Cardiogen
Cardiogen is sold as the heart bioregulator of the Khavinson family, usually given the sequence Ala-Glu-Asp-Arg (AEDR). There is no published research on it. Searching the literature for cardiogen as a peptide returns nothing relevant - and it returns a great deal that is irrelevant, because CardioGen-82 is a completely different product: a rubidium-82 generator used for cardiac PET imaging [1]. That collision means a casual search appears to find literature where none exists. Searching instead for the sequence, or for a heart-designated Khavinson tetrapeptide, returns nothing at all. This entry exists to record that absence and to flag the name collision.
A product name with no published science behind it, and a name collision that makes it look otherwise to anyone searching casually.
- meta-analysis
- RCT
- trial
- observational
- preclinical / case
- review / patent / other
- retracted
- + No benefit has been demonstrated in any published study
- − No published pharmacology, animal study, human data or toxicology exists
- − The name collides with CardioGen-82, an unrelated cardiac PET imaging product
- − Nothing is known about what is actually in products sold under the name
Overview
Cardiogen appears in peptide retailer catalogues as the cardiac member of the Khavinson short-peptide family, normally listed with the sequence Ala-Glu-Asp-Arg. The programme's design principle - build a short peptide from the amino acid composition of an organ extract and assign it to that organ - makes such a compound plausible in principle [2].
Searching the published literature for it returns nothing. There is no synthesis or characterisation paper, no DNA-binding study of the kind that exists for Bronchogen, Testagen and Epitalon [3][4], no animal study, no pharmacokinetics and no clinical work.
The name collision matters. A search for "cardiogen" returns results, and they are about something else entirely. CardioGen-82 is a strontium-82/rubidium-82 generator used to produce the PET tracer for myocardial perfusion imaging [1]. It is a radiopharmaceutical device, not a peptide, and has no relationship to this compound beyond four letters. Anyone told that "cardiogen has published research" may be looking at that.
This is the same trap that affects Ovagen, whose name belongs to a veterinary gonadotrophin, and it is worth generalising: for compounds in this family, search the sequence rather than the trade name.
Several siblings in this family have real, checkable evidence - Vilon has mouse lifespan and tumour data, Cortagen a quantified nerve regeneration result, Bronchogen calorimetric evidence of DNA binding. That evidence does not transfer, because the programme's own work shows different sequences bind different DNA motifs [3].
This entry exists to record the absence. If pharmacology for this compound is ever published, it will be added here.
Mechanism
No mechanism has been published for Cardiogen. It is marketed within the family framework of short peptides entering the nucleus and regulating gene expression [5], but no binding, expression or functional data for this peptide have been reported.
Dosing
as studied or commonly reported; not a recommendationNo doses are listed for this compound.No peer-reviewed human dosing data.
- Notes
- No human or animal dose has been studied. No dose can be given here, because there is no published study of this compound at any dose by any route.
Safety
risks and cautions, not medical adviceThere is no safety data of any kind: no toxicology, no animal study, no human exposure report. Nothing can be said about its safety because nothing has been published.
The absence of published harm is evidence that nobody has looked, not evidence of safety.
For any unregulated peptide product, grey-market analyses have repeatedly found contents that do not match labels [6]. With no published characterisation, there is no specification against which a product could be checked.
- None documented, because no study has been published
- No published study of any kind exists for this compound
- The name collides with CardioGen-82, an unrelated cardiac PET imaging product [1]
- Nothing is known about the contents of products sold under this name
Interactions
documented pairs only, not exhaustiveNo interaction data exist, and none can exist for a compound with no published pharmacology.
FAQ
- Is there any research on cardiogen?
- None. There is no synthesis paper, no animal study, no pharmacokinetics and no human data for this peptide.
- But searching finds papers about it - what are those?
- Almost certainly CardioGen-82, a rubidium-82 generator used for cardiac PET imaging [1]. It is a radiopharmaceutical device with no relationship to this peptide.
- Can I assume it works like the other Khavinson heart peptides?
- There are none with published data, and in any case evidence does not transfer between these peptides - the programme's own work shows different sequences bind different DNA motifs [3].
References
entry last reviewed 2026-09-19- [1]Update on CardioGen-82.J Nucl Med 2012other · humanPMID 22393230◌ unreviewed
- [2]Peptides and Ageing.Khavinson VKhNeuro Endocrinol Lett 2002reviewPMID 12374906◌ unreviewed
- [3]Penetration of short fluorescence-labeled peptides into the nucleus in HeLa cells and in vitro specific interaction of the peptides with deoxyribooligonucleotides and DNA.Fedoreyeva LI, Kireev II, Khavinson VKh et al.Biochemistry (Mosc) 2011other · cellPMID 22117547◌ unreviewed
- [4]Effect of the peptide bronchogen (Ala-Asp-Glu-Leu) on DNA thermostability.Monaselidze JR, Khavinson VKh, Gorgoshidze MZ et al.Bull Exp Biol Med 2011other · animalPMID 21240358◌ unreviewed
- [5]Peptide Regulation of Gene Expression: A Systematic Review.Khavinson VK, Popovich IG, Linkova NS et al.Molecules 2021reviewPMID 34834147◌ unreviewed
- [6]The emerging landscape of performance-enhancing peptides modulating GH-IGF1 axis: bridging the gap between clinical evidence and patient self-administration.Dominikowski A, Rękoś Z, Olejarz M et al.Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2026reviewPMID 42395176◌ unreviewed