# Cartalax

Khavinson's 'cartilage' tripeptide AED; only cell and patent data, yet most users report less joint pain.

- Page: https://peprank.xyz/peptides/cartalax
- Goals: Recovery & healing, Longevity (Research peptide)
- Also known as: AED; Ala-Glu-Asp; T-31; peptide complex AC-4; Kartalax; Карталакс
- Routes: Injection / Oral
- Safety tier: Strict: Caution · Balanced: Caution · Evidence only: Clean
- Risk axes (0 none to 3 severe): Seen harm 0, Mechanism 1, Data gap 3, Silent harm 1, Product 3
- Positive: 65% of 43 graded reports glowing or positive, shrunk toward the 49% all-report average by 8 reports' weight
- Rank: #1 of 86 research peptides
- Graded reports: 43 (Glowing 12, Positive 17, Mixed 2, Nothing 9, Negative 3)
- Evidence: Animal only — Peer-reviewed work is cell culture (chondrocytes, stem cells, kidney and skin cells) and one rat osteoporosis study, all from the Khavinson institute or co-authors. The only human data are an example in the developers' 2007 patent: 29 people with knee osteoarthritis given 20 daily intramuscular injections or saline, with less pain and better mobility in 54-63% and no X-ray change. Never published in a journal.
- Access: Grey market
- Onset: Reports split: some feel less pain within an hour to three days, most within one to two weeks, others only after the course or not at all.
- Lasts: Run as 10-30 day cycles, often 2-4 times a year; several users say the benefit held for weeks to months after stopping, a few that it faded within hours of each dose.
- Cost per month: ≈ €40–120 (researchers' estimate)
- Dose users report: 2–2.5 mg/day (median 2 mg, n=23)
- Updated: 2026-10-30

## What users report

Far more reported than the other Khavinson peptides, almost all from 2025-26 and almost all injected. About two thirds of 36 first-hand Reddit accounts describe less knee, hip, spine or sacroiliac pain, smoother or quieter joints and harder training, often within days to two weeks of 1-5 mg a day for 10-20 days, and several say it outlasted the course by months. Most of the strongest ones ran it with BPC-157, TB-500, KLOW, growth hormone or steroids, so its own share is unknown. A quarter felt nothing, mostly with advanced osteoarthritis or a failing hip; three had a bad reaction: a joint flare in autoimmune arthritis, a next-day fibromyalgia-like ache, and recurring abdominal pain after hip-flexor injections. Oral capsules are rarely used: one capsule user says a 30-day course ended two years of recurring back trouble, another got GI discomfort and switched to injections. Felt nothing: 8 of 36 Reddit reports.

**Effects:** less knee, hip, spinal or sacroiliac pain, from within days to two weeks; quieter, less crunchy knees and fewer braces; harder or more frequent training without days of joint pain afterwards; claimed: cartilage repair and osteoarthritis treatment (patent example and manufacturer only)

**Downsides:** nothing for about a quarter, especially advanced osteoarthritis; benefit sometimes fades between doses or after the course; almost always stacked, so its share of any benefit is unknown; joint flare or diffuse aching in a few; GI discomfort from the oral capsules (one buyer)

**Risks:** In the developers' cell studies AED raised IGF1 gene expression 3.5-5.6-fold in stem cells, raised the proliferation marker Ki-67 and lowered p53, p21 and p16 in ageing cells; single-group in-vitro signals of unknown meaning in people; Grey-market injectable vials: purity, sterility and identity unverified, and many listings print another peptide's sequence (AEDL)

**Caveat:** The reports are unusually favourable for a Khavinson peptide, but they are almost all from injected grey-market vials in heavily stacked protocols, cluster in 2025-26 as vendors promoted 'Deadpool' blends, and include many people judging pain over days, where placebo is strong. The only human data are an unpublished patent example; no study has shown cartilage regrowth in people, and the patent saw no X-ray change. AED is a small acidic tripeptide with no named harm pathway, so the verdict reflects thin data rather than a credible risk, but the developers' own cell work shows it raising IGF1 expression and proliferation while lowering p53, which nobody has followed up in vivo.

**Typical use:** Grey-market vials: most users take 2 mg a day subq for 10-20 days (range 0.2-10 mg), 2-4 times a year, some injecting near the joint. The developers' patent used 1 mcg-5 mg intramuscularly daily for 20 days. Capsules: 1-2 capsules twice a day with meals for 1 month, repeated after 3-6 months (manufacturer).

