Khavinson BioregulatorTarget: CartilageMusculoskeletal

Sigumir

Cartilage & Bone Extract Bioregulator · Musculoskeletal Cytomax · Сигумир

Sigumir is the Cytomax cartilage/joint/spine complex. Cartalax (Ala-Glu-Asp) is the chondrocyte cytogen. This is not BPC-157, not a viscosupplement, and not a collagen powder.

Not FDA-approved - research chemical
Reviewed by CalcMyPeptide Editorial Team
Last updated: August 2026Evidence: Low4 peer-reviewed citations
Typical research dose
1-2 capsules/day
Frequency
1-2× daily for 10-30 day cycles
Half-life
Mixture (variable)
Common vials
N/A (oral)
CAS
N/A (biological extract)
Molecular weight
Mixture (<10 kDa)

Use-case scores

0–10 against the evidence we have, not a gym ranking. Hidden domains do not apply here.

  • Longevity / aging3.5/10

    Khavinson-school tissue peptide. Single-lab concentration after haircut. Not a Western Phase 3 geroprotector.

  • Injury & tissue3/10

    Musculoskeletal aisle. Not BPC-157 and not an arthritis drug.

Compound card

Sequence
Joints, cartilage, and spine peptide complex (mixture, not a single CAS)
Class
Khavinson Cytomax capsule complex (Joints, cartilage, and spine)
Formula
Polypeptide extract (Cartilage & Bone tissue <10 kDa)
Status
Not FDA-approved · research use

How it works

Sigumir (A-4) is a Cytomax natural polypeptide extract from the cartilage and bone tissue of young calves, targeting human chondrocytes, osteoblasts, and synovial cells to restore the gene expression governing collagen matrix synthesis, proteoglycan production, and anti-inflammatory joint signaling. Osteoarthritis affects approximately 250 million people globally and is fundamentally a disease of cartilage degradation: chondrocytes (cartilage cells) progressively lose their ability to synthesize type II collagen and aggrecan (the proteoglycan that gives cartilage its compressive strength), while simultaneously upregulating matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-13, ADAMTS-5) that degrade the extracellular matrix.

Sigumir delivers short peptide signals (<10 kDa) from bovine cartilage and bone tissue. These peptides enter chondrocyte and osteoblast nuclei to reactivate age-silenced genes encoding: type II collagen (COL2A1), aggrecan (ACAN), SOX9 (the master transcription factor for chondrocyte differentiation), and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1Ra, which directly blocks the cartilage-destructive IL-1β signaling). Unlike glucosamine/chondroitin supplementation (which provides building block substrates), Sigumir works at the transcription level - it tells chondrocytes to re-express the genes for building these molecules.

In Khavinson's protocol, Sigumir (A-4, cartilage/bone) is combined with Gotratix (A-18, skeletal muscle) and Bonomarlot (A-20, bone marrow) to create the complete locomotor system protocol addressing cartilage, muscle, and blood cell regeneration simultaneously.

Source: PMID: 15677927

Khavinson map

Canonical 41
Class
Cytomax (natural peptide complex)
Organ
Joints, cartilage, and spine
Target
Cartilage
System
Musculoskeletal
Sequence
Mixture / not a single CAS
Сигумир

Used in bioregulator stacks

Manufacturer-style organ combinations - not FDA protocols. Every name is a live leaf.

The Khavinson school

Vladimir Khatskelevich Khavinson (1946–2024) spent five decades at what became the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology arguing a simple, stubborn idea: aging is, in part, a failure of tissue-specific peptide signals, and those signals can be restored. The first products were not “peptides” in the Instagram sense. They were Cytamins - polypeptide fractions isolated from a named organ of young animals. Later commercial refinements of those fractions are sold as Cytomaxes (Cytomed / NPCRIZ): still mixtures, still oral capsules, still defined by the source organ rather than a single sequence. When the group identified short active motifs inside those mixtures, they synthesized them as Cytogens - di-, tri-, and tetrapeptides with a one-letter code (KE, AEDG, KED, EDR, KEDP, and so on).

