Selank for Anxiety: What the Evidence Shows
What human and animal studies show about Selank for anxiety, how strong that evidence is, and what is still unproven.
- Strongest evidence
- Human RCT
- Human studies
- 7
- PubMed records, our ledger
- Animal studies
- 27
- PubMed records, our ledger
- Studies we summarised
- 10
- with an outcome for anxiety
Evidence for anxiety
Each row is an outcome related to anxiety from a published study, strongest design first. Animal and cell results are labelled and are not human results. User reports are not counted as evidence here.
| Outcome | Result | Study type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speed of anxiolytic effect (HDRS) | Adding selank brought the benefit of phenazepam earlier on the HDRS scale. | Human RCTn = 70 | Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova 2015, PMID 26356395 |
| Benzodiazepine side effects | Selank as add-on reduced phenazepam side effects such as attention and memory impairment and sedation. | Human RCTn = 70 | Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova 2015, PMID 26356395 |
| Anxiety | Selank showed pronounced anxiolytic and mild nootropic effects. | Human controlled trialn = 60 | Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova 2014, PMID 25176261 |
| Duration of effect | The anxiolytic effect lasted for a week after the last dose. | Human controlled trialn = 60 | Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova 2014, PMID 25176261 |
| Anxiety (selank vs medazepam) | Anxiolytic effects of selank and medazepam were similar; selank also showed antiasthenic and psychostimulant effects. | Human RCTn = 62 | Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova 2008, PMID 18454096 |
| Leu-enkephalin half-life (biomarker) | The enkephalin half-life biomarker increased during selank treatment, mostly in patients with GAD. | Human RCTn = 62 | Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova 2008, PMID 18454096 |
| Cytokine balance | Th1/Th2 cytokine balance changed in serum of patients after 14 days of selank. | Human uncontrolled trial | Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova 2008, PMID 18577961 |
| Anxiety under chronic stress | Selank alone and selank plus diazepam each reduced anxiety indicators in different conditions. | Animal · rat (not a human result) | Behavioural neurology 2017, PMID 28280289 |
| Anxiety after dopaminergic damage | Selank reduced anxiety in rats with dopaminergic neuron damage; it did not change motor activity. | Animal · rat (not a human result) | Doklady biological sciences 2017, PMID 28702721 |
| Anxiolytic and nootropic effect by route | Both intranasal and intraperitoneal selank worked only in the more anxious BALB/c strain. | Animal · mouse (not a human result) | Eksperimental'naia i klinicheskaia farmakologiia 2016, PMID 29787664 |
| Fear and aggression | Intranasal selank produced long-term behavioural improvement in neurotic monkeys, including elimination of fear and aggression. | Animal · monkey (not a human result) | Zhurnal evoliutsionnoi biokhimii i fiziologii 2008, PMID 18727417 |
| Anxiolytic effect by mouse strain | Selank (100 micrograms/kg) was anxiolytic in BALB/c mice but had no effect in C57Bl/6 mice. | Animal · mouse (not a human result) | Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine 2002, PMID 12432865 |
| Enkephalin-degrading enzymes | Selank inhibited plasma enkephalin hydrolysis in a dose-dependent way (IC50 15 microM), a proposed mechanism for its anxiolytic action. | In vitro (not a human result) | Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine 2001, PMID 11550013 |
PubMed records for Selank and anxiety: 7 human, 27 animal (search counts, not studies we reviewed). Grades follow our .
How strong is it?
A human randomized trial outweighs any number of animal studies. Animal and cell results show a mechanism worth testing, not that it works in people.
What anxiety disorders are
MedlinePlus describes anxiety disorders as conditions in which anxiety does not go away and can get worse over time.[11]
What the human selank studies measured
One study compared selank in 30 patients with medazepam in 32 patients, all with generalized anxiety disorder and neurasthenia, using the Hamilton, Zung and CGI scales.[3]
The anxiolytic effects of selank and medazepam were reported as similar, with selank also showing antiasthenic and psychostimulant effects.[3]
In a comparison with phenazepam in patients with phobic-anxiety and somatoform disorders, pronounced anxiolytic and mild nootropic effects of selank were reported, and the anxiolytic effect lasted for a week after the last dose.[2]
A separate study compared phenazepam alone in 30 patients with selank plus phenazepam in 40 patients across anxiety-phobic, hypochondriac and somatoform disorders.[1]
Adding selank to phenazepam was reported to decrease the undesirable side-effects of phenazepam, such as attention and memory impairment, sedation and asthenia.[1]
Animal and bench data on the same goal
A plasma study found that selank dose-dependently inhibited enzymatic hydrolysis of plasma enkephalin with an IC50 of 15 microM, a proposed mechanism and not a treatment result.[10]
In BALB/c mice, 100 micrograms/kg of selank produced an anxiolytic effect in the open-field test but not in C57Bl/6 mice; this is mouse data.[9]
In rats under chronic mild stress, selank alone was the most effective at reducing anxiety raised by the test substances, and selank with diazepam did best under chronic stress; this is rat data.[5]
How much anxiety research exists for selank
The goal ledger (PubMed, run 2 Oct 2026) counts 7 human-only and 27 animal-only papers for selank with anxiety or stress terms, of which 2 carry a randomized-trial tag.
