Selank myths: what the research does not show
Cognitive & Nootropic Research
Selank is a synthetic seven-amino-acid analogue of the natural peptide tuftsin, with a small set of Russian anxiety studies in people and a larger body of rat and mouse work. Below, each popular claim is checked against what those papers report.
Findings
- In 62 adults with generalized anxiety disorder or neurasthenia, selank and the benzodiazepine medazepam had similar anti-anxiety effects (2008).
- In a 60-person comparison with phenazepam, the authors reported a clear anti-anxiety effect that lasted a week after the last exposure (2014).
- In rats, one exposure to selank during training increased the stability of a memory trace over 30 days (2010).
- The biggest gap: the human abstracts we read report no effect sizes, and we found no large multicentre trial or independent replication outside Russia.
View product →Myth: selank is as strong as a benzodiazepine
Partly true, on one small comparison. The 2008 study of 62 adults found the anti-anxiety effects of selank and medazepam similar, and it also reported effects on fatigue. The abstract gives no scores and does not describe blinding. One study of that size cannot establish equal strength. A 2014 comparison with phenazepam in 60 people reports selank’s effect without stating how the two compared in size. Neither paper supports replacing any medicine with selank.
Myth: selank has no side effects
Not established. A 2001 paper states that selank does not cause the side effects typical of most anxiety drugs, and that line is repeated widely. It is a statement in a laboratory paper on enzymes, not a safety result. The human abstracts we read give no adverse event rates. A 2015 Russian trial found fewer phenazepam side effects when selank was added, in 40 people against 30 on phenazepam alone. That concerns the combination, and it does not show selank itself is free of them.
Myth: selank is a proven nootropic
Shown in rats, barely tested in people. Rat work is consistent: besides the 2010 memory result, a 2019 study found better object recognition in rats. In people, the 2014 paper mentions a mild nootropic effect in adults with anxiety disorders, without figures. A 2020 scan study of 52 healthy participants looked at brain connections rather than memory. We found no trial testing memory or focus in healthy adults.
Myth: selank works just like a benzodiazepine on GABA
Partly true, and unsettled. A 2018 binding study described selank as a positive allosteric modulator of GABA binding, but also found that it could block the modulating activity of diazepam. A 2016 rat study found changes in 45 genes one hour after selank or GABA, which points to broad effects. A 2001 paper proposed a different route, through slower breakdown of enkephalins. The authors offer these as possible mechanisms, and no single one has been confirmed in people.
Myth: selank strengthens the immune system
Not shown. A 2008 Russian paper found that selank changed IL-6 activity in blood cells in the laboratory, and shifted a cytokine balance in adults with anxiety disorders over 14 days. Its authors suggested a possible role in preventing infections. They did not test that. A shift in immune markers is not the same as fewer illnesses, and no abstract we read counted infections.
Myth: selank treats alcohol or opioid withdrawal
Rodent data only. In a 2022 rat model of morphine withdrawal, selank cut the total withdrawal score by 39.6%, slightly less than the 49.3% seen with diazepam. In the 2019 study, it prevented memory disturbances during alcohol withdrawal in rats. These are interesting models. We found no human study of selank in addiction or withdrawal, so nothing can be claimed for people.
What selank cannot promise
Selank’s research is suggestive and comes from a small number of groups, so caution is warranted.
- It cannot promise the strength of a prescription anxiety drug; one small study is not enough.
- It cannot promise a clean safety record; published adverse event data are sparse.
- It cannot promise sharper memory in healthy people; that was not tested.
- It cannot promise fewer infections or easier withdrawal; those remain untested in people.
Where the evidence stands
Selank is not an approved medicine in Canada for anxiety, memory or immune uses. Its human studies were published in Russian journals, and we read them through their English abstracts. Larger trials reported in full, from independent groups, have not appeared. Selank is supplied strictly as a laboratory research material.
Vistara Labs supplies selank as a laboratory research material. The page above is about the published research, not a claim about our product.
Frequently asked questions
Has selank been studied in humans?
Yes, in a few Russian studies of adults with anxiety disorders, with 60 to 70 participants each, and in one brain scan study of healthy volunteers. Most other selank research used rats and mice.
Is selank a benzodiazepine?
No. It is a seven-amino-acid peptide based on tuftsin. Some research suggests it affects the GABA system, the same system benzodiazepines act on, but the mechanism is not settled.
Does selank improve memory?
It did in rat studies. In people, one paper mentions a mild effect in adults with anxiety disorders, and we found no trial measuring memory in healthy adults.
Sources: Zozulia AA, Neznamov GG, Siuniakov TS, et al. [Efficacy and possible mechanisms of action of a new peptide anxiolytic selank in the therapy of generalized anxiety disorders and neurasthenia]. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2008. PMID 18454096. Medvedev VE, Tereshchenko ON, Israelian AIu, et al. [A comparison of the anxiolytic effect and tolerability of selank and phenazepam in the treatment of anxiety disorders]. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2014. PMID 25176261. Semenova TP, Kozlovskiĭ II, Zakharova NM, et al. [Experimental optimization of learning and memory processes by selank]. Eksp Klin Farmakol. 2010. PMID 20919548. Zozulya AA, Kost NV, Yu Sokolov O, et al. The inhibitory effect of Selank on enkephalin-degrading enzymes as a possible mechanism of its anxiolytic activity. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2001. PMID 11550013. Medvedev VE, Tereshchenko ON, Kost NV, et al. [Optimization of the treatment of anxiety disorders with selank]. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2015. PMID 26356395. Kolik LG, Nadorova AV, Antipova TA, et al. Selank, Peptide Analogue of Tuftsin, Protects Against Ethanol-Induced Memory Impairment by Regulating of BDNF Content in the Hippocampus and Prefrontal Cortex in Rats. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2019. PMID 31625062. Panikratova YR, Lebedeva IS, Sokolov OY, et al. Functional Connectomic Approach to Studying Selank and Semax Effects. Dokl Biol Sci. 2020. PMID 32342318. Vyunova TV, Andreeva L, Shevchenko K, et al. Peptide-based Anxiolytics: The Molecular Aspects of Heptapeptide Selank Biological Activity. Protein Pept Lett. 2018. PMID 30255741. Volkova A, Shadrina M, Kolomin T, et al. Selank Administration Affects the Expression of Some Genes Involved in GABAergic Neurotransmission. Front Pharmacol. 2016. PMID 26924987. Uchakina ON, Uchakin PN, Miasoedov NF, et al. [Immunomodulatory effects of selank in patients with anxiety-asthenic disorders]. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2008. PMID 18577961. Konstantinopolsky MA, Chernyakova IV, Kolik LG. Selank, a Peptide Analog of Tuftsin, Attenuates Aversive Signs of Morphine Withdrawal in Rats. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2022. PMID 36322304.
All products supplied by Vistara Labs are intended for laboratory research use only. They are not drugs, are not approved for human or veterinary use, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition. Nothing on this page constitutes medical advice or guidance for use in humans.
References
Selank has been evaluated in small human comparative studies of anxiety-related disorders, not in large multicentre placebo-controlled trials.
- [Efficacy and possible mechanisms of action of a new peptide anxiolytic selank in the therapy of generalized anxiety disorders and neurasthenia]Comparative clinical study; 30 patients on Selank versus 32 on medazepam.
- [A comparison of the anxiolytic effect and tolerability of selank and phenazepam in the treatment of anxiety disorders]Comparative clinical study; 60 patients with anxiety or somatoform disorders, Selank versus phenazepam.
Links open the study record on PubMed so the source can be checked directly. Listing a study is not a claim that its findings apply to any other use, product or route of administration. Research use only.
