What is pancragen?
Pancragen is the synthetic tetrapeptide Lys-Glu-Asp-Trp (KEDW), which its developers give as the C-terminal amide, H-Lys-Glu-Asp-Trp-NH2 (Khavinson et al., 2007). V. Kh. Khavinson of the Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology described it as an analog of a four-residue fragment shared by insulinotropic polypeptides (Khavinson, 2005), and it is one of the short peptides his institute's researchers call bioregulatory peptides (Zakutskii et al., 2006). The record is small.
Every pancragen study we found in PubMed has Khavinson or researchers from his institute's network among its authors, every paper cited here appeared in a Russian journal or its English edition, and the evidence is mostly rat, monkey and cell work. It is not an approved drug in the United States (no Drugs@FDA record, October 2026). Disguised Alpha does not currently list pancragen; this page is a literature reference for laboratory researchers. Nothing on this page is guidance for use in people.
Pancragen reference data
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Pancragen |
| Also called | Lys-Glu-Asp-Trp-NH2, KEDW-NH2, KEDWa, lysyl-glutamyl-aspartyl-tryptophanamide; often written as Lys-Glu-Asp-Trp or KEDW |
| Sequence | L-lysine, L-glutamic acid, L-aspartic acid and L-tryptophan joined by peptide bonds, with a free amino terminus and a C-terminal amide |
| Compound class | Synthetic tetrapeptide amide; a short peptide bioregulator from the Khavinson group, named for the pancreas |
| Molecular formula | C₂₆H₃₇N₇O₈ |
| Molecular weight | 575.6 g/mol (monoisotopic mass 575.27 Da) |
| PubChem | CID 68451868, filed as H-Lys-Glu-Asp-Trp-NH2; no record under the name pancragen |
Formula, weight and the all-L stereochemistry are from PubChem CID 68451868. The amide form comes from the developers' papers (Khavinson et al., 2007) and the National Library of Medicine's MeSH vocabulary, which files pancragen under lysyl-glutamyl-aspartyl-tryptophanamide. The free acid (CID 68452877, C₂₆H₃₆N₆O₉, 576.6 g/mol) is about one dalton heavier.
What the research covers
Published work on pancragen falls into five areas; each summary names its model. A PubMed title and abstract search for the name returns seven records (12 October 2026); several more papers give only the sequence.
Design and diabetic rat models
Khavinson reported that insulinotropic polypeptides share a four-residue fragment, and his group synthesized an analog of it, written KEDWa, that the abstract describes as protected from gastrointestinal proteinases. In rats with alloxan-induced diabetes it partially restored insulin synthesis, and the abstract presumes that it activates the preproinsulin gene promoter by binding the DNA sequences ggcagg and cctgcc (Khavinson, 2005). In Wistar rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes, pancragen given by mouth markedly lowered blood glucose; given intramuscularly, it normalized adhesion of the mesenteric capillary endothelium without changing capillary permeability (Khavinson et al., 2007). Model: rats.
Pancreatic explants and cell cultures
In one abstract covering four peptides, each at 0.05 ng/mL stimulated explants of its matching tissue (pancreas for pancragen) from 3-week-old and 18-month-old rats compared with control explants (Zakutskii et al., 2006). In human embryonic pancreatic cells, it raised expression of the differentiation factors CXCL12 and Hoxa3, which were lower in late-passage cultures (Khavinson et al., 2012).
A follow-up reported higher expression of the acinar cell factors Pdx1 and Ptf1a and the islet cell factors Pdx1, Pax6, Pax4, Foxa2 and Nkx2.2 in young and aged cultures (Khavinson et al., 2013). In aged human pancreatic cell cultures, a Russian-language report found that the amide raised MMP2, MMP9, serotonin, CD79alpha, Mcl1, PCNA and Ki67 and lowered p53 (Khavinson et al., 2012). Models: rat explants and pancreatic cell cultures.
Gene methylation and DNA models
Moscow State University researchers, with Khavinson and his frequent co-author N. S. Linkova among the authors, reported that promoter methylation of PDX1, PAX6 and NGN3 changes as pancreatic cell cultures age, in step with their expression.
KEDW altered methylation at the few methylated CpG sites of the FOXA2 promoter, with no correlation with FOXA2 expression, and the authors suggest methylation might underlie age- and peptide-related shifts in PDX1, PAX6 and NGN3 expression (Ashapkin et al., 2015). In molecular modeling, the tetrapeptide could bind both the minor and the major groove of DNA, and the authors propose GGCAG as its binding site (Tarnovskaya et al., 2014). Models: cell cultures; computer modeling.
Old rhesus monkeys
Two Russian-language reports from a primate research institute in Sochi, with Khavinson as a co-author, used old female rhesus monkeys. After a 10-day intramuscular course of pancragen, glucose disappeared from the blood faster and insulin and C-peptide dynamics were reported as normalized, an effect that partly persisted 3 weeks later (Goncharova et al., 2014).
