Semax
Also known as ACTH(4-10) analog, Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide analog of the ACTH(4-10) sequence, part of the Russian regulatory-peptide research lineage. A research-use profile: sequence, ACTH origin, and handling.
Semax is best understood through the hormone it is carved from. Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) contains an internal fragment, ACTH(4-10), that has been studied for decades in behavioral pharmacology independently of the hormone's classic steroid-releasing role. Semax is an engineered relative of that fragment.
Specifically it takes the ACTH(4-7) core — Met-Glu-His-Phe — and caps it with the same Pro-Gly-Pro terminus that recurs across this family of peptides as a stability motif. The result is a short synthetic sequence that keeps the melanocortin-derived N-terminal signature while shedding the endocrine machinery of the parent hormone.
As with everything on this store, the page describes composition and research context only. It makes no claims about outcomes and states no dosing.
Semax corresponds to the ACTH(4-7) fragment Met-Glu-His-Phe extended by a Pro-Gly-Pro terminus. Unlike native ACTH(4-10), it carries no corticotropic activity — the melanocortin-derived N-terminal fragment is decoupled from the hormone's endocrine tail.
From ACTH to a research peptide
The ACTH(4-10) region has a long history in the neuropeptide literature as a behaviorally active fragment separable from ACTH's adrenal-stimulating function. Semax was developed within that tradition: retain the active N-terminal melanocortin sequence, add a proline-flanked tail for solution stability, and study the molecule on its own terms.
This is the key distinction to draw when reading about Semax — it is an analog of a hormone fragment, not the hormone. The corticotropic (steroid-releasing) activity of full-length ACTH is not part of this molecule.
The Russian regulatory-peptide lineage
Semax emerged from the same Russian program of short regulatory peptides that produced Selank, and the two are routinely studied by overlapping research groups. That shared provenance is why they are so often named together, even though Semax traces to ACTH and Selank traces to tuftsin — different parents entirely.
In the published work Semax appears in neurochemistry and behavioral-neuroscience models, including studies of neurotrophic-factor and monoamine signaling and attention-related behavioral paradigms in animals. These are the contexts in which it has been examined.
Reading a Semax certificate of analysis
A defined seven-residue sequence should give a mass-spectrometry trace consistent with a heptapeptide and an HPLC trace with a dominant single peak. Confirm the reported sequence begins with the Met-Glu-His-Phe ACTH core and ends in Pro-Gly-Pro, and that the batch is tied to its own certificate.
These are research areas the compound is associated with in the literature — not medical claims or intended uses.
Handling & storage
Supplied lyophilized. Stored sealed and cold; in research settings it is reconstituted with bacteriostatic water only when a protocol requires it, then kept refrigerated. Handle per accepted laboratory practice.
Verify a certificate by lot →Common questions
It is an analog of the ACTH(4-10) fragment of adrenocorticotropic hormone — specifically the Met-Glu-His-Phe (ACTH 4-7) core extended with a Pro-Gly-Pro terminus.
No. It is built from an internal fragment historically studied apart from ACTH's steroid-releasing function; the corticotropic activity of the full hormone is not part of this molecule.
Both come from the Russian regulatory-peptide research program and are studied by overlapping groups, but they derive from different parent molecules and are structurally distinct.
This monograph is a research-use reference. It describes composition and the contexts in which the compound has been studied — it is not medical advice, a description of effects, or a recommendation for use. Sold strictly for laboratory and research use; not for human or animal consumption.