**Getting it:** Mostly bought as 20-40 mg research vials of AED powder for injection (about $45 per 20 mg in the US), alone or in 'Deadpool' and 'KLOW X' blends with BPC-157 and TB-500. The Khavinson-line Cytogen capsules (peptide complex AC-4) and sublingual drops are sold as a food supplement; one buyer's Cosmic Nootropic label read 0.1 mg of peptide per 0.2 g capsule, so the capsules deliver 5-50 times less than a typical injection. In the papers Cartalax is the tripeptide AED; many vendor pages wrongly print AEDL, which is Bronchogen.

**Stacked with:** BPC-157 and TB-500 (The 'Deadpool' stack, sold premixed in one vial; most of the strongest reports ran it this way or alongside KLOW, so Cartalax's own share is unknown.); KLOW or GHK-Cu and KPV (Common partners for joint and tendon pain; one user reported KLOW alone had already helped before adding Cartalax.); Growth hormone or anabolic steroids (Several glowing reports came from people also running GH, anavar or nandrolone, which ease joint pain on their own.)

## Risk profile

- **Seen harm 0/3:** No serious adverse event is documented: the patent's 17 treated patients and 36 first-hand Reddit users report none. The bad reactions reported (a joint flare in autoimmune arthritis, a day of diffuse fibromyalgia-like aching, recurring abdominal pain after hip-flexor injections, GI discomfort from capsules) cleared and are not serious. The zero reflects limited, unsystematic exposure, not proven safety.
- **Mechanism 1/3:** No named pathway to serious harm has been shown in vivo. The developers' cell studies show AED raising IGF1 expression 3.5-5.6-fold in stem cells and raising proliferation while lowering p53, p21 and p16 in ageing kidney and skin cells; a growth-signalling worry on paper, but single-group, in vitro only and never tested in animals, so speculative rather than credible.
- **Data gap 3/3:** Registered nowhere as a drug and no peer-reviewed human safety data: the only human figures are the developers' unpublished patent example (17 injected patients vs 12 on saline) and a review's unreferenced claim of oral use in older patients. Published work is cell culture and one rat osteoporosis study.
- **Silent harm 1/3:** With mechanism at 1, rated on the harms actually reported: joint flares, aching, abdominal pain near the injection and injection-site reactions, which are noticed within a day and stop with the course. The theoretical growth-signalling concern would be silent, but at mechanism 1 it does not set this axis.
- **Product 3/3:** Almost every report injects grey-market 20-40 mg vials or premixed blends of unverified purity and sterility; Finnrick has only two unclassifiable tests, one buyer suspected a batch was 'just glucose powder', and many listings print the wrong sequence (AEDL). The Russian capsules sold as a supplement are a rarely used lower-risk alternative.
- **Never if:** Pregnancy or breastfeeding (no human reproductive data); Active or past cancer, as a precaution given the in-vitro IGF1 and proliferation signals; Autoimmune arthritis, where one user's joints flared within days

## Top reports

- Glowing, recovery, 10 mg a day for 20 days: “Cartalax has been the single most effective peptide I’ve ever used. I’m on day 16 of 20 days at 10mg a day. By day 3 I saw major improvements to my joints.” — [r/BodyHackGuide](https://www.reddit.com/r/BodyHackGuide/comments/1qk5bgf/cartalax_experience_added_to_klow_stack_acl_lcl/o1acsns/)
- Glowing, recovery, 2 mg a day for 2 months, repeated after 3 months off: “Cartalax is amazing! I have DDD and after 2 months, 2mg per day my chronic pain is gone! I have full range of motion back and the pinched nerve is gone.” — [r/BiohackingU](https://www.reddit.com/r/BiohackingU/comments/1pqoyas/cartalax/nvacu8t/)
- Glowing, recovery, 2 mg a day for 20 days: “I did 20 days at 2mg/day. My wife noticed it within 5-6 days saying “your knee isn’t popping much when you get out of bed”. Told her what I was experimenting with. Been off it for about 2 weeks - have a slight pop now, but about 80% better than before.” — [r/Biohacking](https://www.reddit.com/r/Biohacking/comments/1x1oysn/cartalax_for_joint_pain_chronic_pain/pevlaxd/)
- Glowing, recovery: “I took 5 vials along with 5 gh. And the pain from missing cartilage (i had an mri) in my knee is gone.” — [r/Biohacking](https://www.reddit.com/r/Biohacking/comments/1u8efpj/has_anybody_heard_of_cartalax_or_the_deadpool/osen5ft/)
- Glowing, recovery, 2 mg a day for 20 days: “Ran a 20 day cycle of 2mg each day and have to say the results were OUTSTANDING !! Absolutely 💯 love the stuff. Joint, hip and Patella discomfort have totally diminished.” — [r/BiohackingU](https://www.reddit.com/r/BiohackingU/comments/1pqoyas/cartalax/ob36vb5/)