That three-layer stack is the whole map. Cytamin / pharmaceutical extracts (Thymalin, Epithalamin, Cortexin, Retinalamin, Prostatilen) are the clinic-era injectables registered in the former Soviet pharmacopeia. Cytomaxes are the capsule complexes Cytomed still lists as a 21-SKU organ line. Cytogens are the defined synthetics. English-language educators, including Brenden Henry’s public writing at Peptide Science Institute, add a further commercial distinction - later analog SKUs (N-acetyl, amidate, “V2” complexes) sold as more stable or more diverse than the original Cytomed lots. That last layer is a product taxonomy, not a Khavinson paper. We describe it so readers are not gaslit by three bottles with the same organ name. We do not reproduce paid Peptide Mastery protocols, Precision Cell Method language, or anyone else’s course IP.

Full Cytamin → Cytomax → Cytogen map, literature limits, and how we counted 41

The mechanism Khavinson published is epigenetic, not receptor-agonist in the GLP-1 sense. Short peptides are claimed to enter nuclei, interact with DNA/histones, and reopen tissue-specific transcription that condensed with age (heterochromatin → euchromatin). Reviews in the Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine and Neuroendocrinology Letters (PMID 14523363, 15677927, 23888677) are the citable core. Complementary GI pharmacology is not mystical: di- and tripeptides are PEPT1/LAT substrates, which is why oral capsules are even a conversation. What is not established in Western Phase 3 programs is organ-by-organ disease treatment, telomere reversal as a clinical endpoint, or the manufacturer claim that Cytomax is “a third stronger” than Cytogen. Those are NPCRIZ marketing sentences.

Khavinson’s group published hundreds of papers, many in Russian, many in the same journal family. That is a real literature. It is also a literature with limited independent Western replication, small n, and a habit of using one review PMID as a stamp on every organ. On this site a leaf earns its organ story, its Cytomax↔Cytogen pair, its sequence if it has one, and an honest sentence about what has not been shown. Reconstitution math belongs on cytogens sold as vials. Cytomax capsules do not get a fake 5 mg vial.

The 41 we treat as canonical are the 21 Cytomaxes on the public e-peptide/Cytomed list, the 12 Cytogens on that same commercial line (including Vesilut, which Western catalogs often drop), plus eight historically load-bearing molecules that sit beside the capsule SKUs: Epitalon, Vilon, Thymogen, Livagen, Cortagen, Prostamax, Thymalin, and Epithalamin. Honluten, Cortexin, Retinalamin, Prostatilen, Thymulin, N-acetyl-epitalon-amidate, Pinalex, and the GPL Man / GPL Femme kits are covered as adjacent - same school or same storefront, not padded into a fake 41.

Public English-language teaching (including Brenden Henry at peptidescienceinstitute.com) is cited as context, not copied. Paid Peptide Mastery / Peptide Salvation text stays theirs.

History of this molecule

Degenerative joint disease is where peptide vendors all show up with a different story. BPC-157 is a gastric fragment with wound-healing animal data. TB-500 is actin. Khavinson’s play is chondrocyte gene expression - proteoglycan and collagen-II transcription in aging cartilage. Sigumir is the complex; Cartalax is the tripeptide.

Spine in the marketing line means vertebral joints and disc-adjacent tissue in the extract logic, not “inject this into L5.” Oral complex. Not an epidural.

Caveats

Joint Cytomax is not a US dietary-supplement monograph and not a drug. The tissue-extract model means lot-to-lot composition is a fingerprint, not a single CAS number. English-language “V2” bottles that claim more peptide diversity are a later commercial layer (mass-spec marketing from specific brands) - they are not Khavinson’s 1990s papers. Animal-source capsules are inappropriate if the reader has a religious or allergy constraint on the source species. None of this replaces care for the actual organ disease.

