Methods · Literature record
Research protocols: what the published studies actually used
A page per compound recording the quantities, frequencies and study lengths reported in the published literature — with the model, the population and the limitations attached to every figure.
Read this first
Every figure on this page is a range reported in published literature or in a publicly documented study protocol. It is a record of what researchers used, not a recommendation, a therapeutic protocol, or advice. Peptide Intel Hub is an independent publication, sells nothing, and describes these compounds as in-vitro research reagents only.
Why these pages exist
Most numbers circulating about research peptides have no citation behind them. They are forum figures repeated until they sound official. The purpose of this section is narrower and more useful: for each compound, we go back to the published work and record what was actually administered, to what, how often, and for how long.
That means most of the figures here are per kilogram of rodent body weight, or molar concentrations in culture media, because that is the shape of the evidence. Where a real human trial exists — tesamorelin, thymosin alpha-1, SS-31, PT-141, the incretin class — we say so and give the trial figure. Where it does not, we say that too, plainly.
Reading a range next to its model is the entire point. A figure from a 14-day mouse colitis study is not a protocol; it is a description of one experiment.
Browse A to Z
Swipe across the letters and tap one to jump straight to the compounds starting with it.
Metabolic
Pro-apoptotic peptidomimetic targeting prohibitin in white adipose vasculature
Adipotide · FTPP, Prohibitin-targeting peptidomimetic
Adipotide was developed as an anti-obesity candidate that destroys the blood supply of white adipose tissue rather than acting on appetite. The published record is rodent and non-human primate work; the primate study reported dose-limiting renal toxicity, which is the reason no human programme followed.
2 reported rangesAMP analogue and AMPK activator (small molecule, not a peptide)
AICAR · Acadesine, AICA riboside
AICAR is a small-molecule AMP mimetic that activates AMPK, the cell's energy-sensing kinase. It has a real human trial history in cardiac surgery and leukaemia, and a well known rodent exercise-mimetic literature. It is a prohibited substance in sport.
2 reported rangesLong-acting amylin analogue (AMY1 class)
Cagrilintide
Cagrilintide is a long-acting amylin analogue studied mostly in combination with GLP1-class agonists such as semaglutide. Its published protocols follow the same weekly escalation pattern as the incretin class.
2 reported rangesGLP-1 receptor agonist
GLP1 (semaglutide / Ozempic) · Semaglutide, sold as Ozempic and Wegovy — single GLP-1 receptor agonist
GLP1 is the research code name for semaglutide, sold as Ozempic and Wegovy. This page covers that one compound only, so the reported figures cannot be confused with the dual or triple agonists. Every published programme uses a stepped escalation design rather than a fixed quantity.
1 reported rangeDual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist
GLP2 (tirzepatide / Mounjaro) · Tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound — dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist
GLP2 is the research code name for tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound. This page covers that one compound only. Its published escalation ladder differs from the single-receptor GLP1 ladder, which is exactly why the two are kept on separate pages.
1 reported rangeTriple GIP/GLP-1/glucagon receptor agonist
GLP3 (retatrutide) · Retatrutide — investigational triple GIP/GLP-1/glucagon receptor agonist
GLP3 is the research code name for retatrutide, which remains investigational and has no approved product. This page covers that one compound only, with the phase 2 escalation exactly as it was published.
1 reported rangeQuaternary ammonium compound (fatty-acid transport cofactor)
L-Carnitine
L-carnitine is a well-studied nutrient cofactor with a large clinical literature in dialysis, cardiac and exercise-physiology settings. Its figures are unusually well established compared with most compounds in this section.
2 reported rangesProprietary cosmetic lipolytic blend (reported: riboflavin, lecithin, bromelain)
Lemon Bottle
Lemon Bottle is a proprietary cosmetic product, not a research compound with a literature. It is included here because it is widely searched alongside genuine research reagents, and the honest answer is that no peer-reviewed pharmacology exists for it.
