Semax and Selank as 'brain peptides': what the evidence actually shows

What did @ayub_ace actually say?

The creator, who goes by @ayub_ace, laid out a clean split: Semax is your "focus" peptide that "boosts brain cell connections," "increases dopamine," and "improves memory." Selank, by contrast, "works on GABA and serotonin" and is the go-to for anxiety and sleep trouble. He drew on personal experience with ADHD and anxiety to explain why he uses Selank, and suggested starting each compound separately before combining them. The framing was casual but the underlying pharmacological claims were specific enough to warrant a real look.

Worth noting: the auto-transcription mangled the names throughout ("Simax" and "Salang"), which tells you something about how little mainstream recognition these compounds have. But the compounds he is describing are real: Semax (Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro) and Selank (Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro), both developed by the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Russia.

Does the science back this up?

Partially, but the evidence base is thin and heavily skewed toward Russian literature. Most human trials are small, many lack independent replication, and neither compound is approved by the FDA. That does not mean they do nothing. It means the confidence interval on every claim here is wider than the creator implies.

On Semax: there is credible preclinical evidence for effects on brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Dolotov et al. (2006, Journal of Molecular Neuroscience) showed Semax increased BDNF in rat brain tissue. A small Russian clinical trial by Kaplan et al. (2017) reported cognitive improvements in stroke patients. The dopamine angle has some support, but "increases dopamine" is a simplification. Semax appears to modulate dopaminergic signaling rather than directly flooding dopamine levels, which is a meaningful distinction if you are thinking about tolerance or dependency risk.

On Selank: the GABA-modulating mechanism has been described in Russian studies, including Semenova et al. (2010, Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine), which found anxiolytic effects in animal models comparable to benzodiazepines at certain doses. The serotonin claim is less established in humans. Effects on tryptophan metabolism have been reported, but calling it a serotonin compound the way he does oversimplifies the picture.

What did they get wrong (or right)?

He got the broad strokes right. Semax does have evidence for cognitive and neuroprotective effects. Selank does have anxiolytic evidence. The directional framing is defensible. Where he goes wrong is in presenting these as settled pharmacology rather than preliminary findings from a fairly narrow research base.

Saying Semax "increases dopamine" without qualification is misleading. The mechanism is more nuanced, involving BDNF upregulation and modulation of monoamine systems, not a straight dopamine dump. Conflating those mechanisms matters clinically because it affects how someone might think about stacking it with other dopaminergic compounds.

The Selank claim that it "works on GABA and serotonin" is partly accurate but also partly speculative for humans. Most serotonin data comes from animal studies or indirect markers. He also makes no mention of the fact that neither compound has robust long-term safety data in humans, which is the kind of omission that gets people into trouble.

On the plus side, his advice to try one at a time before combining is genuinely sound harm-reduction thinking.

What should you actually know?

Neither Semax nor Selank is FDA-approved. Both are available as research chemicals or through compounding pharmacies in some jurisdictions, but that legal status varies by country and changes. If you are considering either compound, the conversation has to start with a licensed provider who can assess your baseline, your medications, and your goals, not a TikTok video.

The self-medication angle here is worth flagging directly. The creator mentions ADHD and anxiety and frames these peptides as his personal solutions. That narrative is relatable and drives engagement, but ADHD and anxiety disorders are clinical diagnoses with evidence-based treatment protocols. Using unregulated peptides as a substitute or adjunct without medical oversight is a real risk, not a hypothetical one.

• Semax has been used clinically in Russia for stroke and cognitive impairment, but those are not the use cases being described in this video.
• Selank's anxiolytic effects in animals are real, but extrapolating animal GABA data directly to human anxiety treatment is a jump.
• Long-term human safety data for both compounds is essentially absent in peer-reviewed Western literature.
• The combination stack the creator suggests has no controlled trial data behind it.