A Russian bioregulator tripeptide (Ala-Glu-Asp) marketed for cartilage and joint support — part of the Khavinson family, used in 10–20 day cycles. Khavinson-lineage data; no peer-reviewed Western RCT.
Cartalax is a short synthetic tripeptide (Ala-Glu-Asp) from the Khavinson bioregulator family — a group of Russian-developed peptides targeted at specific tissue types. Cartalax is tuned toward cartilage and connective tissue maintenance.
Like other Khavinson peptides (Epitalon, Testagen, Pinealon), it is used in short cycles rather than continuously, and the proposed mechanism is gene-expression modulation rather than a direct hormonal or cytokine effect.
The "tissue-specific" framing deserves a caveat. Cartalax is marketed as a cartilage-targeted bioregulator, but the published work on AED does not show tissue selectivity — it shows the same anti-senescence signature wherever it has been tested. The same pattern of reduced p16/p21/p53 and increased sirtuin and proliferation markers has been reported in kidney cell cultures (PMIDs 25946838, 26033601), skin fibroblasts (PMID 27259496), mesenchymal stem cells (PMID 32399807) and chondrocytes (PMID 37356100). That is a case for a generic effect on cellular ageing, not for cartilage targeting. Tissue specificity is the organising idea of the Khavinson family, not a finding.
Not FDA approved. Sold in Russia as a биологически активная добавка (БАД, dietary supplement) — not as a registered pharmaceutical. Not WADA prohibited. Available as injectable powder or oral capsule.
Per Khavinson’s research, short peptides bind to specific DNA promoter regions, selectively influencing genes relevant to the tissue they’re targeted at. Cartalax is tuned toward chondrocyte (cartilage cell) gene expression.
Supports cartilage cell function, proteoglycan synthesis, and extracellular matrix maintenance — the cellular machinery that keeps joints functional.
Reduces inflammatory markers in joint tissues in animal studies — complementary to BPC-157 or systemic anti-inflammatories.
Research is primarily Russian and not widely replicated in Western trials. The evidence base is almost entirely cell culture — a PubMed search for Cartalax returns in-vitro work and nothing else, with one animal exception noted below. There is no human trial of Cartalax for any endpoint.
| Benefit | Evidence |
|---|---|
| Joint comfort | Better sourced than this guide previously said. We described the only indexed reference as a review; there is also a cell study. Myakisheva 2023 (PMID 37356100) tested AED — Cartalax itself — on chondrocytes, finding the aging-associated secretory phenotype marked by raised p16, p21, p53, TNF-α and IL-1α with reduced Sirt1, and that AED normalised those markers. A companion review (PMID 37782637) argues the chondroprotection rationale. Still no RCT, and still cell culture |
| Cartilage support | The mechanistic claim now has a directly relevant citation rather than only Khavinson-lineage inference — but note what it is: chondrocytes in culture, measuring signalling proteins, not cartilage volume or joint function in a living animal or person |
| Bone density (animal) — the only in-vivo study | The whole rest of this table is cell culture. There is exactly one published animal experiment: ovariectomised rats, an osteoporosis model, comparing a cartilage-tissue extract against "T-31 substance" — which a later paper (PMID 26033601) identifies as AED, Cartalax itself. Both were osteoprotective, preventing the drop in bone mineral density after ovariectomy and partly correcting it once established (PMID 18306703). Two things to hold onto. The endpoint is bone, not cartilage. And the crude cartilage extract was significantly more effective than the isolated peptide — the reverse of the Epitalon story, where the purified tetrapeptide beat its parent extract by a wide margin. The abstract does not state the doses used. |
| Recovery from injury | Anecdotal community use adjunct to BPC-157. No clinical-trial evidence. |
| Age-related joint decline | Maintenance use in aging athletes; biomarker improvements reported in Khavinson-lineage cohort studies. Not validated outside that lineage. |
Expect subtle, accumulating effects over multiple cycles rather than dramatic acute changes.
One finding, two readings — and both are honest. The chondrocyte result and the oncology caution further down this page describe the same biochemistry: AED lowering p16, p21 and p53. Myakisheva reads that as normalising a senescent secretory phenotype, which is the geroprotective interpretation and a reasonable one. We flag it as an oncology signal, because p53 is the central tumour suppressor and lowering it is not a free action.
Neither reading is spin. That tension is real in senescence biology generally: the markers that define a senescent cell are also the brakes on a cancerous one, and a compound that removes them is doing both things at once. Anyone with a personal or family cancer history should weigh the second reading more heavily than the first.
Build your protocol, log every dose, monitor your body's response, and get reminders so you never miss a dose.
Start Tracking FreeNot medical advice. These figures describe what is reported in the literature and what practitioners and communities do — not a recommendation, and for most compounds here no human dose-finding study exists. Talk to a qualified healthcare provider.
No published study of Cartalax reports a dose you can copy. There is no human trial of any kind, and the single animal study (PMID 18306703) does not state the amount given in its abstract. Everything below is convention — nothing here is validated dose-finding, and the two conventions in circulation differ by a factor of five to twenty.
| Convention | Daily dose | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Low / microgram | 100 – 400 mcg | Matches the microgram scale the Khavinson lineage used for other peptides in this family — Epitalon was given at 10 mcg per animal in primates. Consistent with the family, but never published for Cartalax specifically. |
| Milligram | 2 mg | The figure in wider community and course circulation. Fits the way the product is actually sold — see below. |
Cartalax is typically sold as a 20 mg vial, and reconstituted peptide is generally treated as good for about two weeks refrigerated. At 2 mg/day for a 10-day cycle you use exactly one vial inside that window. At 100–400 mcg/day you would use 1–8 mg across a 10–20 day cycle and discard well over half the vial — and at the low end one vial would cover several cycles it cannot physically stay stable for.
