Bioregulator
Cytomax / Cytogen Complex Stacks
High-molecular-weight peptide complexes (Cytomax) and synthetic tripeptides (Cytogen) · Endoluten · Vladonix · Cerluten · Chelohart · Pielotax and others
Cytomax and Cytogen are trade names for entire product families from the sphere of Russian bioregulator research: a separate preparation for each organ, often combined into stacks. Behind the idea stands a decades-long line of research. The products themselves and their combinations, however, have never been tested in a published study.
In short
Under the name Cytomax, peptide complexes from the organs of young animals are sold, under Cytogen short synthetic peptides, each assigned to an organ, such as the pineal gland, thymus, heart, kidney or cartilage. The underlying idea of tissue-specific bioregulation comes from Vladimir Khavinson and has been studied in cell cultures and animal experiments. For the combination products themselves there is no study; for most individual names, such as Endoluten or Vladonix, PubMed finds not a single entry. Anyone using such stacks relies on the research on related medicines and on vendor claims, not on data on the product. In Germany, none of them is approved as a medicine.
What it is
In the scientific literature of the St. Petersburg group, there are two classes of bioregulators. Cytomedins are polypeptide mixtures obtained from the organs of young animals; some of them, such as thymalin from the thymus, epithalamin from the pineal gland and cortexin from the cerebral cortex, are used as medicines in Russia. Cytogens are short, synthetically produced peptides of a few amino acids derived from the composition of these extracts, for example epitalon, vilon or cortagen.
Cytomax and Cytogen are the trade names under which these two principles are offered as over-the-counter products. The manufacturers assign an organ to each product: Endoluten to the pineal gland, Vladonix to the thymus, Cerluten to the nervous system and the retina, Chelohart to the heart, Pielotax to the kidney, Sigumir to cartilage. These are vendor claims. The assignment can be traced scientifically only for Chelohart, which is described in a 2015 paper as a polypeptide extract from calf hearts, and for Sigumir, a complex from the cartilage and bone tissue of young animals.
The whole thing should not be confused with CytoMax, a US sports drink with a lactic acid polymer and sugars that was tested in a cycling study in 2007. A Japanese cytochrome preparation also bore this name in 1964. Anyone searching for studies quickly ends up with such namesakes.
How it is supposed to work
The basic idea is tissue specificity. An extract or peptide from a particular organ is supposed to act preferentially in that organ and stimulate functions there that decline with age. There are laboratory findings on this. In a 2001 paper, the synthetic cytogens cortagen, epitalon, livagen and vilon each stimulated the growth of tissue explants from the cerebral cortex, brainstem, liver and thymus of the rat, that is, of their respective target tissue.
For the extracts, an organ culture study from 2015 showed something similar. Seven polypeptide preparations from calf tissue, including Chelohart from the heart, increased the growth of cultures from the matching tissue of young and old rats, accompanied by more markers of cell division and less of the cell death protein p53. The stacks transfer this logic to the whole body: several organs at the same time, each with its own bioregulator. This transfer itself has not been studied.
Why stacks
The products are combined according to goals; in the vendor sphere, for example, a quartet of pineal gland, thymus, nervous system and heart circulates as a general longevity package. The rationale is theoretical: if each preparation only addresses its own organ, the effects are supposed to complement each other without interfering. Whether this is the case, whether the complexes reach the target organ in any appreciable amount at all after swallowing, and whether they influence each other, nobody has tested.
What is well supported
What holds up is mainly the foundation on which the products build. The tissue-specific effect of organ extracts and short peptides has been shown repeatedly in cell cultures, albeit almost always by the same research group. The medicinal models have clinical data: a long-term observation from 2003 in 266 older people over 6 to 8 years reports lower mortality with thymalin and epithalamin than in the control group, by a factor of 2.5 with the combination. Cortexin has been tested in Russian randomized trials in stroke.
For one of the individual products, there are at least observations in humans. In 2012, Sigumir was used in 62 older patients with temporomandibular joint disorders as part of a comprehensive treatment; rapid pain relief, a wider mouth opening and better chewing function are reported. A 2023 review attributes high efficacy in osteoarthritis to Sigumir in an animal model and in older patients. Occupational medicine papers from St. Petersburg also recommend cytogens as protection against accelerated aging in demanding occupations; the 2015 summary, however, gives no measured values for this.
What the studies show
Calf extracts in organ culture, 2015
Ryzhak and colleagues compared seven polypeptide extracts from calf tissue on tissue cultures from young and old rats. Each preparation stimulated the growth of its target tissue; in parallel, cell division markers rose and p53 fell. For Chelohart, this is the only entry in PubMed.
Sigumir in temporomandibular joint disorders, 2012
Iordanishvili and colleagues observed 62 older patients who received Sigumir in addition to dentures, functional therapy and drug therapy. Pain subsided quickly; mouth opening and chewing function improved. There was no control group, so Sigumir’s share in the success cannot be determined.
Thymalin and epithalamin over years, 2003
Khavinson and Morozov report on 266 older people who were observed for 6 to 8 years. With the thymus and pineal gland extracts, mortality fell compared with the control. How the groups were formed is not apparent from the summary, and these are medicinal extracts, not today’s stack products.
