Underground Biohacking
Cognition

Selank

Chris Hallewell, founder of Underground Biohacking

By , Founder, Underground Biohacking

Last reviewed

Prescription medication in Russia. Research compound elsewhere. Not FDA-approved.

Selank is a Russian anti-anxiety peptide, and the honest answer is that the human evidence is real but thin. Three small Russian trials, the largest around 70 people, report that it eases anxiety about as well as a benzodiazepine. It brought less of the sedation and memory dulling those drugs cause. Almost everything else comes from rats and cells. No dedicated human safety study has been published. It is not an approved medicine in the United States.

What is Selank?

Selank is a synthetic peptide made of seven amino acids, written Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro. It was developed in Russia, and almost all the published research on it is Russian. Regulators also list it under the code name TP-7. Its core is tuftsin, a natural four-amino-acid fragment that the body cuts out of an antibody called immunoglobulin G. Tuftsin's normal job is signalling to immune cells. On its own it falls apart in blood within minutes. Selank bolts a three-amino-acid tail, Pro-Gly-Pro, onto the end. That tail is why the molecule lasts long enough to do anything. Proline-rich stretches resist the enzymes that chew peptides up. So selank has two faces. It is classed as an anxiolytic, meaning an anti-anxiety drug, and Russian researchers also call it a nootropic, meaning something that supports thinking. But by ancestry it is an immune peptide, and a study in patients found it shifted immune signalling molecules in the blood. Its proposed brain mechanism is indirect. Lab work suggests it nudges GABA receptors, the brain's main calming system, rather than driving them hard the way a benzodiazepine does.

What is Selank used for?

  • In 62 people with generalised anxiety disorder or neurasthenia, selank eased anxiety about as well as the comparison drug, and also lifted fatigue.[1]Human study
  • In a Russian study of 60 people with anxiety and somatoform disorders, the calming effect was still present a week after the last dose.[2]Human study
  • In a 70 person Russian trial, adding selank to a benzodiazepine cut that drug's side effects, including sedation and memory trouble.[3]Human study
  • In patients with anxiety and fatigue disorders, 14 days of selank shifted the Th1/Th2 balance of immune signalling proteins in their blood.[4]Human study
  • In 52 healthy adults scanned with fMRI, selank changed how the right amygdala, a fear-processing region, connects to the right temporal cortex.[5]Human study
  • In lab work on rat brain tissue, selank acted as a positive allosteric modulator at GABA receptors, the brain's main calming system.[6]Animal or lab study only
  • In rats given alcohol long term, selank protected memory during withdrawal and altered BDNF, a protein that keeps brain cells healthy.[7]Animal or lab study only
Selank dosage chart
Typical dose250-500mcg per day intranasal
Cycle length14-21 days on, 7-14 days off
FormIntranasal spray

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How does Selank work?

Selank copies tuftsin, a short peptide your immune system makes, with three amino acids added to the end. It is usually given into the nose. Its best documented action is on enkephalins, your body's own opioid like peptides. Selank slows the blood enzymes that break enkephalins down, so they linger. In mice, blocking opioid receptors changes how selank behaves, which supports that route. Its Russian developers also propose that it tunes GABA, the brain's main calming signal, without binding GABA receptors itself. That step is unsettled. One cell study found no direct effect on GABA system genes. Selank also shifts immune gene activity in animals.

How much Selank should you take?

250-500mcg per day intranasal

How long should you run Selank?

14-21 days on, 7-14 days off

How is Selank supplied?

Intranasal spray

What are the side effects of Selank?

EffectHow seriousWhat to watch
No dedicated human safety trial of selank has been published. The safety picture rests on tolerability notes inside a handful of small Russian efficacy studies. Nobody knows the real rate of side effects.UnknownAny new symptom, and tell a doctor you are using it
The researchers who developed selank state it does not cause the side effects typical of most anxiolytics. That is the developers' own assessment, not an independent safety review, and no adverse event counts are published.[8]UnknownDaytime drowsiness, changes in attention or memory
Selank measurably changes the immune system in people. Patients given it for two weeks showed a shift in the Th1/Th2 cytokine balance in their blood. Whether that helps or harms over months is untested.[4]UnknownFrequent infections, or any new inflammatory or autoimmune symptoms
A single dose alters the activity of dozens of brain genes in rats within an hour. That is a broad biological effect, not a narrow one, and its long-term meaning in humans is unstudied.[9]UnknownNone

Is Selank legal in 2026?

Checked 6 August 2026. FDA lists selank acetate (TP-7) on its page for bulk drug substances used in compounding that may present significant safety risks. It sits in the section for substances that were nominated and then withdrawn by the nominators. That means it had previously been placed in category 2 of the interim policies. FDA's stated concern is that compounded drugs containing selank acetate may pose a risk for immunogenicity, because the peptide can aggregate and carry peptide-related impurities. FDA also says it lacks important information about safety issues raised by selank acetate given to humans. A withdrawn nomination is not a clearance. Selank is not an approved medicine in the United States, and nothing on that page allows a pharmacy to compound it.