That is an argument from packaging, not from evidence, and it is worth exactly what it sounds like. But when no study reports a dose, how the compound is packaged is one of the few real signals available, and it points to the milligram convention.
Duration and cycling are the one part both conventions agree on.
For joint-specific injuries, Cartalax (for cartilage) + BPC-157 (for tissue healing) is a reasonable stack. Run together during a 4–6 week acute protocol.
Not medical advice. These figures describe what is reported in the literature and what practitioners and communities do — not a recommendation, and for most compounds here no human dose-finding study exists. Talk to a qualified healthcare provider.
For injectable powder:
20 mg vial + 2 mL BAC water = 10 mg/mL = 10,000 mcg/mL
| Dose | Volume | Syringe Units |
|---|---|---|
| 100 mcg | 0.01 mL | 1 unit |
| 200 mcg | 0.02 mL | 2 units |
| 400 mcg | 0.04 mL | 4 units |
| 2 mg | 0.20 mL | 20 units |
A 1-unit draw is not reliably measurable on an insulin syringe. If you are using the microgram convention, reconstitute in more water — 20 mg in 5 mL gives 4 mg/mL, making 200 mcg a 5-unit draw — or use oral capsules, which are pre-dosed. The 2 mg dose at 10 mg/mL is a comfortable 20 units and needs no adjustment. That the low convention is barely drawable at the vendor-standard dilution is itself part of the argument above.
Pre-filled with a typical Cartalax setup. Edit any field — the draw updates live.
Insulin syringe — 100 units = 1 mL
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Cartalax has an excellent reported safety profile in Russian clinical use. Side effects are rare and mild.
Cartalax is sold for research use only. If you are sourcing it for research, we recommend Lyvn — every batch third-party tested with the full laboratory panel published on the product page.
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For research use only. Not for human consumption. 21+.
Build your protocol, log every dose, monitor your body's response, and get reminders so you never miss a dose.
Start Tracking FreeCartalax is a short synthetic tripeptide (Ala-Glu-Asp) from the Khavinson bioregulator family, a group of Russian-developed peptides targeted at specific tissue types. Cartalax is tuned toward cartilage and connective tissue maintenance. Like other Khavinson peptides (Epitalon, Testagen, Pinealon), it works at very low doses in short cycles rather than continuous use.
Per Khavinson's research framework, short peptides bind to specific DNA promoter regions and selectively influence genes relevant to the tissue they're targeted at. Cartalax is tuned toward chondrocyte (cartilage cell) gene expression, supporting cartilage cell function, proteoglycan synthesis, and extracellular matrix maintenance. The mechanism is gene-expression modulation at the tissue-specific level, not a direct hormonal or cytokine effect.
Research is primarily Russian and not widely replicated in Western trials. The only PubMed-indexed reference for joint comfort is a single review (PMID 37782637); no peer-reviewed RCT exists. Mechanistic claims around chondrocyte function and articular cartilage maintenance trace to the Khavinson lineage; broad independent replication is limited. Expect subtle, accumulating effects over multiple cycles rather than dramatic acute changes.
No. Cartalax is not FDA approved. It is sold in Russia as a биологически активная добавка (BAD, dietary supplement), not as a registered pharmaceutical. It is not WADA prohibited. Available as injectable powder or oral capsule.
Community and Khavinson-convention dosing is 100 to 400 mcg/day for 10 to 20 days per cycle, run 2 to 4 cycles per year. Route is SubQ or oral capsule. No human RCT of Cartalax has been published, so these figures reflect convention rather than clinical-trial-validated dose-finding. For injectable powder, 20 mg vial + 2 mL bacteriostatic water gives 10 mg/mL; consider a more dilute reconstitution at low doses for easier measurement.
Cartalax has an excellent reported safety profile in Russian clinical use with rare and mild side effects: occasional injection site reactions (SubQ) or mild GI upset (oral). The more serious concern is oncology-adjacent: Cartalax-family short peptides enhance Ki-67 proliferation markers (PMIDs 26033601, 27259496), suppress caspase-3 mediated apoptosis, upregulate IGF1 gene expression 3.5 to 5.6 fold (PMID 32399807), and suppress p53 alongside p16 and p21 senescence markers (PMID 25946838). p53 is the central tumor-suppressor pathway, so personal or family history of cancer, hormone-sensitive tumors, and precancerous conditions all warrant oncologist oversight, not just currently active disease.
Different mechanisms, often stacked rather than substituted. Cartalax is positioned at chondrocyte gene expression for cartilage maintenance; BPC-157 is broader tissue healing. For joint-specific injuries the two are sometimes run together during a 4 to 6 week acute protocol. Cartalax has no peer-reviewed RCT for joints, so the case for stacking rests on mechanistic plausibility plus anecdote rather than head-to-head evidence.
Disclaimer: This guide is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The compounds discussed are not FDA approved for human use. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before starting any new supplement or peptide protocol. StackTrax does not sell peptides or supplements directly — purchase links go to third-party vendors. StackTrax is not responsible for the products, quality, or business practices of any third-party vendor.
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StackTrax guides cover peptides and compounds that are not FDA-approved for the uses discussed. The dosing, reconstitution, and safety information is compiled from published research and community protocols for educational purposes only.
Before using any compound mentioned here, consult a qualified healthcare provider. StackTrax does not sell, prescribe, or recommend these substances for personal use.