Reference
What is Thymosin Alpha-1?
Thymosin alpha-1 is a 28-residue peptide originally isolated from thymic tissue. At 28 residues it is one of the longer chains in this range — long enough that it sits near the loose boundary where peptides start being called small proteins.
Classification
| Type | Peptide |
| Chain length | 28 amino acid residues |
| Family | Thymic peptide |
| Origin | Isolated from thymus tissue and characterised in the 1970s |
| Supplied as | Lyophilised powder in a sealed vial |
It is a naturally occurring sequence rather than a designed one, and the synthetic material reproduces it. It should not be confused with thymosin beta-4, from which TB-500 is derived: the alpha and beta thymosins are unrelated molecules that share a name because both were first found in the same tissue.
Where it sits by length
At 28 residues, Thymosin Alpha-1 is long enough to sit near the loose boundary where peptides start being called small proteins. The boundary is a convention, not a rule of chemistry — chains up to roughly fifty residues are generally called peptides.
What this page does not cover
Nothing here describes what Thymosin Alpha-1 does, what it is used for, or whether it is safe. We publish analytical results and ship parcels; we give no guidance on dosing, preparation or use, and that applies to our reference pages as much as to the product pages. The person to ask about any of that is a registered prescriber.
Where it came from
Thymosin alpha-1 was pulled out of a crude thymus extract called thymosin fraction 5, after years of separating it into pieces.
1972 — Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York. When was thymosin alpha-1 discovered?
More on Thymosin Alpha-1
- Thymosin Alpha-1 — prices and sizes
- Buying Thymosin Alpha-1 in New Zealand
- When was Thymosin Alpha-1 discovered?
See Thymosin Alpha-1 in the range · What is a peptide? · Discovery timeline · All reference
