Livagen Pen
20 mg of the Khavinson tetrapeptide in 3 mL of sterile bacteriostatic water, 0.67% w/v. Filled from peptide tested in the manufacturer’s own laboratory, with certificates on the testing results page.
| Compound | Livagen (Lys-Glu-Asp-Ala (KEDA)) |
|---|---|
| CAS number | Not assigned |
| Molecular formula | C18H31N5O9 |
| Contents | Livagen: 20 mg per 3 mL pen (0.67% w/v) |
| Form | Sterile aqueous solution in bacteriostatic water (0.9% benzyl alcohol), supplied in a 3 mL glass cartridge inside a preloaded autoinjector pen fitted with a needle |
| Storage, sealed | Store at 2–8 °C in the original carton, protected from light |
| Format | Solution in a 3 mL pre-filled pen |
Sizes and lots
- 20 mg · 1 pen — $78.99
- 20 mg · Kit of 10 — $702.22
Livagen, the Khavinson tetrapeptide Lys-Glu-Asp-Ala (KEDA), comes in this listing as a ready-made solution in a preloaded pen: 20 mg of Livagen in a 3 mL glass cartridge, which the safety data sheet gives as 0.67% w/v in bacteriostatic water. The research behind the name is modest. Most of it describes chromatin changes in lymphocytes cultured from elderly donors, reported by Khavinson's St Petersburg institute and a cytogenetics group that has published with it.
What is in the pen
Each pen carries a 3 mL cartridge of sterile solution containing 20 mg of Livagen, the same KEDA sequence sold as powder in the Livagen 20 mg vial. At 0.67% w/v that works out to about 6.7 mg/mL. The solvent is bacteriostatic water with 0.9% benzyl alcohol. The safety data sheet leaves the peptide unclassified; for benzyl alcohol it lists acute toxicity if swallowed or inhaled, serious eye irritation and skin sensitisation.
Store the pen in its original carton at 2 to 8 °C and away from light, keep it capped once in use, and never freeze it. A pen whose solution has frozen, changed colour or gone cloudy should be discarded. The peptide pen vs vial article sets out the general differences between the two formats.
What the research covers
Livagen's measured effects are cytogenetic. Khavinson, Lezhava and Malinin exposed leukocytes from donors aged 75 to 88 to five short peptides and reported that all of them activated ribosomal genes and decondensed tightly packed chromatin; Livagen also decondensed pericentromeric chromatin on chromosome 1 and changed chromosome 9 as well1. Lezhava and Jokhadze later reported that it reactivated condensed chromatin in lymphocytes from people over 80 and lowered the number of chromosomal changes that cobalt chloride produced in those cells2.
Both were culture studies of donated cells. None of the work involved a solution stored the way this pen is, and the abstracts say nothing about how KEDA holds up in water, so the safety data sheet's storage conditions are the only guide for the pen. No liver experiment, animal study or human trial of Livagen appears in these references, and the papers come from a small circle of authors. The Livagen guide lists every indexed study, including the one rat study and the one liver paper, with what each measured.
Frequently asked questions
How does the Livagen pen differ from the vial?
Both contain 20 mg of the same KEDA peptide. The vial is freeze-dried powder stored at −20 °C until the lab dissolves it; the pen is already in solution at about 6.7 mg/mL and is stored at 2 to 8 °C. The vial leaves solvent and concentration to the lab, while the pen fixes both.
Is there stability data for Livagen in solution?
None of the studies cited here measured it. The chromatin papers exposed cells to the peptide in culture and report nothing on shelf life in water, so the cold, dark, unfrozen storage on the safety data sheet is the guidance to follow.
References
- Khavinson VKh, Lezhava TA, Malinin VV. Effects of short peptides on lymphocyte chromatin in senile subjects. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2004;137(1):78-81. DOI · PubMed
- Lezhava T, Jokhadze T. Activation of pericentromeric and telomeric heterochromatin in cultured lymphocytes from old individuals. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2007;1100:387-99. DOI · PubMed
For laboratory research use only. Not for human or veterinary consumption. Products have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.