Full 41-map: Khavinson bioregulators index · Bioregulator stacks

Research Use Cases

  • ✓Musculoskeletal Cytomax vs Cartalax
  • ✓Not osteoarthritis or osteoporosis treatment

Dosing

PhaseDoseFrequencyNotes
Mini-Course / General Preventive (1 box)2 capsules (20 mg)Once daily for 10 days, 30 min before mealsStandard Khavinson mini-course (20 caps). Repeat every 6 months. Best combined with Gotratix (A-18, muscle) for the complete joint-muscle unit support.
Full Monthly Course (Joint Pain / OA)2 capsules (20 mg)Twice daily for 30 days (120 caps = 2× 60-cap boxes)Bi-annual 30-day courses for adults with osteoarthritis, joint pain, or significant cartilage loss. Core locomotor stack: Sigumir (A-4) + Gotratix (A-18) + Bonomarlot (A-20) per Khavinson locomotor system protocol.
Intensive / Joint Restoration Protocol2 capsules (20 mg)Twice daily, repeated monthly as neededFor advanced osteoarthritis, post-operative joint recovery, or significant cartilage loss confirmed on imaging. Physician supervision advised. Max: 4 caps/day (40 mg).

Administration

Route / form
Oral capsules - swallowed with water. Cytomed Cytomaxes ship as capsules, not sublingual tablets and not lyophilized research vials.
Timing
Morning, with water, about 30 minutes before meals (empty stomach).
Empty stomach?
Yes - Empty stomach - about 30 minutes before meals. Cytomed boxes sometimes print “with food” because they are labeled as supplements; the manufacturer user-guide preference is before meals for absorption.

Sigumir: Not a research vial vs Oral capsule

Not a research vial
Bioavailability
Not applicable. This Cytomax SKU is not sold as a lyophilized research vial. There is no SubQ F% because Cytomed does not ship this complex as a cake.
Dose note
Do not reconstitute Sigumir. No BAC-water chart, no 5 mg vial math, no units-on-a-U-100 conversion. The defined-sequence vial in this aisle is the cytogen pair (Cartalax (AED)), a different SKU. There is no pharmaceutical-extract SKU that is this capsule in a syringe.
Advantages
  • The defined-sequence vial in this aisle is the cytogen pair (Cartalax (AED)), a different SKU.
  • There is no pharmaceutical-extract SKU that is this capsule in a syringe.
  • Reconstitute Cartalax if you bought the AED vial. Intra-articular “Sigumir shots” are not a Cytomed protocol. This is not BPC-157.
Considerations
  • Sigumir is an oral capsule complex. It is not a 5 mg lyophilized research vial.
  • Inventing recon math for a zero-mg Cytomax vial is how people inject the wrong product.
  • Not an official Cytomed sublingual tablet, IM ampoule, or eye drop either.
Oral capsule
Bioavailability
Not quantified in a Western PK study. Official Cytomed form is a swallowed capsule. PEPT1/LAT transport is class biology for short peptides, not an F% for this tissue mixture.
Dose note
Typical Cytomed labeling: 1–2 capsules daily in 10–30 day courses, swallowed with water about 30 minutes before meals (empty stomach). Manufacturer protocol, not an FDA label. Some boxes print “with food” because they are labeled as supplements; the timing copy we use is before meals.
Advantages
  • Official form for Sigumir: swallow the capsule with water. No reconstitution step and no 5 mg cake.
  • Joint Cytomax (Cytomed A-4): chondrocyte aisle. Oral complex, not an epidural and not a viscosupplement. Gotratix is muscle.
  • Course-based (10–30 days, a few times a year in manufacturer folklore), not a daily forever drug.
Considerations
  • Cartilage / joint / spine Cytomax is a peptide mixture / lot fingerprint, not a single CAS. English “V2” bottles are a later commercial layer, not a Khavinson RCT.
  • Russian school literature is not an FDA organ-disease label.
  • Third-party lingual SKUs exist in the wild. We do not claim sublingual as the official Cytomed Cytomax form.
Recommendation: Swallow Sigumir as oral capsules with water, about 30 minutes before meals. Cartilage/joint Cytomax complex, not Cartalax powder, not BPC-157, and not an intra-articular injection. Pair: Cartalax (AED). No knee-OA structural-progression trial.