Calculated from pubmed query (selank[tiab]) AND (anxi*[tiab] OR "psychological stress"[tiab] OR "emotional stress"[tiab]); date 2026-10-02; human filter count 8; human only count 7; animal filter count 27; randomized filter count 2. Formula: counts as recorded in the goals.json ledger
None of the 4 cached human selank abstracts (18454096, 26356395, 25176261, 18577961) states blinding, randomization or a placebo, so the design of those trials cannot be confirmed from the sources.
Calculated from abstracts checked 18454096, 26356395, 25176261, 18577961; terms blind, random, placebo; abstracts containing any term 0. Formula: count of abstracts containing any term = 0
Safety wording in the sources
A mechanism paper describes selank as attenuating behavioural anxiety reactions without the side effects typical of most anxiolytics; it is a descriptive statement, not a safety trial.[10]
Other peptides people research for anxiety
All peptides for anxiety, comparedCommon questions
Does selank help with anxiety?
In one comparison study the anxiolytic effects of selank and medazepam were similar; the abstract does not describe blinding, so it is preliminary evidence.[3]
Is Selank approved for anxiety?
No. Selank is not FDA approved for any use, including anxiety.
What is the best peptide for anxiety?
There is no single answer. Our anxiety overview compares each candidate by evidence grade and legal status rather than by popularity.
Is selank peptide an anxiolytic?
A phobic-anxiety study reported pronounced anxiolytic effects of selank against phenazepam; no FDA label exists for selank.[2]
More on Selank
Sources
- 1[Optimization of the treatment of anxiety disorders with selank].Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova · 2015PMID 26356395Accessed 2 Oct 2026
- 2[A comparison of the anxiolytic effect and tolerability of selank and phenazepam in the treatment of anxiety disorders].Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova · 2014PMID 25176261Accessed 2 Oct 2026
- 3[Efficacy and possible mechanisms of action of a new peptide anxiolytic selank in the therapy of generalized anxiety disorders and neurasthenia].Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova · 2008PMID 18454096Accessed 2 Oct 2026
- 4[Immunomodulatory effects of selank in patients with anxiety-asthenic disorders].Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova · 2008PMID 18577961Accessed 2 Oct 2026
- 5Peptide Selank Enhances the Effect of Diazepam in Reducing Anxiety in Unpredictable Chronic Mild Stress Conditions in Rats.Behavioural neurology · 2017PMID 28280289Accessed 2 Oct 2026
- 6Peptides semax and selank affect the behavior of rats with 6-OHDA induced PD-like parkinsonism.Doklady biological sciences : proceedings of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Biological sciences sections · 2017PMID 28702721Accessed 2 Oct 2026
- 7[COMPARISON OF PHARMACOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF HEPTAPEPTIDE SELANK AFTER INTRANASAL AND INTRAPERITONEAL ADMINISTRATION TO BALB/c AND C57BL/6 MICE.].Eksperimental'naia i klinicheskaia farmakologiia · 2016PMID 29787664Accessed 2 Oct 2026
- 8[Compensatory and antiamnestic effects of heptapeptide Selank in monkeys].Zhurnal evoliutsionnoi biokhimii i fiziologii · 2008PMID 18727417Accessed 2 Oct 2026
- 9Effects of Selank on behavioral reactions and activities of plasma enkephalin-degrading enzymes in mice with different phenotypes of emotional and stress reactions.Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine · 2002PMID 12432865Accessed 2 Oct 2026
- 10The inhibitory effect of Selank on enkephalin-degrading enzymes as a possible mechanism of its anxiolytic activity.Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine · 2001PMID 11550013Accessed 2 Oct 2026
- 11Official web pageOfficial web page · web page
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