Well-being

Sleep, tension and recovery after exercise make up what people who train call well-being. In research, they correspond to three different systems: the body clock, the stress axis, and the gut barrier together with healing processes. The peptides in this category are organised along these three lines.

Alongside research peptides, this category includes preparations for adults (21+) and dietary supplements, and many of the nootropic products also appear in the brain area. That is why for each group we give not only the mechanism but also the status.

Research directions in the peptides for well-being category

Sleep and the circadian rhythm: DSIP and Epithalon

DSIP spray contains the nonapeptide Trp-Ala-Gly-Gly-Asp-Ala-Ser-Gly-Glu, isolated in the 1970s from the blood of rabbits in which sleep was induced by electrical brain stimulation. Despite its name, research findings on its effect on slow-wave sleep are inconclusive, and no dedicated receptor for the peptide has been identified. N-acetyl Epithalon is the acetylated form of a tetrapeptide that the Khavinson school links with the pineal gland and the rhythm of melatonin secretion; the data come mainly from a single centre.

Stress and tension: Selank, oxytocin and kava

Selank spray is a nasal form of Selank, a peptide authorised in Russia as nasal drops and studied there in anxiety disorders. The category also includes its N-acetylated version, which has no authorisation in any country. Oxytocin spray contains oxytocin, a neuropeptide whose intranasal administration is used in clinical research on social behaviour and the stress response.

Kava (Piper methysticum) is a root containing kavalactones. After reports of liver damage in the early 2000s, several European countries withdrew extracts of this plant from the market, and the shop labels the product as a preparation for adults (21+).

Recovery and the gut: BPC-157, KPV and TB-500

BPC-157 is a pentadecapeptide derived from a protein found in gastric juice, studied in animal models of healing of the gastrointestinal mucosa, tendons and muscles. In this category it is available, among other forms, in capsules as an arginine salt (ARG-BPC-157) and in a set with KPV. KPV is the tripeptide Lys-Pro-Val, the C-terminal fragment of the hormone α-MSH, which had an anti-inflammatory effect in mouse models of intestinal inflammation (Kannengiesser et al., 2008).

TB-500 10mg is a synthetic, acetylated fragment of thymosin β4 with the sequence LKKTETQ: seven amino acids from a protein of 43 residues. It is studied in models of cell migration and wound healing, and in this category it is available in a vial, in a pen and in sets with BPC-157. Peptides from this group are collected in the regenerative peptides category.

Dietary supplements in the category: magnesium and ashwagandha

Magnesium has several EU-authorised health claims related to well-being: it contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue, to normal functioning of the nervous system and to normal psychological function. In this category it comes in two forms: magnesium taurate and Magnesium Bisglycinate 700mg.

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is a plant from the Ayurvedic tradition, permitted as an ingredient of dietary supplements but without any EU-authorised health claims. A product with its extract is therefore characterised by its composition and standardisation to withanolides, not by a claimed effect. The other products in the category have various statuses, from dietary supplement to preparation for adults (21+); this is stated on each product page. The nootropic compounds that also appear here are discussed in the description of the compounds studied for cognitive function category.

The category name and the data
“Well-being” is a label for a research direction (models of sleep, anxiety, stress and healing), not a claim of efficacy. No reagent in this category is a sedative, a sleeping medicine or an anti-anxiety medicine, and results from animal models do not automatically carry over to humans.