Timeline

Days 1 - 30
Chondrocyte gene expression restoration initiated. Some users report reduced morning joint stiffness within the first 2–4 weeks.
Month 1–3
Improved joint mobility and reduced inflammatory joint pain. Better cartilage matrix maintenance.
Month 3–6
Sustained cartilage integrity improvement. Reduced rate of cartilage degradation markers in studied populations.

Who it is for

Osteoarthritis / Joint Health (Ages 45+)

Low

Restores chondrocyte and osteoblast gene expression at the transcription level rather than just providing building block supplements like glucosamine.

Athletic Joint Preservation

Low

For high-load athletes seeking to slow cartilage wear. Best combined with Gotratix for complete joint-muscle support.

Safety & Considerations

Natural glandular extract (Cytomax) from bovine cartilage and bone tissue, <10 kDa. No hormones. Meets European/Russian veterinary standards. Generally recognized as safe.

Regulatory & Legal Status

FDA Status (US)
Research Only
WADA Status (2026)
Not Listed

Not currently on the WADA 2026 Prohibited List. Policies may change - verify before competition.

Classification

Research Chemical

US Compounding: Not eligible / not available

⚠️ This information is for educational purposes only and may not reflect the most current regulatory updates. Always verify with official FDA, WADA, and jurisdiction-specific sources before use.

Limits of current evidence

  • Cytomax SKUs are oral capsules. Do not run SubQ reconstitution math on a zero-mg vial.
  • Lot-to-lot composition is a fingerprint, not one sequence.
  • This site will not treat the named organ disease from a peptide page.
  • English-language V2 / analog bottles are a later commercial layer, not a Khavinson RCT.

Verdict

Sigumir is a Cytomax capsule complex from Joints, cartilage, and spine. It is not the paired cytogen, not a 5 mg research cake, and not a US supplement monograph. The organ story is in the dossier on this page.

Interactions & Contraindications

This site will not treat joint disease from a peptide page.

Synergies & Common Stacks

Complex vs tripeptide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Oral capsule or injection?▼
Sigumir is a Cytomax oral capsule: swallow with water, about 30 minutes before meals. It is not a 5 mg lyophilized research vial and not an official Cytomed sublingual tablet (third-party lingual SKUs exist in the wild). If you want a defined-sequence powder to reconstitute, that is the cytogen pair (Cartalax), not this complex. Do not run BAC math on a capsule SKU. Intra-articular shots of this complex are not a Cytomed protocol. Gotratix is muscle.
Sigumir vs Cartalax vs BPC-157?▼
Sigumir = joint Cytomax complex. Cartalax = synthetic AED. BPC-157 = pentadecapeptide from gastric juice, different pharmacology entirely.
Injections into the joint?▼
Cytomax is oral. Intra-articular research powders are a different, usually unjustified, leap.
Pair with Gotratix?▼
Muscle complex + joint complex is a musculoskeletal neighborhood, two tissues.
Reconstitution?▼
Not for Sigumir capsules. Cartalax vials if you bought the cytogen.
How is Sigumir different from glucosamine/chondroitin?▼
Glucosamine and chondroitin provide substrate materials for cartilage matrix. Sigumir works at the gene expression level - it reactivates the transcription of COL2A1 (type II collagen gene) and SOX9 (chondrocyte differentiation master factor) in your existing chondrocytes, so the cells make more of their own matrix components.
What is the best stack for joints?▼
The Khavinson locomotor system protocol: Sigumir (A-4, cartilage/bone) + Gotratix (A-18, skeletal muscle) + Bonomarlot (A-20, bone marrow). This addresses every major component of the movement system - cartilage, muscle, and blood cell/immune support.

References

  1. Khavinson VKh et al. “Tissue-specific effects of peptides.” Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine (2005). PMID: 15677927
  2. Khavinson VKh, Lin’kova NS, Tarnovskaya SI “Short peptides regulate gene expression.” Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine (2013). PMID: 23888677
  3. Khavinson VKh, Morozov VG “Peptide regulation of aging: from experimental studies to clinical practice.” Advances in Gerontology (2003). PMID: 14523363
  4. Khavinson VKh “"Peptide bioregulators - a new class of geroprotectors".” Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine (2002). PMID: 12677266

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