2 reported rangesCompounded lipotropic nutrient solution — not a peptide
Lipo-B · Lipotropic B injection (methionine, inositol, choline, B12)
Lipo-B is a compounded mixture of methionine, inositol, choline and cyanocobalamin sold as a lipotropic injection. It is not a peptide and it is not a single studied compound: the evidence base is the separate nutrient literature for each component, and there is no controlled trial of the combination for body composition.
2 reported rangesCompounded blend — methionine, inositol, choline, usually with B vitamins and L-carnitine
Lipo-C · MIC / lipotropic blend
Lipo-C is a compounded blend rather than a defined molecule, so there is no single literature for it. What exists is evidence for the individual nutrients, plus a notable absence of controlled trials of the blend itself.
2 reported rangesSingle GLP-1 receptor agonist, albumin-binding fatty-acid acylated analogue
Liraglutide · NN2211
Liraglutide is a once-daily GLP-1 receptor agonist and the first of the acylated analogues to carry a large registered trial record in both type 2 diabetes and obesity. It is a distinct compound from semaglutide: shorter acting, dosed daily rather than weekly, and escalated on a different schedule.
2 reported rangesGLP-1 receptor / glucagon receptor dual agonist (oxyntomodulin analogue)
Mazdutide · IBI362, LY3305677
Mazdutide is an oxyntomodulin-derived dual GLP-1/glucagon receptor agonist developed largely through Chinese phase 2 and phase 3 programmes in obesity and type 2 diabetes. The reported figures below come from those registered protocols.
2 reported rangesPan-ERR (estrogen-related receptor) agonist, small molecule
SLU-PP-332
SLU-PP-332 is a small-molecule ERR agonist described as an 'exercise mimetic' in press coverage. The entire published record is mouse work from a small number of laboratories, and no human data exists.
2 reported rangesDual glucagon receptor / GLP-1 receptor agonist
Survodutide · BI 456906
Survodutide is an investigational dual glucagon/GLP-1 receptor agonist studied in obesity, type 2 diabetes and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis. Unlike most compounds on this site it has a substantial registered human trial record, so the reported figures come from phase 2 protocols rather than animal work.
2 reported rangesCobalamin vitamin
Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin / methylcobalamin)
B12 has decades of established clinical dosing literature for deficiency and pernicious anaemia. It is included here because it appears constantly as a blend component, where its role and its figures are usually left unstated.
2 reported rangesRegenerative
11-amino-acid erythropoietin helix-B fragment
ARA-290 · Cibinetide
ARA-290 is a non-erythropoietic fragment of EPO that targets the innate repair receptor. It has completed placebo-controlled human trials in sarcoidosis-associated small-fibre neuropathy, giving it a properly documented human figure.
2 reported rangesSynthetic pentadecapeptide (gastric origin)
BPC-157
Almost the entire BPC-157 literature is rodent work on tendon, ligament, muscle, nerve and gut injury models. Published quantities are expressed per kilogram of animal body weight, which is why human-equivalent figures circulated online are extrapolations rather than measured values. No controlled human dosing study has been published.
3 reported rangesPentadecapeptide + actin-sequestering fragment blend
BPC-157 + TB-500
No peer-reviewed study has tested this specific combination in a controlled design. Blended vials are a commercial format, and any figure quoted for the blend is simply the two single-compound animal ranges placed side by side.
1 reported rangeCopper-binding tripeptide
GHK-Cu
GHK-Cu is one of the few peptides in this list with a substantial human literature, and almost all of it is topical dermatology and cosmetic-science work measuring collagen density, wrinkle depth and wound closure.
3 reported rangesBlend — GHK-Cu, BPC-157 and TB-500
GLOW Blend
GLOW is a commercial three-peptide blend. No study has tested this combination, and one of its components — GHK-Cu — has a literature that is almost entirely topical, which makes its inclusion in an injectable blend a question worth asking.
2 reported rangesBlend — KPV, GHK-Cu, BPC-157 and TB-500
KLOW Blend
KLOW is GLOW with KPV added. Everything true of the three-peptide blend applies here with one further unstudied component, and the combination has no published evidence of any kind.
