Guide

Same research family. Different tools.

Think of the body as a city of neighborhoods — brain, thymus, vessels, pineal, joints. Short peptides, in the Khavinson story, are like short messages with zip codes: brief amino-acid notes aimed at a named tissue rather than a general “take this everywhere” broadcast. This page is a vocabulary map of how commercial product lines differ in composition and regulatory class relative to that research idea. It is not a shop, not medical advice, and not a shopping list.

Want the mechanism story first? How short peptides are thought to work.

Layer 0 — The research idea (not a brand)

Long before capsule labels and course calendars, there was a research program associated with Vladimir Khavinson and colleagues at the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology (SPBIG). The through-line: tissue-specific short peptides — sometimes studied as complex organ extracts historically called cytomedins, sometimes as synthetic ultra-short sequences that copy an “active key” from those complexes.

That is a scientific and historical frame, not a brand name on a bottle. Our library and About page file papers and explain the publication’s scope. Remember the quiet rule of any careful reader: theoretical or mechanistic interest is not the same as clinical proof for a commercial SKU. A lineage of research can inspire products without turning every product claim into settled medicine.

Russian drugs vs БАДы (supplements)

Before the capsule alphabet soup, one border stamp matters more than any brand name: лекарственные препараты (registered medicines) versus БАДы / parapharmaceuticals (dietary supplements). Same research city on the map; different passports at customs.

Only a handful of injectables (and related pharma forms) in this scientific neighborhood are registered Russian drugs. Examples often cited in that drug category include:

• Thymalin — thymus polypeptide complex (Samson-Med).
• Retinalamin, Cortexin, Pineamin — pharma injectables (retina, cerebral cortex, and pineal polypeptide preparations).
• Thymogen — a defined synthetic immunomodulator dipeptide (not an animal-extract complex).
• Samprost — prostate polypeptide preparation.

Those are prescription-style pharmaceuticals in the Russian framing — disease-oriented tools under physician direction. By contrast, the oral consumer lines most English readers meet first — Cytomaxes, Cytogens, Revilab, and Prime Peptide® — are sold as dietary supplements / parapharmaceuticals (БАДы), not as those registered injectables. Marketing that says “all Khavinson peptides are drugs” is mixing zip codes.

Layer 1 — Classic natural vs synthetic (БАД shelf)

The “original” consumer vocabulary most people meet first lives on the supplement shelf: earlier natural tissue complexes, purified natural organ peptide capsules, and lab-made ultra-short mono copies — all generally БАД-tier in Russian framing, not the injectable drug list above.

Cytamins

Earlier / legacy natural tissue complexes — historically broader mixtures, often discussed as higher-molecular-weight material than the later purified lines. Useful as a “first draft of the organ-extract idea” footnote; don’t overweight them relative to Cytomaxes and Cytogens.

Cytomaxes

Natural animal-organ peptide БАД capsules — low-molecular-weight peptide fractions from young animal tissues, organ-specific. Classic names readers often meet: Ventfort (vessels), Vladonix (thymus/immune), Endoluten (pineal), Cerluten (brain), plus many others (Svetinorm, Sigumir, Suprefort, Visoluten…). Sublingual (“lingual”) forms also appear. Composition framing: a broader natural fraction mix, often described as slower onset with a longer after-effect than the synthetic monos — preventive / supportive БАД language, not a drug registration.

Cytogens

Synthetic short mono-peptide БАД capsules (typically two to four amino acids), framed as copying the active “key” of a matching natural complex. The classic six often listed: Vesugen (vessels), Crystagen (thymus/immune), Cartalax (cartilage/joints), Ovagen (liver), Pinealon (brain/CNS), Honluten (bronchi/lungs). Positioning language often emphasizes speed, precision, and batch consistency — “starter” courses before or beside a matching Cytomax. Still БАД-tier; they do not inherit Thymalin / Retinalamin drug registrations.

“Speed,” “depth,” and “use framing” here mean manufacturer positioning — not clinical rankings established by this publication. All three rows are generally supplement-tier (БАД), not the Russian injectable drug list.

Layer 2 — Revilab (multi-peptide stacks)

Revilab is a next-gen composition story: multi-peptide complexes instead of one zip code per bottle. Still БАД — not a mono Cytomax or Cytogen, and not a registered injectable.

• Revilab ML — multifunctional capsules: several ultra-short peptides (often labeled AA-xx complexes) plus antioxidants / nutrients in one course.
• Revilab SL — sublingual multi-component liquids / drops, marketed for faster absorption by bypassing gut and liver first-pass (positioning language, not a verdict from this site).

There are also Revilab Pro / cosmetics-facing extensions; for body-system vocabulary, ML and SL are the main forks.

Layer 3 — Prime Peptide® (IPH + nutrients)

Prime Peptide® is a premium nutraceutical-style line — Brain, Protect, Joints, Collagen, Omega, Biotics, and similar system formulas. The composition idea stacks branded IPH peptide complexes with vitamins, minerals, collagen, omegas, mushroom peptides, and other co-factors: a rich multi-ingredient formula, not a classic single Cytomax like Cerluten and not a bare Cytogen mono capsule. Still БАД-style / nutraceutical framing, not a registered injectable.

Secondary marketing sometimes calls Prime Peptide a “new Cytogen generation” using IPH. Sequence names on ingredient panels can look familiar from the broader short-peptide literature — but IPH ↔ Khavinson IP overlap is UNCERTAIN; say that plainly. Similar shelf neighborhood ≠ proven same patent package.

Honest contrast for a publication reader: Cerluten stands in for the classic Cytomax natural brain complex; Prime Peptide Brain stands in for a newer IPH + nutrient stack. One is “organ complex, purified natural”; the other is “system formula with peptide technology + supporting cast.” Different tools; looser Khavinson-classic feel than Cytomax / Cytogen / Revilab even when discussed in the same research neighborhood.

“Which is which?” cheat sheet

A fun decision tree in plain language — still a map of composition vocabulary, not a prescription:

• Need a registered Russian injectable / pharma frame → Thymalin, Retinalamin, Cortexin, Pineamin, Thymogen, Samprost — different regulatory class and often a different commercial channel from oral БАД lines.
• Want the classic organ-specific natural БАД complex → Cytomax family (Ventfort, Endoluten, Cerluten…).
• Want a single short synthetic mono sequence БАД → Cytogen family (Vesugen, Pinealon, Honluten…).
• Want several peptides (+ nutrients) in one bottle → Revilab ML / SL.
• Want a modern IPH + co-factor “system formula” → Prime Peptide® — not the US research-vial vendor of a similar name.

If you want to buy something, that’s Pure Fire’s job. This page only maps the vocabulary.