## Studies

- [Russian Patent RU 2299741: Peptide normalising metabolism in bone and cartilage tissue (H-Ala-Glu-Asp-OH)](https://patents.google.com/patent/RU2299741C1/en) (controlled, n=29, 2007): The developers' patent: 17 knee-osteoarthritis patients aged 52-72 got 1 mcg, 10 mcg or 5 mg AED intramuscularly daily for 20 days, 12 got saline; pain fell and mobility improved in 54.5-62.7%, with no radiological change. Randomised by the authors' account but unblinded and unpublished; also guinea-pig toxicity and rat thyroid C-cell experiments.
- [Myakisheva et al. 2023: Peptides prevent the secretory phenotype of ageing chondrocytes (Russian)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37356100/) (in-vitro, 2023): In ageing chondrocyte cultures, AED and a cartilage polypeptide complex brought the rise in p16, p21, p53, TNF-alpha and IL-1alpha and the fall in Sirt1 back towards normal.
- [Myakisheva et al. 2023: Peptides and chondrogenic differentiation of ageing human mesenchymal stem cells (Russian)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37782646/) (in-vitro, 2023): At 200 ng/ml AED raised gene expression and synthesis of SOX9, aggrecan, type II collagen and COMP in replicatively aged stem cells; the cartilage extract needed ten times the concentration.
- [Ashapkin et al. 2020: Gene expression in human mesenchymal stem cell ageing cultures, modulation by short peptides](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32399807/) (in-vitro, 2020): AED, KED and KE raised IGF1 expression 3.5-5.6-fold and NF-kappaB expression in foetal bone-marrow stem cells at nanomolar concentrations.
- [Povorozniuk et al. 2007: Peptide regulators and bone tissue in ageing rats (Russian)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18306703/) (animal, 2007): In ovariectomised rats both a cartilage extract and T-31 (AED) prevented and partly reversed the loss of bone mineral density; the extract worked markedly better.
- [Khavinson et al. 2014: Tripeptides slow down ageing in renal cell culture (Russian)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25946838/) (in-vitro, 2014): AED and EDL increased proliferation and lowered the ageing markers p16, p21 and p53 while raising SIRT-6 in young and aged kidney cells; models place AED in the DNA minor groove.
- [Lin'kova et al. 2016: Peptide regulation of skin fibroblast functions during ageing in vitro](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27259496/) (in-vitro, 2016): AED raised Ki-67 and CD98hc, lowered MMP-9 and suppressed caspase-dependent apoptosis in ageing skin fibroblasts.
- [Myakisheva et al. 2023: Chondrocyte secretory phenotype in osteoarthritis and peptide bioregulation (review, Russian)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37782637/) (review, 2023): The institute's review says AED (Kartalax) and the cartilage extract Sigumir were highly effective in animal OA models and orally in older OA patients, without citing a published human trial of AED.

## Sources

- [Peptide Product: Cartalax (Cytogen, peptide complex AC-4; ingredients and dose)](https://peptideproduct.com/catalog/peptide_products/cartalax/)
- [Russian Patent RU 2299741 (AED, bone and cartilage; 29-patient example)](https://patents.google.com/patent/RU2299741C1/en)
- [Dosage Peptide: Cartalax is AED, not the AEDL many listings print](https://www.dosagepeptide.com/what-is-cartalax-cartilage-bioregulator-peptide/)
- [Kalios: Cartalax evidence summary (patent human data, no journal trials)](https://www.kalios.health/compounds/cartalax.html)
- [Finnrick: Cartalax (two independent tests, neither classifiable)](https://www.finnrick.com/products/cartalax)