Epitalon and the similar names
Epitalon is made by joining four amino acids—the small pieces used to build proteins.
That short chain is called a peptide.
Epithalon is another spelling of epitalon.
Why does a brain gland come into it?
Epitalon was designed using the makeup of epithalamin. Epithalamin is a mixture taken from a small gland in cattle brains.
That gland makes melatonin, a chemical message linked to sleep. Chemical messages made by the body are called hormones.
A link to that gland does not tell you whether epitalon helps a person sleep.
Are those similar names the same substance?
They are different: epitalon is made by joining small pieces; epithalamin is the mixture taken from the cattle gland.
The US drug agency (FDA) treats them as different substances. Older human studies often used the cattle-gland mixture.
When you read a claim, ask which substance the study actually tested.
Make room for this question
“When you say epitalon, which substance do you mean?”
Read the original records
Background on the substance and its origin.
Explains why the cattle-gland mixture and epitalon are reviewed as different substances.