Neuropeptides
Selank
Also known as Selank acetate, TP-7, Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro, Selanc
Synthetic heptapeptide; investigational anxiolytic and nootropic neuropeptide (Russian origin)
Not FDA-approved. Not on FDA's 503A category lists (May 14, 2026). Source, May 14, 2026
Identity. Selank is the synthetic heptapeptide Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro, developed in Russia. FDA lists it as 'selank acetate (TP-7)'. The Russian product is a 0.15% (1.5 mg/mL) nasal solution in a 3 mL pipette bottle. The 10 mg formulary vial (also offered in a blend) is a compounded presentation, and no cited source defines its final concentration or delivery device. Do not carry label drop counts over to a vial without a stated concentration. The conversion from mcg to volume must come from the dispensing pharmacy label.
At a glance
These dosages are a helpful guide, not a prescription. Every clinician is expected to do their own due diligence before prescribing.
Start
2700 ug/day intranasal1
Human study
Dosing detail
Human studies
Human studyAdults aged 24-52 with generalized anxiety disorder, series with clinical scales and pharmaco-EEG
2700 ug/day1
- Route
- intranasal
- Frequency
- Per-day total stated; schedule not stated in the published abstract. A split of 900 mcg x 3 is an inference from secondary sources, not stated in the abstract.
- Duration
- Outcomes reported at Day 3 (rapid responders) and Day 14 (gradual responders); total treatment length not stated in the published abstract
- n
- 20
- Design
- Conference abstract (not indexed in PubMed); comparator and controls not described in the published abstract
Source quote
Selank was administered at the dose 2700μg/day intranasally.
Finding. About 40% were rapid responders (HARS 20.3 to 7.0 by day 3); about 60% were gradual responders (HARS 16.1 to 6.2 by day 14).
Same GAD series, pharmaco-EEG after a single dose in rapid responders
900 ug1
- Route
- intranasal (route stated for the 2700 ug/day regimen of this series; not restated for the single dose in the published abstract)
- Frequency
- single dose
- Duration
- single administration
- n
- 20 (whole series; EEG subgroup size not stated)
- Design
- Pharmaco-EEG sub-analysis within the same abstract
Source quote
after single dose (900μg)
Finding. Rapid responders showed increased beta and decreased theta and low-alpha EEG activity; the gradual group did not.
What clinics and vendors publish
These ranges come from clinic and vendor publications, not studies.
No peer-reviewed review, pharmacy protocol, or textbook giving clinical-practice dosing was found. Every practice number comes from commercial or community web pages (one carries a vendor banner for research-use-only peptides), and none ties a figure to a specific reference. The sources disagree (200-400, 250-900 and 300-600 mcg per dose; 1,000 vs 2,700 mcg/day). The 2,700 mcg/day secondary figure probably derives from the 20-patient abstract rather than an independent source.
- StartCommunity-reported
- 200 mcg intranasally, two times daily (community and vendor-affiliated wiki). Per-dose and per-day figures are stated as pairs: 200 mcg per dose, 400 mcg per day.
- TitrationCommunity-reported
- No step-up schedule is given by the cited sources.
- TypicalCommunity-reported
- Community: 200 to 400 mcg per dose intranasally, 2-3 times daily (400 to 1,200 mcg/day). A second commercial wiki gives 250-900 mcg per dose of 0.15% solution and elsewhere 300-600 mcg per dose. The trial dose is 2,700 mcg per day, and the label-derived figure is lower still. These tiers conflict, and no cited source reconciles them.
- CeilingCommunity-reported
- Highest community figure: up to 1,000 mcg per day split across three or more administrations (vendor page). This is a weak ceiling, because the trial dose of 2,700 mcg/day is 2.7x higher. Do not read 900 mcg as a daily figure. In the trial abstract it is a single dose, and 2,700 mcg is the daily total.
