The Peptide Atlas
Selank
A seven-amino-acid peptide developed in Russia from tuftsin, a natural immune fragment, taken as a nasal spray.
Class
Tuftsin-analog anxiolytic peptide
Evidence
Human-tested
Status
Approved in Russia; studied in research settings elsewhere.
Forms
Nasal spray
What people use it for
Anxiety without sedation. The appeal is calm with none of the fog, dependence, or blunting of benzodiazepines.
The signal
It appears to work through the brain's own calming chemistry, influencing GABA signaling and the enzymes that break down enkephalins, the brain's internal soothers [1].
How it works
Taken nasally, it reaches the brain and modulates the systems above without binding the benzodiazepine site directly, which is why the reported effect is calm without sedation.
What the research shows
Russian clinical trials in generalized anxiety, including a randomized comparison against the benzodiazepine phenazepam, reported comparable anxiety reduction without the sedation [2, 3]. It's an approved drug in Russia. The trials are published in Russian journals from a small research circle, and no Western trials exist.
What people get wrong
That absence of Western trials means proof it doesn't work, or that Russian approval means proof it does. The honest position is narrower: real human trials exist, from one country's literature, and nobody independent has checked.
References
- Bull Exp Biol Med (2001). The inhibitory effect of Selank on enkephalin-degrading enzymes as a possible mechanism of its anxiolytic activity. PubMed
- Medvedev VE et al., Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr (2014). A comparison of the anxiolytic effect and tolerability of selank and phenazepam in the treatment of anxiety disorders. PubMed
- Medvedev VE et al., Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr (2015). Optimization of the treatment of anxiety disorders with selank. PubMed
Last reviewed 2026-08-24. Every reference is verified against the primary literature at review time. How the Atlas grades evidence