2 reported rangesp53-derived peptide fused to a membrane-penetrating leader sequence
PNC-27
PNC-27 is a laboratory peptide built from a p53 fragment joined to a penetratin-style leader. Published work is dominated by cell-culture assays reporting selective membrane disruption of cancer cell lines. There is no human trial record of any kind.
2 reported rangesActin-sequestering peptide fragment
TB-500 · Thymosin Beta-4 fragment
TB-500 is a synthetic fragment of thymosin beta-4. The human trial literature covers full-length TB4 in dermal wound and dry-eye studies, not the fragment sold as a research reagent, so the two evidence bases should be read separately.
2 reported rangesGrowth Hormone
hGH fragment 176-191
AOD-9604
AOD-9604 is the C-terminal fragment of growth hormone, developed as an oral anti-obesity candidate. Its phase 2 programme is public and, importantly, its larger trial did not separate from placebo — an outcome worth as much attention as the protocol.
3 reported rangesTetra-substituted GHRH (1-29) analogue
CJC-1295 (no DAC) · Modified GRF (1-29), Mod-GRF 1-29
Without the drug-affinity complex, CJC-1295 is a stabilised GHRH fragment with a short half-life, designed to produce a pulse rather than a sustained elevation. The published record is small — pharmacology studies of GHRH analogue variants rather than a full trial programme.
2 reported rangesGHRH analogue + selective ghrelin-receptor agonist blend
CJC-1295 (no DAC) + Ipamorelin
The rationale for pairing a GHRH analogue with a secretagogue is documented in pituitary physiology — the two act on different receptors and their combined effect on GH release is more than additive in published pharmacology. What does not exist is a controlled trial of this specific commercial blend.
2 reported rangesGHRH analogue with albumin-binding drug affinity complex
CJC-1295 with DAC
The DAC version binds serum albumin, which turns a minutes-scale peptide into a week-scale one. This is one of the few secretagogues with published human dose-ranging data measuring sustained IGF-1 elevation.
2 reported rangesHexapeptide GH secretagogue
GHRP-2 · Pralmorelin
GHRP-2 is registered in Japan as a diagnostic agent for GH deficiency, which gives it a defined and well-documented human figure — a rarity in this field.
3 reported rangesHexapeptide growth-hormone secretagogue
GHRP-6
GHRP-6 has a long pharmacology literature going back to the 1980s, largely as a tool for probing the ghrelin receptor and pituitary GH release. It is notable for provoking a strong appetite response alongside GH release.
2 reported rangesSynthetic hexapeptide GH secretagogue
Hexarelin
Hexarelin is the most potent of the classic hexapeptide secretagogues and, unusually, has a cardiac literature independent of its GH effects, mediated through CD36 rather than the ghrelin receptor.
3 reported rangesRecombinant 191-amino-acid human growth hormone
HGH (somatropin, research reference)
Recombinant GH has the deepest clinical literature of anything on this site, spanning paediatric growth disorders, adult deficiency and body-composition research. It is included here as the reference point every secretagogue is implicitly compared against, and it is expressed in international units as often as in milligrams.
3 reported rangesModified insulin-like growth factor 1 analogue
IGF-1 LR3 · Long R3 IGF-1
IGF-1 LR3 was engineered as a cell-culture supplement: the modifications reduce binding-protein affinity so it stays active in media. Almost all published quantitative use is in bioreactors and culture, not in whole organisms.
2 reported rangesTruncated IGF-1 analogue missing the first three N-terminal residues
IGF-DES · DES(1-3) IGF-1
DES(1-3) IGF-1 lacks the first three amino acids of native IGF-1, which sharply reduces binding to IGF binding proteins and makes it substantially more potent in cell assays. Its very short half-life is the defining pharmacokinetic feature and the reason it is studied locally rather than systemically.
2 reported rangesSelective growth-hormone secretagogue (ghrelin mimetic)
Ipamorelin
Ipamorelin has a genuine early-phase human literature from its development as a post-operative ileus candidate, which is unusual among secretagogues. Those trials measured gastrointestinal motility, with growth-hormone release as a pharmacodynamic marker.