Status checked against the primary source.

Where to buy Selank

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Where to source it

The hard part with Selank isn't the protocol. It's finding a supplier that can prove what's in the vial. We assessed dozens against per-batch, third-party testing. A handful passed.

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Selank protocols

Deep dives on Selank

Frequently Asked Questions

Does selank actually work for anxiety?
Probably, but the evidence is thinner than the internet suggests. Three small Russian trials, the largest around 70 people, found it eased anxiety about as well as a benzodiazepine. They came from the same research network in Moscow, were mostly published in Russian, and none was a large multi-site study. Nobody outside Russia has replicated them. That is enough to call it promising and not enough to call it proven.
Is selank a benzodiazepine?
No. Benzodiazepines like diazepam bind to a site on the GABA receptor and push it open hard. Lab work on rat brain tissue suggests selank touches the same receptor system, but acts as a gentler positive allosteric modulator. That means it adjusts how the receptor responds instead of driving it. This is the leading explanation for why the Russian trials reported calming without heavy sedation. It is a hypothesis, not a settled fact.
How strong is the human evidence, really?
Weak to moderate. There are three small human trials in anxiety disorders, all Russian. Add a brain imaging study in 52 healthy adults and an immune study in patients. Some gave selank alongside another drug, so its own effect is hard to isolate. The abstracts report benefits but rarely give adverse event counts. There is no large placebo-controlled trial, no long-term follow up, and no independent replication outside Russia.
Is selank legal in the United States?
It is not an approved medicine there. FDA lists selank acetate on its page of bulk drug substances that may present significant safety risks. It sits in the group whose nominations were withdrawn, having previously been in category 2. FDA says it lacks important information about safety issues raised by selank in humans, and flags a risk of immunogenicity. Withdrawing a nomination changes nothing. A compounding pharmacy cannot lawfully make it.
Does selank cause sedation or dependence?
No dedicated human safety trial has been published, so nobody can answer this properly. The developers state it does not cause the side effects typical of most anxiolytics. One trial found that adding it to a benzodiazepine reduced that drug's sedation and memory problems. Those are the authors' own reports inside small studies, not independent safety data. Treat any claim of a clean safety record as unverified.
Does selank do anything for memory or focus?
Maybe, and mostly in animals. Russian trial authors describe a mild nootropic effect running alongside the calming one, meaning small gains in thinking. In rats drinking alcohol long term, selank protected memory during withdrawal and changed levels of BDNF, a protein that supports brain cells. No proper cognitive trial in healthy people has been published. If you want a study showing it makes a healthy adult sharper, it does not exist yet.

References

  1. 1.Zozulia AA, et al. (2008). [Efficacy and possible mechanisms of action of a new peptide anxiolytic selank in the therapy of generalized anxiety disorders and neurasthenia]. Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova. PMID: 18454096.
  2. 2.Medvedev VE, et al. (2014). [A comparison of the anxiolytic effect and tolerability of selank and phenazepam in the treatment of anxiety disorders]. Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova. PMID: 25176261.
  3. 3.Medvedev VE, et al. (2015). [Optimization of the treatment of anxiety disorders with selank]. Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova. PMID: 26356395. DOI: 10.17116/jnevro20151156133-40.
  4. 4.Uchakina ON, et al. (2008). [Immunomodulatory effects of selank in patients with anxiety-asthenic disorders]. Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova. PMID: 18577961.
  5. 5.Panikratova YR, et al. (2020). Functional Connectomic Approach to Studying Selank and Semax Effects. Doklady biological sciences : proceedings of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Biological sciences sections. PMID: 32342318. DOI: 10.1134/S001249662001007X.
  6. 6.Vyunova TV, et al. (2018). Peptide-based Anxiolytics: The Molecular Aspects of Heptapeptide Selank Biological Activity. Protein and peptide letters. PMID: 30255741. DOI: 10.2174/0929866525666180925144642.
  7. 7.Kolik LG, et al. (2019). Selank, Peptide Analogue of Tuftsin, Protects Against Ethanol-Induced Memory Impairment by Regulating of BDNF Content in the Hippocampus and Prefrontal Cortex in Rats. Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine. PMID: 31625062. DOI: 10.1007/s10517-019-04588-9.
  8. 8.Zozulya AA, et al. (2001). The inhibitory effect of Selank on enkephalin-degrading enzymes as a possible mechanism of its anxiolytic activity. Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine. PMID: 11550013. DOI: 10.1023/a:1017979514274.
  9. 9.Volkova A, et al. (2016). Selank Administration Affects the Expression of Some Genes Involved in GABAergic Neurotransmission. Frontiers in pharmacology. PMID: 26924987. DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2016.00031.

This content is for educational purposes only. These compounds are intended for research use. Nothing here is medical advice.