Testagen
Polypeptide fraction from bovine testicular tissue, used in Russian andrology for low sperm count and age-related androgen decline. Earlier attribution to a defined KEDW tetrapeptide has been retracted in our dossier; this is a tissue extract, not a sequence.
1 · Identity
- Identity
- sequence-only / literature
- Aliases
- KEDW tetrapeptide (EN); Testagenum (EN); Тестаген (RU_LATIN)
2 · Mechanism — what the primary literature actually shows
Polypeptide fraction from bovine testes (not a defined sequence). The mechanism is inferred from the source organ: testosterone-like regenerative + tissue-specific effects on testicular function. Direct studies are sparse — most adjacent literature covers male reproductive biology (sperm cryopreservation, oligospermia, androgen anabolic steroid misuse). The compound sits in the methodological shadow of prostatilen (prostate extract) — same Cytomed production paradigm but less studied. Note: registry entry incorrectly attributes testagen to KEDW tetrapeptide — this is wrong; KEDW is pancragen. Testagen is a polypeptide fraction (testicular extract), not a defined tetrapeptide.
How it works
Key findings (5)
- Adjacent: oxidative stress model in vitro — polypeptides from testes show biological activity (Khochenkova 2022) — note: not the registered testagen product, similar polypeptide class
- Adjacent: sperm DNA fragmentation, oligospermia, FT-IR spectroscopy methods (Nechiporenko 2024)
- Adjacent: lactational physiology and pathology — context for reproductive peptide use (Budanov 2019)
- Adjacent: pre-gravidar preparation for couples with recurrent bacterial vaginosis — peptide combinations used (Tapilskaya 2018)
- No DIRECT primary literature on registered Testagen® product found in CyberLeninka search
Evidence quality
Low. Testagen as a registered product has minimal direct study. Most "testagen" papers are about testicular biology, male infertility, or adjacent peptides. The compound deserves more dedicated pharmacology.
Open questions (4)
- What is the active principle in testagen? Polypeptide fraction composition has not been worked out
- Is testagen actually different from generic testicular extracts?
- Registry error: KEDW was attributed to testagen — this is wrong (pancragen is KEDW)
- Any modern pharmacological study in male reproductive medicine?
3 · Summary
Design distribution
| Design | Count | Distribution |
|---|
4 · Possible mechanisms — candidate list
5 · Pathways — questions the corpus does not yet answer
- Pathway
- Falsification experiment for open question 1. What is the active principle in testagen? Polypeptide fraction composition has not been worked out
- Blocked by
- See synthesis evidence quality section for barriers.
- Pathway
- Falsification experiment for open question 2. Is testagen actually different from generic testicular extracts?
- Blocked by
- See synthesis evidence quality section for barriers.
- Pathway
- Falsification experiment for open question 3. Registry error: KEDW was attributed to testagen — this is wrong (pancragen is KEDW)
- Blocked by
- See synthesis evidence quality section for barriers.
- Pathway
- Falsification experiment for open question 4. Any modern pharmacological study in male reproductive medicine?
- Blocked by
- See synthesis evidence quality section for barriers.
6 · Bibliography — Russian primary sources
- pregravidarnaya-podgotovka-supruzheskoy-pary-s-uchastiem-oboih-partnerov-pri-chastyh-retsidivah-bakterialnogo-vaginoza
- biologicheskaya-aktivnost-lekarstvennogo-preparata-iz-polipeptidov-semennikov-v-modeli-okislitelnogo-stressa-in-vitro
- fiziologiya-i-patologiya-laktatsii
- metod-furie-ik-spektroskopii-v-issledovanii-eyakulyata-v-norme-i-s-oligozoospermiey
- patsienty-osobogo-serdechno-sosudistogo-riska-sovremennye-aspekty-neobhodimosti-profilakticheskogo-monitoringa-molodyh-lits-s
- tsitrusovye-kak-lechebnye-sredstva
- sindrom-gipoaldosteronizma-u-detey-i-podrostkov
- lekarstvennye-peptidnye-preparaty-proshloe-nastoyaschee-buduschee
- kolichestvennaya-otsenka-spermogrammy-u-muzhchin-na-osnove-intervalnoy-shkaly
- individualnyy-podhod-k-mikrodozirovannomu-rezhimu-menopauzalnoy-gormonalnoy-terapii-u-patsientov-starshe-60-let
- otkrytie-renina-robert-tigershtedt-i-per-bergman
- avokado-lat-pers-a-americ-na
- lechebnye-svoystva-lekarstvennogo-rasteniya-oduvanchik
- kontratseptivnye-vaktsiny
- natsionalnyy-proekt-rossii-bioekonomika-na-severo-vostoke-evrazii-biopreparaty-iz-tkaney-holodo-adaptirovannyh-dikorosov-i
Inventor (detail): V.Kh. Khavinson lab.
First publication: mid-2000s.
Peptide kind: Polypeptide fraction from testicular tissue (bovine).
Below: substantive excerpts from 6 Russian primary papers. Click each title to expand the Russian/English abstract.
6/6 papers with substantive abstracts · 7,259 characters of Russian/English pharmacological text extracted · 6 Russian abstracts · 4 English abstracts · 0/6 relevance-classified.
Extracted findings (3 models · 3 mechanism terms · direction: ↑3 ↓3 ↺0 across 6 papers)
- Model organisms
- in vitro, поросенка
- Doses / concentrations
- —
- Mechanism terms
- антиоксидантное, антиоксидантные, апоптоза
- Effect direction
- 3× increase · 3× decrease · 0× restoration/normalisation
[2018] ПРЕГРАВИДАРНАЯ ПОДГОТОВКА СУПРУЖЕСКОЙ ПАРЫ С УЧАСТИЕМ ОБОИХ ПАРТНЕРОВ ПРИ ЧАСТЫХ РЕЦИДИВАХ БАКТЕРИАЛЬНОГО ВАГИНОЗА
[2022] БИОЛОГИЧЕСКАЯ АКТИВНОСТЬ ЛЕКАРСТВЕННОГО ПРЕПАРАТА ИЗ ПОЛИПЕПТИДОВ СЕМЕННИКОВ В МОДЕЛИ ОКИСЛИТЕЛЬНОГО СТРЕССА IN VITRO
[2019] ФИЗИОЛОГИЯ И ПАТОЛОГИЯ ЛАКТАЦИИ
[2024] Метод Фурье ИК-спектроскопии в исследовании эякулята в норме и с олигозооспермией
[2023] Пациенты «особого» сердечно-сосудистого риска. Современные аспекты необходимости профилактического мониторинга молодых л
[2019] Цитрусовые как лечебные средства
7 · Bibliography — PubMed corpus
| PMID | Year | Design | n | Grade | COI | Title |
|---|
8 · Corroboration
- Corpus source
- PubMed (eutils) and OpenAlex, swept against this compound by PMID. Last verified 26.08.2026.
- Identity source
- PubChem CID — verified live. InChIKey —. Live fetch on 26.08.2026.
- Provenance
- St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology (2003) Khavinson VKh — Prostate/testis tetrapeptide
9 · Open questions
- Zero A- or B-grade evidence in the corpus. No registered RCT with disclosed n.