2 reported rangesSplice variant of IGF-1 produced by mechanically loaded muscle
MGF · Mechano Growth Factor, IGF-1Ec
MGF is the IGF-1Ec splice variant expressed by skeletal muscle after mechanical loading or damage. The literature is largely molecular biology and rodent muscle work examining satellite cell activation; the human evidence base is observational expression data rather than administration studies.
2 reported rangesOrally active ghrelin mimetic (non-peptide)
MK-677 · Ibutamoren
MK-677 is not a peptide but a small-molecule ghrelin receptor agonist, and it has a real multi-year human trial record from its development programme — including a two-year study in older adults.
2 reported rangesPolyethylene-glycol conjugated MGF analogue
PEG-MGF · Pegylated Mechano Growth Factor
PEG-MGF is MGF with a polyethylene glycol chain attached to slow renal clearance. The rationale is pharmacokinetic rather than pharmacodynamic — the peptide sequence is the same, the exposure window is longer. The published record is thin and almost entirely preclinical.
1 reported rangeGHRH (1-29) analogue
Sermorelin
Sermorelin is the 1-29 fragment of growth-hormone-releasing hormone and was for years a licensed diagnostic agent for paediatric GH deficiency, so its human literature is comparatively solid.
2 reported rangesStabilised GHRH analogue
Tesamorelin
Tesamorelin has the largest randomised human dataset of any GHRH analogue, from multi-centre trials measuring visceral adipose tissue by CT scan. Those trials converged on a single figure, which is why the literature here is unusually consistent.
2 reported rangesStabilised GHRH analogue + selective secretagogue blend
Tesamorelin + Ipamorelin
This blend pairs the GHRH analogue with the largest randomised dataset in its class with the most selective secretagogue in its class. As with every blend on this site, the combination itself has no published controlled study; only the two constituents do.
2 reported rangesHormone
Glycoprotein hormone, LH-receptor agonist
HCG · Human chorionic gonadotropin
HCG has an extensive clinical literature in fertility medicine and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, expressed almost entirely in international units. Its figures are well established across decades of use.
3 reported rangesDecapeptide KISS1R agonist
Kisspeptin-10
Kisspeptin sits upstream of GnRH and has a genuine and growing human research literature out of UK academic endocrinology groups, covering reproductive axis physiology and functional brain imaging.
2 reported rangesNonapeptide hormone
Oxytocin · Oxytocin acetate
Oxytocin has two almost separate literatures: a large obstetric one using intravenous infusion, and a large social-neuroscience one using intranasal administration. The intranasal behavioural literature converged on a single figure, and it is also the literature with the most serious replication problems.
2 reported rangesLongevity
Synthetic tripeptide (Ala-Glu-Asp) bioregulator
Cartalax
Cartalax is the cartilage-directed member of the Khavinson short-peptide family, studied for connective-tissue and joint parameters. Like Pinealon and Epithalon, its evidence base is small and regionally concentrated.
2 reported rangesSynthetic tetrapeptide (Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly)
Epithalon · Epitalon
Epithalon's literature is almost entirely Russian, spanning rodent lifespan studies and long-running human observational cohorts from the St Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation. Independent Western replication is thin, which is the single most important caveat when reading any figure below.
2 reported rangesFOXO4-p53 interaction-disrupting retro-inverso peptide
FOXO4-DRI
FOXO4-DRI is a senolytic peptide designed to disrupt the FOXO4–p53 interaction and trigger apoptosis selectively in senescent cells. The evidence is a small number of mouse studies from the originating group, with limited independent replication and no human data.
2 reported rangesEndogenous tripeptide antioxidant (Glu-Cys-Gly)
Glutathione
Glutathione is a well-characterised endogenous tripeptide with clinical literature in Parkinson's disease, chemotherapy-associated neuropathy and dermatology. Oral bioavailability of the standard form is poor, which shapes every protocol.
3 reported ranges24-amino-acid mitochondrial-derived peptide
Humanin
Humanin was identified in a screen of surviving neurons in Alzheimer's brain tissue and is studied for cytoprotection, insulin sensitivity and neuronal survival. Nearly all quantitative work uses the potentiated analogue HNG rather than native humanin.