- FrequencyCommunity-reported
- Two to three times daily (community); three times daily (label and secondary Russian-protocol summaries)
- RouteCommunity-reported
- Intranasal is the only route with label or trial support. Subcutaneous use (200 to 500 mcg once daily on a vendor page; 200-400 mcg once daily, 5 days/week on another) is off-label, with no human efficacy, safety or pharmacokinetic data identified. FDA's immunogenicity concern for compounded selank applies to certain routes, and injectable routes carry greater parenteral exposure. SC figures are not part of the start or typical ranges.
- TimingCommunity-reported
- Morning and early afternoon doses; avoid late evening due to potential activating effects (commercial wiki)
- CycleCommunity-reported
- Label and trial course = 14 days. The label allows a repeat course after 1-3 weeks only after consulting a doctor. There are no human data beyond 14 days. A one-month rest after 14-day courses appears only on a vendor-banner page ('Russian clinical practice uses 14-day courses with one-month breaks'). Community 30-days-on/30-days-off courses are extrapolation, about twice the longest studied course.
Starting dose: 200 mcg intranasally, two times daily
Standard dose: 200 to 400 mcg intranasally, two to three times daily
Upper range: Up to 1,000 mcg daily (split across three or more administrations)
Russian clinical practice uses 14-day courses with one-month breaks
250-900 mcg per dose (0.15% nasal solution)
Morning and early afternoon doses; avoid late evening due to potential activating effects.
900 mcg per administration, typically given three times daily
Safety
Serious warnings
- FDA (page current as of 04/22/2026): compounded drugs containing selank acetate may pose risk for immunogenicity for certain routes of administration due to the potential for aggregation and peptide-related impurities. FDA lacks important information regarding any safety issues raised by selank acetate administered to humans.5
- A pharmacology review states that phenibut and selank are 'poorly studied Russian drugs with GABAergic mechanisms that are inexplicably sold to US consumers as dietary supplements.'6
Contraindications
- Russian label contraindications: hypersensitivity to the active substance or excipients; pregnancy; breastfeeding; age under 18 (clinical studies not conducted). No FDA label exists.7
Adverse effects
- Russian label: allergic reactions (including delayed) and unpleasant taste when the drug passes from the nose to the throat, frequency unknown. No overdose cases are recorded. Long-term safety is unknown.7
- A vendor-affiliated page states that daily doses up to 1,000 mcg have been used without reported adverse effects. The statement has no source and is not a safety finding.2
Monitoring
- Neither the label nor the trials specify monitoring. The items below are clinician-judgement suggestions, not requirements from a source.
- Clinician judgement: confirm the patient is not pregnant or breastfeeding before use. The Russian label lists pregnancy and breastfeeding as contraindications.7
- Clinician judgement: ask about prior allergic reaction. The Russian label lists hypersensitivity as a contraindication and allergic reactions (including delayed) as adverse effects.7
- Clinician judgement: reassess anxiety with a standard scale at the end of a 14-day course. The 20-patient abstract used HARS (Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale) outcomes.1
- Clinician judgement: ask about concurrent benzodiazepines or other CNS-active drugs. Selank was co-administered with phenazepam in a randomized comparison.8
- Clinician judgement: review nasal mucosa irritation at follow-up. No source reports nasal irritation. The Russian label lists allergic reactions and unpleasant taste.
Interactions
- In rat brain membranes, Selank was reported to block the modulatory activity of diazepam and olanzapine on [3H]GABA binding (in vitro; clinical relevance unknown).9
- Selank was co-administered with phenazepam (a benzodiazepine) in a randomized comparison (n=40 combined vs n=30 phenazepam alone). The combination lowered phenazepam side effects. The abstract gives no dose.8
- Russian label: no interaction established with haloperidol, pentobarbital, hexobarbital, analeptics or ethanol. Interactions with US-prescribed drugs (SSRIs, benzodiazepines, stimulants) have not been studied.7
Handling
Reconstitution
No reconstitution, diluent, or concentration guidance for a 10 mg compounded vial was found. See the worked arithmetic under practice. Concentration, beyond-use dating and temperature must come from the dispensing pharmacy.
Storage before mixing
Commercial Russian 0.15% drops only: protect from light, 2-8 C, do not freeze. This does not apply to the compounded vial.
