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Semax Nasal Spray: What Studies Show

Which studies gave Semax as a nasal spray form, what they measured, and what is approved. No product recommendations.

Medical review pendingACTH(4-10) analogUpdated
Route
nasal spray
FDA-approved product for this route
None
Route studies (human / animal)
2 / 5
in our evidence file (PubMed search, 11 Oct 2026)

Studies that gave Semax nasal spray

Each row is a study whose stated route matches. Animal and cell results are labelled and are not human results.

Semax studies by nasal spray route
StudyDesignnDoseFirst outcome
Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine 2018, PMID 30225715Human controlled trial241%Default mode network: Semax group showed a greater volume of the rostral default mode network subcomponent on fMRI than placebo; no behavioural outcome was reported.
Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine 2002, PMID 12459874Human controlled trialNot stated1% solution, 2-4 dropsUlcer healing at day 14: Ulcer healing at day 14 occurred in 89.5% of patients on intranasal semax versus 30.8% of controls.
Acta naturae 2012, PMID 22708068Animal · rat (not a human result)Not stated50 µg/kgLong-term effects of early-life stress: Chronic intranasal semax reduced the long-lasting negative effects of neonatal isolation stress.
Rossiiskii fiziologicheskii zhurnal imeni I.M. Sechenova 2010, PMID 21268834Animal · rat (not a human result)Not statedNot statedLearning by route: Intranasal semax improved learning more potently than intraperitoneal dosing in rats.
Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine 2006, PMID 17603664Animal · rat (not a human result)Not statedNot statedInfarct volume and memory: Six days of intranasal semax reduced cortical infarct volume and improved avoidance retention.
Bioorganicheskaia khimiia 2006, PMID 16523722Animal · rat (not a human result)Not stated50 microg/kgBrain penetration after intranasal dose: Two minutes after an intranasal dose, 0.093% of the radioactivity per gram was found in rat brain and 80% of it was intact semax.
Neuroscience and behavioral physiology 2004, PMID 15341218Animal · rat (not a human result)Not stated0.2 mg/kgBehavioural disturbances after MPTP: Daily intranasal semax (0.2 mg/kg) lessened MPTP-induced behavioural disturbances, which included reduced movement and increased anxiety.

For the injected form, see Semax dosage and Semax half-life.

The human studies that used intranasal semax

In refractory peptic ulcer patients given intranasal semax (1% solution, 2-4 drops 3 times a day for 10 days) with usual drugs, ulcer healing at day 14 was 89.5% against 30.8% in the control group.[2]

An fMRI study scanned healthy volunteers 3 times: before, and 5 and 20 minutes after intranasal 1% semax in 14 subjects or placebo in 10.[1]

In optic-nerve disease patients, group 1 had semax as nasal drops, group 2 endonasal electrophoresis and group 3 was control.[8]

Animal work on the nasal route

In rats with induced cortical infarction, 6 days of intranasal semax decreased infarct volume.[5]

Rats learned better after intranasal semax than after intraperitoneal semax, but the nasal route did not change pain sensitivity.[4]

Daily intranasal semax at 0.2 mg/kg reduced the severity of toxin-induced behavioural disturbances in rats.[7]

Brain uptake was measured in rats after intranasal semax at 50 microg/kg in 20 microl of solution.[6]

Absorption compared with injection

Two minutes after nasal dosing in rats, 0.093% of administered radioactivity per gram was in the brain, 80% of it as semax itself.[6]

The 2 human nasal studies with outcomes (ulcer healing, fMRI) report no plasma concentration or bioavailability, so the number of cached human nasal absorption values is 0.

Calculated from human nasal studies 12459874, 30225715; plasma or bioavailability values 0. Formula: count of human nasal absorption values = 0

Safety by route

The one safety statement in the human abstracts concerns an injection: EEG showed episodes of paroxysmal activity after a semax injection in some cases.[9]

Common questions

Is there an FDA-approved nasal spray form of Semax?

We found no FDA-approved nasal spray product for Semax in our evidence file. Products sold as nasal spray forms are not checked by the FDA.

Have studies given Semax as a nasal spray form?

7 studies in our evidence file gave Semax by a nasal spray route: 2 in people and 5 in animals.

Does semax nasal spray work?

In one peptic-ulcer study with usual drugs, healing at day 14 was 89.5% with intranasal semax against 30.8% in controls; the abstract does not describe blinding, and this is an ulcer result, not evidence for other uses.[2]

More on Semax

DosageDoses used in published studies, with the source for each.CalculatorVial, water and dose to syringe units.Side effectsWhat labels and studies report, and what is unknown.ResultsStudy outcomes and when they were measured.BenefitsClaimed benefits next to what published studies measured.How it worksTarget, mechanism and how long it acts, from the label or studies.

Sources

  1. 1Effects of Semax on the Default Mode Network of the Brain.Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine · 2018PMID 30225715Accessed 2 Oct 2026
  2. 2Therapy of peptic ulcer with semax peptide.Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine · 2002PMID 12459874Accessed 2 Oct 2026
  3. 3Correction of long-lasting negative effects of neonatal isolation in white rats using semax.Acta naturae · 2012PMID 22708068Accessed 2 Oct 2026
  4. 4[Nootropic and analgesic effects of Semax following different routes of administration].Rossiiskii fiziologicheskii zhurnal imeni I.M. Sechenova · 2010PMID 21268834Accessed 2 Oct 2026
  5. 5Neuroprotective and antiamnesic effects of Semax during experimental ischemic infarction of the cerebral cortex.Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine · 2006PMID 17603664Accessed 2 Oct 2026
  6. 6[Kinetics of Semax penetration into the brain and blood of rats after its intranasal administration].Bioorganicheskaia khimiia · 2006PMID 16523722Accessed 2 Oct 2026
  7. 7The neuroprotective effects of Semax in conditions of MPTP-induced lesions of the brain dopaminergic system.Neuroscience and behavioral physiology · 2004PMID 15341218Accessed 2 Oct 2026
  8. 8[Evaluation of therapeutic effect of new Russian drug semax in optic nerve disease].Vestnik oftalmologii · 2000PMID 10741256Accessed 2 Oct 2026
  9. 9[Use of semax at a follow-up of patients with posthypoxic encephalopathy].Anesteziologiia i reanimatologiia · 1999PMID 10199046Accessed 2 Oct 2026

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