2 reported rangesMitochondrial-derived peptide (16 amino acids)
MOTS-c
MOTS-c is encoded in mitochondrial DNA and studied for its effects on AMPK signalling, insulin sensitivity and exercise capacity. The literature is rodent and in-vitro; no human dosing trial has been published.
2 reported rangesNicotinamide adenine dinucleotide coenzyme
NAD+
Direct NAD+ infusion has a thin trial literature; the substantial evidence sits with its precursors, nicotinamide riboside and nicotinamide mononucleotide, which have multiple randomised human studies.
3 reported rangesImmune
Cyclic Semax analogue (cyclo-prolylglycine related)
Adamax
Adamax is sold as a modified, more stable Semax analogue. There is effectively no indexed peer-reviewed literature under this name, and that absence is the single most important thing to know about it.
2 reported rangesα-MSH C-terminal tripeptide
KPV
KPV is the anti-inflammatory C-terminal fragment of α-MSH. The literature is animal colitis and dermatitis models plus in-vitro NF-κB signalling work; there is no published human dosing trial.
2 reported ranges37-amino-acid cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide
LL-37 · Cathelicidin LL-37
LL-37 is the only human cathelicidin and has a substantial microbiology and wound-healing literature. There is a small but real human study record in venous leg ulcers, which is unusual for a peptide of this type.
3 reported rangesThymic peptide extract preparation
Thymalin
Thymalin is a bovine thymic peptide extract used in Russia for decades in immune-modulation research, including long-running observational cohorts in older adults. It is a preparation rather than a defined compound.
2 reported ranges28-amino-acid thymic peptide
Thymosin Alpha-1
Thymosin alpha-1 has decades of human data from hepatitis B and C trials, sepsis studies and vaccine-adjuvant research, and is a licensed medicine in a number of countries. Its reported figures are unusually stable across studies.
3 reported ranges28-amino-acid neuropeptide
VIP · Vasoactive intestinal peptide, aviptadil
VIP as aviptadil has been through registered human trials in pulmonary hypertension, sarcoidosis and acute respiratory failure, so its figures are properly documented. Its two-minute half-life explains why almost every protocol is an infusion.
3 reported rangesCognitive
Porcine brain-derived peptide preparation
Cerebrolysin
Cerebrolysin is a licensed medicine in a number of countries and has a large trial literature in stroke, traumatic brain injury and dementia. Its figures are stated in millilitres of a standard-concentration solution rather than in milligrams of an active substance.
3 reported rangesAngiotensin IV analogue, HGF/c-Met potentiator
Dihexa · N-hexanoic-Tyr-Ile-(6) aminohexanoic amide
Dihexa was developed at Washington State University as an orally active angiotensin IV analogue that potentiates hepatocyte growth factor signalling. The record is rodent cognition models and in-vitro synaptogenesis; there is no human data.
2 reported rangesNonapeptide
DSIP · Delta sleep-inducing peptide
DSIP was isolated in the 1970s from rabbit cerebral venous blood during induced sleep. The human literature is small, old, and inconsistent — several controlled studies failed to find the sleep effect the name promises.
2 reported rangesSpadin analogue, TREK-1 channel blocker
PE-22-28
PE-22-28 is a shortened analogue of spadin, studied as a fast-acting antidepressant candidate via TREK-1 potassium channel blockade. All published work is rodent; no human study exists.
2 reported rangesSynthetic tripeptide (Glu-Asp-Arg) bioregulator
Pinealon
Pinealon belongs to the Khavinson short-peptide bioregulator family, alongside Epithalon and Cartalax. As with the rest of that family, the literature is regionally concentrated, small, and lightly replicated outside its originating institutes.
2 reported rangesTuftsin analogue heptapeptide
Selank
Selank was developed in Russia as an anxiolytic peptide and has published human studies in generalised anxiety, mostly intranasal. As with Epithalon, the literature is regionally concentrated and lightly replicated elsewhere.
