Livagen

Lys-Glu-Asp-Ala, KEDA tetrapeptide, "liver bioregulator"

Immune & bioregulators

Awaiting medical reviewEN ES DE FR PT ZH+ Follow for updates

Summary

Class: Synthetic tetrapeptide (4 amino acids) from the Khavinson bioregulator family, designed from the amino-acid profile of a liver extract
Mechanism: Proposed to alter gene activity in liver and immune cells by loosening condensed chromatin; based on cell-culture work from one group
Routes studied: In vitro (human lymphocyte culture); intraperitoneal injection in rodents; community: oral and subcutaneous
Dose range reported: In vitro: nanogram-per-millilitre concentrations. Animal: µg/kg range in originating-group reports. Community: short courses mirroring the group's 10-day pattern. No validated human dose
Half-life: Not characterised; expected to be minutes, with oral forms likely digested
Storage: Lyophilised: refrigerate, dry, protect from light. Reconstituted: refrigerate, use within ~2–4 weeks (community practice)
Regulatory status: Not approved as a medicine anywhere to our knowledge †

Doses are as reported in studies or by the community — never recommendations.

1What it is

Livagen is a four-amino-acid synthetic peptide (lysine–glutamate–aspartate–alanine) created by the Khavinson group in St Petersburg as the "liver" member of their bioregulator series. The design logic is the same as for Vilon (profile 74) and Epitalon (set 2): find the dominant amino acids in a tissue extract and make a minimal peptide meant to carry that tissue's regulatory signal.

The literature on Livagen is thin even by the standards of this family. Most of what exists is work on human lymphocyte cultures, a small number of rodent experiments, and review articles by the originating group. The Tier 2 caveat applies in full: one group, mostly Russian-language, no independent replication that we are aware of. Online, Livagen is often confused with natural liver-extract products sold under similar branding; those are different materials.

2How it's thought to work

Chromatin decondensation. in cultured lymphocytes from elderly donors, Livagen was reported to reduce the amount of condensed, inactive heterochromatin and to reactivate ribosomal genes that had become silenced with age (Khavinson, Lezhava 2003, Bull Exp Biol Med; Lezhava 2006). The originating group interprets this as the peptide re-opening age-silenced genes.

DNA binding. molecular modelling from the same group proposes that KEDA, like other short peptides in the family, can slot into the DNA double helix at specific sequences.

Liver cell effects. reports of stimulated proliferation in liver tissue cultures and protective effects in rodent toxic-liver models exist mainly in review form.

Proposed: a tetrapeptide directed at the liver, reported in cell work to decondense chromatin and activate transcription. No controlled human evidence.Schematic — not to scale

None of this has been tested in a controlled human study.

3What the research shows

Chromatin changes in lymphocytes from elderly people

Blood lymphocytes cultured from donors aged roughly 75–88 and exposed to Livagen showed decondensation of pericentromeric heterochromatin, release of certain chromosomal regions from "ageing-type" condensation, and increased activity of nucleolar organiser regions (Khavinson 2003, Bull Exp Biol Med; Lezhava 2006, Georgian Med News / Biogerontology †). Small donor numbers, single group, only. [1][3]

Graded C (thin)

Liver protection in rodents

Review articles from the originating group describe reduced liver damage and improved regeneration in rat models of toxic hepatitis; primary data in accessible journals are sparse and we have not been able to verify design details. Treat as "claimed, under-documented".

Immune and ageing outcomes

General geroprotective claims appear in reviews alongside other peptides of the family; no Livagen-specific lifespan study is known to us.

Not gradednone

Human clinical data

No controlled or uncontrolled human trial of Livagen has been published in a form we can verify. Community use rests entirely on extrapolation from the chromatin work and on the family's reputation.

4Reported side effects and interactions

Literature-reported

no human safety data. Rodent reports describe no toxicity.

Community-reported

nothing consistent; most reports are of no noticeable effect.

Theoretical. a free tetrapeptide of common amino acids is unlikely to be toxic; the genuine risk is product identity (natural extract versus synthetic peptide) and unverified sourcing. Any true gene-activation effect would be unpredictable in direction, which is itself a reason for caution with a compound this poorly characterised.

Interactions. none established.

Markers researchers commonly monitor

No compound-specific markers exist. The literature on liver-targeted compounds suggests, as a general baseline: No marker has ever been shown to move in response to Livagen in a human.

Marker	Why it's watched
ALT, AST, ALP, GGT, bilirubin	standard liver panel; the compound's claimed target organ.
Albumin and INR	liver synthetic function, rarely changed by anything short of real liver disease but the honest end-point for a "liver support" claim.
CBC	the only human data concern lymphocytes.
CMP	general baseline for any injected compound with no human safety data.

Free for everyone. Safety information is never behind a paywall.

5Reconstitution and handling

Where supplied as an injectable, powder with , swirl gently, refrigerate and protect from light. Capsule products are more common; check whether the label lists the synthetic KEDA peptide or a liver extract.

Open in calculator, pre-loaded →

6Commonly studied alongside

Vilon (profile 74) — the two were tested together in the chromatin studies; Epitalon (set 2); Thymogen (profile 76). No combined human data.

Informational cross-links. Not stack recommendations.

7Regulatory status by region

Region	Status (checked —)
United States	Not FDA-approved; not known to be on the Category 2 compounding list †
European Union	Not authorised as a medicine or novel food †
United Kingdom	Not licensed
Australia	Not approved
South Africa	Not registered
Sport	Not named by WADA; non-approved substances fall under S0 †

8Open questions

Does a tetrapeptide given orally or subcutaneously survive long enough to reach the liver, let alone the nucleus of liver cells?
Has any independent laboratory reproduced the chromatin decondensation finding?
Whether chromatin changes in a culture dish translate into any physiological effect.

9References

1Khavinson VKh, Lezhava TA, Monaselidze JR et al. (2003). Peptide Epitalon activates chromatin at the old age. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. (Companion work on the same assay system; retain only if the Livagen-specific paper cannot be resolved) PubMed
2Khavinson VKh, Lezhava TA, Malinin VV et al. (2003–2004). Effects of Livagen peptide on chromatin activation in lymphocytes from old people. Bull Exp Biol Med [verify exact title and year]. PubMed
3Lezhava T (2006). Chromosome and aging: genetic conception of aging. Biogerontology. PubMed
4Khavinson VKh, Malinin VV (2005). Gerontological Aspects of Genome Peptide Regulation. Karger, Basel. (Monograph; primary data for liver models are summarised here) PubMed
5Khavinson VKh et al. (2014). Peptide regulation of gene expression: a systematic review. Molecules / Biology Bulletin Reviews [verify venue]. PubMed

References are being resolved to PubMed/DOI identifiers; links search PubMed for the citation until then.

† Being confirmed by our reviewers against current sources.

10Community

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Self-reported side effects Phase 2

Not enough data yet. 0 of the 50 members needed have logged this compound for 4+ weeks. We don't show anything below 50, so no one can be identified.

11Page history

26 Oct 2026Profile published — awaiting medical review

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