Storage after mixing
Commercial drops only: store at 2-8 C; an opened bottle is kept at or below 25 C for no more than 15 days (the opened-bottle figure comes from a secondary source). Compounded vial: follow the pharmacy label.7
Evidence
There is no FDA label and there are no US trials. Human evidence is limited to small Russian studies in anxiety disorders. PubMed classifies PMID 18454096 (62 patients, selank vs medazepam; both drugs reported to have similar anxiolytic effects) and PMID 26356395 (phenazepam alone, n=30, vs selank plus phenazepam, n=40) as randomized controlled trials. Their abstracts give no dose. The only human source that states a dose is a 20-patient conference abstract (2700 ug/day intranasal). No placebo-controlled efficacy trial in anxiety was found. One placebo-controlled single-injection resting-state fMRI study in 52 healthy volunteers (PMID 32342318) assessed brain connectivity only. The Russian registered label (OTC nasal drops) gives a dose about one third of the trial dose, assuming a drop is about 0.05 mL (an assumption, not stated on the label). The practice figures below therefore cannot be called trial-backed.
Availability
References
According to PubMed
- 1P-1114 - Rapid and slow response during treatment of generalized anxiety disorder with peptide anxiolytic selankSyunyakov T, Teleshova ES, Neznamov GG, Bochkarev VK. European Psychiatry 27(Suppl 1):1 (conference abstract; not indexed in PubMed; text read via em-consulte), 2012
- 2Selank dosage (Peptidepedia Medical Advisory Board; page carries a research-use-only peptide vendor banner)peptidepedia.org, 2026
- 3Selank: Dosing Protocolspeptideprotocolwiki.com (commercial information wiki), 2026
- 4Selank Clinical Research: Russian Trial Analysispeptidejournal.org (secondary summary; cites Wikipedia among references), 2026
- 5Certain bulk drug substances for use in compounding that may present significant safety risks (section 'Bulk drug substances nominated but withdrawn'; content current as of 04/22/2026)US FDA, 2026
- 6Sedative-Hypnotic Agents That Impact Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid Receptors: Focus on Flunitrazepam, Gamma-Hydroxybutyric Acid, Phenibut, and SelankJ Clin Pharmacol 2021;61 Suppl 2:S114-S128, 2021
- 7Selank (Селанк) nasal drops 0.15%, Russian registration entry (rlsnet.ru)rlsnet.ru; non-US label, OTC in Russia, 2025
- 8Optimization of the treatment of anxiety disorders with selankZh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova 2015;115(6):33-40 (Russian). RCT, phenazepam monotherapy (30) vs selank + phenazepam (40); abstract gives no dose., 2015
- 9Peptide-based Anxiolytics: The Molecular Aspects of Heptapeptide Selank Biological ActivityProtein Pept Lett 2018;25(10):914-923, 2018
- 10The inhibitory effect of Selank on enkephalin-degrading enzymes as a possible mechanism of its anxiolytic activityBull Exp Biol Med 2001;131(4):315-7, 2001
- 11Efficacy and possible mechanisms of action of a new peptide anxiolytic selank in the therapy of generalized anxiety disorders and neurastheniaZh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova 2008;108(4):38-48 (Russian). Abstract: 62 patients with GAD/neurasthenia, selank (30) vs medazepam (32); MeSH includes Administration, Intranasal. Abstract gives no dose; PubMed types it as a randomized controlled trial and comparative study., 2008
- 12A comparison of the anxiolytic effect and tolerability of selank and phenazepam in the treatment of anxiety disordersZh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova 2014;114(7):17-22 (Russian). 60 patients; abstract gives no dose., 2014
- 13Bulk Drug Substances Used in Compounding Under Section 503A of the FD&C Act (content current as of 05/14/2026)US FDA, 2026
- 14Functional Connectomic Approach to Studying Selank and Semax EffectsDokl Biol Sci 2020;490(1):9-11, 2020
Last reviewed 2026-10-14. 34 figures checked against their sources. How this works