
Best Time to Take
Morning on empty stomach (bioregulator convention, not tested)
Once daily in short courses, per bioregulator convention
Food Recommendation
Take on empty stomach
Why This Timing?
There is no human pharmacology data for Cardiogen. The morning fasted habit comes from how Khavinson bioregulators are generally used, not from any Cardiogen study.
What are the side effects of Cardiogen?
Not everyone experiences these effects. Individual responses vary based on dosage, duration, and personal factors.
- ●No human safety data published
- ●Animal toxicity testing in the patent reported no toxic effects at doses far above the active dose
- ●Raised white blood cell counts in a 6-month guinea pig study (patent data)
- ●Injection site reactions possible with injectable forms
- ●Product purity and identity are unverified for research-grade material
- ●Not a substitute for real cardiac care
References
Research This Peptide Further
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Cardiogen
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does Cardiogen do?
Cardiogen is a synthetic tetrapeptide, Ala-Glu-Asp-Arg (AEDR), from Vladimir Khavinson's family of short peptide bioregulators, pitched as the heart and cardiovascular peptide. It is a research compound, not an approved drug anywhere we could verify. Honest take: the published evidence is very thin, mostly a Khavinson patent with rat experiments and a few in-vitro binding studies from the same group, and there are no registered human trials.
How does Cardiogen work?
Like the rest of the Khavinson line, Cardiogen is proposed to work at the level of gene expression rather than through a classic receptor. The group's in-vitro work reports that AEDR binds histone proteins (H1, H2B, H3 and H4) and can either speed up or slow down how certain endonucleases cut DNA, depending on DNA methylation. The idea is that this opens up gene promoter regions and nudges heart and blood-vessel cells toward 'younger' expression patterns. The patent also describes increased growth of cultured rat heart tissue explants, which the authors read as a proliferative effect. All of this comes from one research group, and none of it has been independently replicated, so treat the mechanism as a hypothesis.
Is Cardiogen FDA approved?
No, Cardiogen is not currently FDA approved. Current status: Preclinical research only. Not approved by the FDA, EMA, or any major regulator for any indication. Not named on the 2026 WADA Prohibited List, but as a substance with no human therapeutic approval it falls under WADA's catch-all S0 (Non-approved substances), prohibited at all times for tested athletes. Russian supplement status not independently verified.
Is Cardiogen banned in sport?
Not named on the WADA list. Its Russian registration may not count as drug approval (many Khavinson bioregulators are sold as supplements), so WADA's S0 catch-all may cover it; treat it as a risk.
What are the side effects of Cardiogen?
Reported side effects include: No human safety data published, Animal toxicity testing in the patent reported no toxic effects at doses far above the active dose, Raised white blood cell counts in a 6-month guinea pig study (patent data), Injection site reactions possible with injectable forms, Product purity and identity are unverified for research-grade material. Individual responses vary based on dosage, duration, and personal health factors.
What is the typical dose of Cardiogen?
Community-reported common dose: No established human dose (Not established). Range: Not established in any published study. Administration: Intraperitoneal or intramuscular injection in rats. Community-reported doses. Not medical advice. Consult healthcare provider.
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PreclinicalCrystagen is a synthetic tripeptide (Glu-Asp-Pro, or EDP) from the Khavinson family of short peptide bioregulators, studied as an immune and thymic regulator. It is a research compound, not an approved drug, with no registered human clinical trials. Note: many vendor pages list the wrong sequence; the correct one is Glu-Asp-Pro (EDP).
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