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Synthetic peptide (ACTH fragment analogue) · also: ACTH 4-10 analogue
Semax carries an Evidence Grade of D (Low confidence). The strongest published evidence catalogued is animal.
Grade D rule: Animal evidence only.
The grade reflects the strength of the published evidence, not safety or efficacy. “Confidence” means how settled that grade is given the record — not how likely the compound is to work.
Human-use stop
This compound is investigational, warned or not approved for human use. A seller calling it “research only,” showing testimonials, registering a company or publishing a COA does not create an approved consumer medicine. Seller links below are market-surveillance records, not recommendations.
Semax is a synthetic ACTH-fragment analogue studied primarily in Russian literature for cognitive and neuroprotective endpoints.
Animal and in-vitro results are shown separately and must never be read as established human outcomes.
In plain terms: the research here is 7 animal studies and 5 lab-bench studies, with no human trials at all. Results in animals frequently do not repeat in people.
Strongest: randomised or pooled human trials.
none catalogued
Observational, open-label or small human studies.
none catalogued
Preclinical animal models — not a human outcome.
Semax peptide targets the μ opioid receptor gene Oprm1 to promote deubiquitination and functional recovery after spinal cord injury in female mice. British journal of pharmacology, 2025.
Antidepressant-like and antistress effects of the ACTH(4-10) synthetic analogs Semax and Melanotan II on male rats in a model of chronic unpredictable stress. European journal of pharmacology, 2024.
Semax, synthetic ACTH(4-10) analogue, attenuates behavioural and neurochemical alterations following early-life fluvoxamine exposure in white rats. Neuropeptides, 2021.
Effects of behaviorally active ACTH (4-10) analogue - Semax on rat basal forebrain cholinergic neurons. Restorative neurology and neuroscience, 2008.
Semax, an analog of ACTH(4-10) with cognitive effects, regulates BDNF and trkB expression in the rat hippocampus. Brain research, 2006.
Semax, an analogue of adrenocorticotropin (4-10), binds specifically and increases levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor protein in rat basal forebrain. Journal of neurochemistry, 2006.
Novel synthetic analogue of ACTH 4-10 (Semax) but not glycine prevents the enhanced nitric oxide generation in cerebral cortex of rats with incomplete global ischemia. Brain research, 2001.
Cell / tissue studies — not a human outcome.
none catalogued
Proposed mechanism — hypothesis, not evidence of effect.
Therapeutic Peptides in Orthopaedics: Applications, Challenges, and Future Directions. Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews, 2026.
Functional Connectomic Approach to Studying Selank and Semax Effects. Doklady biological sciences : proceedings of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Biological sciences sections, 2020.
Pharmacological Aspects of Neuro-Immune Interactions. Current pharmaceutical design, 2018.
Influence of the N-terminus acetylation of Semax, a synthetic analog of ACTH(4-10), on copper(II) and zinc(II) coordination and biological properties. Journal of inorganic biochemistry, 2016.
Semax, an ACTH(4-10) analogue with nootropic properties, activates dopaminergic and serotoninergic brain systems in rodents. Neurochemical research, 2005.
On “cited by N”: citation counts (Crossref) reflect how often a paper has been referenced — a measure of academic attention, not of validity, safety, or whether a compound works. They do not affect the Evidence Grade, which is set purely by the strength of the evidence tier.
Independent replication is limited; the evidence base is largely regional and early. Not established for general use.
Not an approved medicine in major markets. Sold only as a “research chemical”, with no established safe consumer use, dose or supply standard.
PepCred flags any vendor selling this compound to the public as a consumer-protection concern. Status reflects regulator records; see the regulatory detail below.
No FDA-approved (US) drug labelling found for this compound. A search of openFDA returned no approved product containing it as an active ingredient.
This reflects US FDA approval only — other regulators (e.g. MHRA, EMA) may differ; see the note below. Absence of an approved label is not, by itself, a safety finding, and a “research use only” label does not establish safety, legality or correct identity.
PepCred note: Not approved in major Western jurisdictions.
These unranked records show where the name was detected. For an investigational, warned or unapproved compound, no seller, company registration, review score or COA creates an approved human-use route.
None of these is verified for human use.