2 reported rangesACTH(4-10) analogue heptapeptide
Semax
Semax is a fragment analogue of ACTH stripped of hormonal activity, studied in Russia for stroke recovery, cognitive performance and optic-nerve conditions. It is a registered medicine there and effectively unstudied in Western trials.
2 reported rangesACTH(4-10) analogue + tuftsin analogue blend
Semax + Selank
The two peptides are frequently co-administered in Russian clinical practice, and there are combination reports, but no controlled trial has isolated the effect of the pairing. The figures below are the two source literatures placed side by side.
2 reported rangesPerformance
Small-molecule NNMT inhibitor
5-Amino-1MQ
5-Amino-1MQ inhibits nicotinamide N-methyltransferase, an enzyme implicated in adipocyte metabolism. The literature is mouse work plus enzyme kinetics; there is no published human study.
2 reported rangesSoluble activin receptor type IIB fused to an IgG1 Fc domain (myostatin trap)
ACE-031 · Ramatercept, ActRIIB-Fc
ACE-031 is a decoy receptor that binds myostatin and related ligands before they reach muscle. It reached phase 2 in Duchenne muscular dystrophy before the programme was halted over vascular safety signals — nosebleeds and telangiectasia — giving it an unusually well documented human record for a compound of this type.
2 reported rangesHeptapeptide opioid agonist originally isolated from Phyllomedusa frog skin
Dermorphin
Dermorphin is a naturally occurring opioid peptide with very high mu-receptor affinity, studied in animal analgesia pharmacology since the 1980s. It is also a known doping agent in horse racing, which is where most contemporary references to it come from. There is no human therapeutic literature.
2 reported rangesMitochondria-targeted tetrapeptide
SS-31 · Elamipretide
SS-31 is one of the few compounds here with a substantial registered human trial programme, covering primary mitochondrial myopathy, Barth syndrome and ophthalmic conditions. Those trials converged on a narrow reported range.
3 reported rangesCosmetic
Copper-binding tripeptide (Ala-His-Lys)
AHK-Cu
AHK-Cu is the hair-follicle counterpart to GHK-Cu, studied mainly for follicle stimulation and dermal papilla cell proliferation. The literature is smaller and more cosmetic-industry weighted than GHK-Cu's.
2 reported rangesLinear α-MSH analogue, selective MC1R agonist
Melanotan I · Afamelanotide, Melanotan 1
Melanotan I as afamelanotide completed a full registered development programme for erythropoietic protoporphyria and is an approved medicine in the EU and US. It is the only compound in this cosmetic group with a proper regulatory dossier.
2 reported rangesCyclic α-MSH analogue
Melanotan II
Melanotan II has a small early human literature on melanogenesis from the 1990s, after which development stopped. It is also the compound in this list with the most substantial case-report literature describing harms, and that context belongs alongside any figure.
2 reported rangesSelective MC4R agonist
PT-141 · Bremelanotide
PT-141 completed a full registered development programme and its phase 3 data is public, which makes the reported figures here unusually well characterised for a compound sold as a research peptide.
2 reported rangesSNAP-25 mimetic octapeptide
Snap-8 · Acetyl octapeptide-3
Snap-8 is a cosmetic-ingredient peptide designed to interfere with SNARE-complex formation, marketed as a topical alternative to neuromodulator injections. Its evidence is manufacturer-sponsored cosmetic testing rather than independent trials.
2 reported rangesSupplies
Dilute acid diluent for poorly water-soluble peptides
Acetic Acid (dilute, for reconstitution)
Some peptides — IGF-1 analogues most notably — do not dissolve or remain stable in neutral water. Published handling protocols use dilute acetic acid to bring them into solution before further dilution.
2 reported rangesSterile water containing 0.9% benzyl alcohol as a preservative
Bacteriostatic Water · 0.9% benzyl alcohol water for injection
Bacteriostatic water is sterile water with 0.9% benzyl alcohol, which suppresses microbial growth and allows a reconstituted vial to be entered more than once. The relevant literature here is pharmaceutical compounding and stability practice rather than pharmacology.
2 reported ranges