The Short Answer
Cartalax is a name for the synthetic tripeptide Ala-Glu-Asp (alanine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid), also written AED or T-31 peptide in research papers. The U.S. National Library of Medicine indexes it as "a synthetic peptide with geroprotective activity," and PubChem lists "Cartalax" and "T-31 peptide" as synonyms of the same molecule (formula C12H19N3O8, about 333 Da).
It belongs to the family of short "peptide bioregulators" studied mainly by Vladimir Khavinson's group at the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology. Sellers market it for cartilage, joints and healthy aging.
What the evidence actually is:
- Cell-culture studies (skin, kidney and stem cells), almost all from the same research group.
- One rat study of bone density after ovariectomy.
- No published human clinical trials that we could find on PubMed, and no studies registered on ClinicalTrials.gov under Cartalax or Ala-Glu-Asp (checked October 2026).
Cartalax is not an FDA-approved drug for any use. This guide is educational. It doesn't give dosing advice. Talk with a licensed clinician about any treatment.
Claims vs Evidence
| Claim you'll see | What the published research shows |
|---|---|
| "Supports cartilage and joints" | No human or animal cartilage-outcome study found. One rat study looked at bone mineral density, not cartilage (Povorozniuk 2007) |
| "Protects bones" | In ovariectomized rats, T-31 had an osteoprotective effect, but a cartilage-extract preparation worked significantly better (Povorozniuk 2007) |
| "Anti-aging" for cells | Skin fibroblast, kidney and stem-cell cultures showed changes in aging and proliferation markers (Lin'kova 2016; Chalisova 2015; Ashapkin 2020) |
| "Works in people" | Not tested in published controlled human trials |
| "Safe" | No human safety data has been published |
What the Key Studies Did
- Rat bone study (Povorozniuk et al., Adv Gerontol 2007): In a rat model of postmenopausal osteoporosis (ovariectomy), both a cartilage-tissue extract and the "T-31 substance" helped prevent the drop in bone mineral density. The authors reported the cartilage-extract preparation had significantly higher efficacy. The paper is in Russian.
- Skin cells (Lin'kova et al., Bull Exp Biol Med 2016): In aging skin fibroblast cultures, AED and related short peptides lowered MMP-9 (an enzyme that breaks down tissue matrix), raised proliferation markers, and AED reduced caspase-dependent cell death.
- Kidney tissue (Chalisova et al., Bull Exp Biol Med 2015): In rat kidney tissue cultures, T-31 (AED) increased proliferation and reduced apoptosis, though less than a calf-kidney polypeptide complex.
- Stem cells (Ashapkin et al., Mol Biol Rep 2020): In human mesenchymal stem cell aging models, AED, KED and KE at nanomolar concentrations changed the expression of aging-related genes, including a 3.5–5.6-fold increase in IGF1 expression.
- A negative result (Lin'kova et al., Bull Exp Biol Med 2011): In aging thymus-cell cultures, T-31 did not show the broad geroprotective effect seen with another test peptide (AB-9).
How to Read This Research
Three things to keep in mind:
- Cells in a dish aren't people. Changing a marker in culture doesn't show a benefit you'd feel or measure in your joints.
- One lab, mostly. Nearly all Cartalax papers come from the same institute that developed the bioregulator concept. Independent replication is missing.
- The cartilage name is ahead of the data. We found no published study measuring cartilage, joint pain or function with Cartalax in animals or humans.
If you're comparing joint-focused peptides, the human evidence for most of them is thin. See our BPC-157 knee pain human study breakdown and the wellness peptide evidence gap.
Dosage Questions
People search "Cartalax dosage" a lot. There is no human dose established by clinical trials, and we don't suggest one. Product labels and seller protocols vary and aren't based on published human studies. If a licensed clinician gives you an amount for any peptide, the web reconstitution calculator does the arithmetic.
Quality and Safety
Because Cartalax isn't an approved drug, products are sold without FDA review of identity, purity or sterility. If you're looking at any product, our guide to reading a certificate of analysis explains what a real test report should show. Human side effects haven't been studied, so nobody can say how common they are.
Tracking With Your Clinician
If you and a clinician are tracking joint symptoms, steady notes help: pain scores, stiffness, activity and anything you're taking. Save this in the PeptIQ app: PeptIQ keeps those notes on one timeline you can share with your care team.
Related reading: Epitalon, another Khavinson bioregulator and the Cartalax research profile.