The second report compared five monkeys given pancragen with four given the glucose-lowering drug glimepiride by mouth: both lowered basal glucose, glimepiride more strongly and with a delay; pancragen normalized insulin and C-peptide levels, while glimepiride raised C-peptide without a significant effect on insulin (Goncharova et al., 2015). Model: rhesus monkeys.
Reports in older people
Two reports from the Institute of Gerontology in Kyiv, with Khavinson as a co-author, are summarized here as research history. The first examined 30 healthy older people and 33 with type 2 diabetes. Among those with diabetes, pancragen was reported to lower fasting glucose and glucose in a standard tolerance test and to reduce plasma insulin and an insulin resistance index, while no change was seen in people not given it; the abstract does not say how people were assigned or how many were in each arm (Korkushko et al., 2011).
The second gave a 4-week course of a tetrapeptide preparation it calls pankragen forte to 12 older people with impaired glucose tolerance, with no comparison group described, and reported a significant fall in glucose during the tolerance test in half of them (Korkushko et al., 2013). Model: older adults.
Key studies
- Khavinson VK. "Effect of tetrapeptide on insulin biosynthesis in rats with alloxan-induced diabetes." Bull Exp Biol Med. 2005. PMID 16671579. DOI 10.1007/s10517-005-0517-6. Alloxan-diabetic rats.
- Khavinson VKh, et al. "Effect of pancragen on blood glucose level, capillary permeability and adhesion in rats with experimental diabetes mellitus." Bull Exp Biol Med. 2007. PMID 18642713. DOI 10.1007/s10517-007-0377-3. Diabetic Wistar rats.
- Khavinson VKh, et al. "Effects of pancragen on the differentiation of pancreatic cells during their ageing." Bull Exp Biol Med. 2013. PMID 23486591. DOI 10.1007/s10517-013-1987-6. Pancreatic cell cultures.
- Goncharova ND, et al. "Impact of tetrapeptide pancragen on endocrine function of the pancreas in old monkeys." Adv Gerontol. 2014. PMID 25946840. In Russian. Old rhesus monkeys.
- Korkushko OV, et al. "Prospects of using pancragen for correction of metabolic disorders in elderly people." Bull Exp Biol Med. 2011. PMID 22448364. DOI 10.1007/s10517-011-1354-4. Older people.
Handling and storage of lyophilized pancragen
General laboratory practice for lyophilized short peptides, from the peptide storage guide and the peptide reconstitution guide:
- Keep the sealed powder dry, at -20°C and protected from light, and let a cold vial reach room temperature before opening.
- The storage guide lists tryptophan among residues prone to oxidation and photo-oxidation, and aspartic acid as prone to hydrolysis. Make solutions fresh, keep them in single-use aliquots at 2 to 8°C and protected from light, and avoid freeze-thaw cycles.
- With two acidic residues and one basic, it counts as acidic under the reconstitution guide's residue-count rule, though the amide's net charge near neutral pH is about zero. Dissolve it before adding any salt or buffer, and record the pH.
- Confirm identity by mass: [M+H]+ reads m/z 576.28 for the amide and 577.26 for the free acid (monoisotopic).
Frequently asked questions
What is pancragen?
The synthetic tetrapeptide amide Lys-Glu-Asp-Trp-NH2, a short peptide bioregulator from Khavinson's group (Khavinson et al., 2007), studied mainly in diabetic rats, pancreatic cells and old rhesus monkeys.
Is pancragen a peptide?
Yes. The pancragen peptide is lysine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid and tryptophan joined by peptide bonds, ending in an amide (PubChem CID 68451868). Its first three residues are the vesugen sequence, Lys-Glu-Asp, which testagen and prostamax also start with.
Is pancragen the same as KEDW?
Yes, by sequence. Abstracts also write it as Lys-Glu-Asp-Trp (Khavinson et al., 2012) or KEDWa (Khavinson, 2005). Where a paper gives no terminus, check its methods before comparing mass data.
Has pancragen been tested in people?
Two reports in older people are indexed in PubMed, both from Kyiv with Khavinson as a co-author: a study of 30 healthy older people and 33 with type 2 diabetes that reports pancragen findings only for the diabetes group (Korkushko et al., 2011), and a 4-week series in 12 older people with impaired glucose tolerance given a preparation the report calls pankragen forte (Korkushko et al., 2013). Neither abstract describes randomization or blinding.
How strong is the evidence on pancragen?
Limited. No outside group has repeated the animal or cell findings in an indexed paper, the glimepiride comparison used nine monkeys (Goncharova et al., 2015), and none of the abstracts cited here describes randomization or blinding.
Does Disguised Alpha sell pancragen?
Not currently. Related short peptides listed in the catalog include Vesugen (Lys-Glu-Asp), Testagen (Lys-Glu-Asp-Gly) and Cardiogen (Ala-Glu-Asp-Arg).
Related compounds and guides
- Peptide bioregulators explained
- Peptide bioregulators list, A to Z
- Vesugen research guide
- Testagen research guide
- Prostamax research guide
- Bronchogen research guide
- Cardiogen research guide
All Disguised Alpha products are for laboratory research only and are not for human consumption.