Where the data stop
There are no data for the stacks. PubMed finds no entry for Endoluten, Vladonix, Cerluten, Pielotax and Glandokort, one cell culture paper for Chelohart, and one uncontrolled observation and two reviews for Sigumir. ClinicalTrials.gov lists no study for any of these names. The organ assignment of most products comes from vendor claims.
The biggest gap lies between model and product. Whether an over-the-counter complex corresponds in composition and effect to what was injected in Russian drug studies is documented nowhere. It is equally open whether peptide mixtures reach the target organ after swallowing and what happens when several are taken at the same time. Moreover, the positive findings on the models come almost exclusively from the developer group itself. That does not make them wrong, but independent confirmation is lacking.
Status, approval and legal
None of the products is approved as a medicine in Germany or the EU, and I have not found an assessment by EFSA or BfR. In Russia, individual organ extracts such as thymalin, epithalamin and cortexin are approved as medicines, but not the Cytomax or Cytogen products. In Germany they are offered as food supplements or research products, without officially tested quality. In sport, unapproved pharmacologically active substances fall under group S0 of the WADA Prohibited List 2026.
Safety
Systematic safety data on the products do not exist. The developer group writes that its manufacturing process for organ extracts excludes pathogens, genetic material residues and prions; this is a self-report from the manufacturer’s sphere, not an independent test, and it applies only to the preparations described there. With animal protein mixtures, intolerances are conceivable. Interactions between several complexes taken at the same time or with medicines have not been studied. For pregnant and breastfeeding women, children and people with autoimmune diseases or cancer, there are no data. Anyone with complaints in an organ should have the cause clarified by a physician rather than treating it with an organ stack.
BK-Score Not studied in humans
| Human evidence | 0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanism | 1 | |
| Safety data | 0 | |
| Hype gap | 0 | |
| Track record of use | 3 |
There is no published study on the combination products marketed as Cytomax or Cytogen; for Endoluten, Vladonix, Cerluten, Pielotax and Glandokort, PubMed finds not a single entry and ClinicalTrials.gov no study (query of September 30, 2026). There are isolated papers on individual components: Chelohart in an organ culture study with calf extracts (Ryzhak et al. 2015), Sigumir in an uncontrolled observation in 62 older patients with temporomandibular joint disorders, in which it was only part of a treatment package (Iordanishvili et al. 2012). The clinical data on thymalin and epithalamin (Khavinson & Morozov 2003) concern Russian medicinal extracts whose equivalence with the over-the-counter complexes has not been demonstrated. Therefore evidence and safety remain at 0; mechanism 1, because tissue specificity has been shown only for individual extracts in cell culture and the stack logic is a pure extrapolation; hype 0, because the products are marketed as an organ-specific longevity system without any of them having been tested; use 3, because use takes place without a regulatory framework and without documented use in studies.
The score rates the state of knowledge, not the substance. “Safety data 9” means well studied – not harmless.
Subjective assessment by Biohacking Kompakt based on published scoring rules – not a scientific rating and not a medical recommendation. Rules and all ratings (German)
Frequently asked questions about Cytomax / Cytogen complex stacks
What are Cytomax and Cytogen?
These are trade names for bioregulator products from the Russian Khavinson sphere. Cytomax stands for peptide complexes from the organs of young animals, Cytogen for short synthetic peptides, each assigned to a particular organ.
Are there studies on Endoluten or Vladonix?
No. PubMed has not a single entry for either name. There are studies on related Russian medicines such as thymalin and epithalamin, but not on the over-the-counter products.
What does a stack of several bioregulators do?
That has not been studied. The idea of supporting several organs at the same time, each with its own peptides, rests on cell culture findings on tissue specificity. Whether the effects complement or interfere with each other in the body, nobody knows.
Are Cytomax products the same as thymalin or epithalamin?
That has not been demonstrated. Thymalin and epithalamin are medicines approved in Russia with their own studies. Whether over-the-counter complexes with a similar organ reference correspond to them in composition and effect has not been tested by any published paper.
Does Cytomax have anything to do with the sports drink?
No. CytoMax is also the name of a US sports drink with a lactic acid polymer and sugars that was studied in a cycling study. It has nothing to do with the bioregulator complexes.
Are bioregulator stacks legal in Germany?
None of the products is approved as a medicine. They are sold as food supplements or research products, without officially tested quality. In competitive sport, unapproved substances fall under the WADA ban.
Related
Sources
- Ryzhak et al., Adv Gerontol 2015 – polypeptides from calf tissue in organ culture, including Chelohart
- Khavinson, Bull Exp Biol Med 2001 – tissue-specific effect of synthetic cytogens
- Ryzhak et al., Bull Exp Biol Med 2003 – production and purity of natural peptide regulators
- Khavinson and Morozov, Neuro Endocrinol Lett 2003 – thymalin and epithalamin in older people over 6 to 8 years
- Iordanishvili et al., Adv Gerontol 2012 – Sigumir in temporomandibular joint disorders
- Myakisheva et al., Adv Gerontol 2023 – cartilage cells in aging and peptide bioregulation
- Azevedo et al., PLoS One 2007 – the sports drink of the same name, CytoMax
- NADA, Prohibited List 2026 – informational German translation
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Information only, not medical advice and not a usage or dosage recommendation. Prescription-only and unapproved substances belong in the hands of a physician. Last updated: 2026-09-30.