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Growth & GHPeptideEvidence C4 cited

GHRP-6

Growth Hormone Releasing Peptide-6

aka Growth Hormone Releasing Peptide 6 · GHRP6 · His-D-Trp-Ala-Trp-D-Phe-Lys-NH2 · SKF-110679

A first-generation GH secretagogue that stimulates GH release and strongly activates ghrelin-related appetite pathways.

Molecular wt
873.0g/mol
Formula
C46H56N12O6
CAS
87616-84-0
Half-life
2.5 h
clinical
Tmax
30 min
Route
Subcutaneous injection
PubChem
9919153

Sequence

Read this before quoting the sequence
Synthetic hexapeptide amide containing two D-amino acids, so a one-letter string would be wrong. Confirmed independently by PubChem CID 9919153 ('L-Lysinamide, L-histidyl-D-tryptophyl-L-alanyl-L-tryptophyl-D-phenylalanyl-') and by the human pharmacokinetic paper Cabrales 2013, which writes it as 'His-(D-Trp)-Ala-Trp-(D-Phe)-Lys-NH2, MW = 872.44 Da'.
Source ↗

Mechanism of action

GHRP-6 works by binding to the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R), which stimulates the pituitary gland to release growth hormone (GH). It also activates ghrelin receptors, which are involved in regulating appetite and energy balance. This dual action increases GH levels and appetite, potentially influencing body composition and metabolism.

What the evidence actually shows

Grade C

There are limited human trials on GHRP-6. Some studies suggest it can increase GH levels and appetite, but comprehensive clinical data on long-term effects and safety are lacking. More robust human trials are needed to confirm these findings.

Regulatory status

Status
Not approved as a medicine in any jurisdiction identified. No entry in Drugs@FDA or the EMA medicines register.
Clinical stage
Phase 1. A completed phase 1 pharmacokinetic study in nine healthy male volunteers (Cabrales 2013, Cuban Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology). No approved or late-stage programme identified.
WADA
Prohibited at all times. WADA 2026 Prohibited List S2.2.4 names 'GH-releasing peptides (GHRPs) [e.g. alexamorelin, examorelin (hexarelin), GHRP-1, GHRP-2 (pralmorelin), GHRP-3, GHRP-4, GHRP-5 and GHRP-6]'.
UK
research_compound

In the UK, GHRP-6 is not approved for medical use and is classified as a research compound. It is not licensed for human consumption.

Source ↗

Pharmacokinetics

Half-life
2.5 h
Tmax
30 min
Absorption
subcutaneous
Elimination
renal
Washout
2 days
Low-confidence pharmacokinetics
These figures are recorded as clinical rather than measured in a published PK study. Treat them as an order of magnitude. Anything downstream of them — accumulation, steady state, washout — inherits that uncertainty.

Dosing — what backs each figure

GHRP-6 has a solid but narrow human literature: single intravenous boluses of 1 microg/kg or roughly 90-100 microg, used almost entirely as acute GH-stimulation tests (often paired with GHRH) in healthy, elderly, obese and diabetic subjects. There is no established repeated-dosing regimen, and the one route-comparison study found that oral GHRP-6 at 300 microg/kg produced no GH response at all.

ClinicalApproved labelling or a published human trial
Commonly circulatedNot established by any study
Dose
Research literature cites ~100 to 300 mcg per dose
Frequency
2-3x daily

Why this isn't evidence
Published human GHRP-6 doses are single intravenous boluses of 1 microg/kg or 90-100 microg used as acute GH-provocation tests, or 30-300 microg/kg by non-injected routes - no study has given 100-300 microg subcutaneously two or three times daily, and the 'daily for several weeks then a break' cycling in the notes has no published source.

This figure is shown because it is what circulates and what people search for — not because it is supported. Cycle lengths in particular tend to be convention copied between compounds rather than anything derived from a compound's own pharmacokinetics.

Handling and storage

No compound-specific stability data exists
No compound-specific storage data exists in any regulatory label, pharmacopoeia or published stability study that could be retrieved. GHRP-6 has no marketing authorisation. Only generic lyophilised-peptide handling guidance would apply. General peptide handling still applies — reconstitute gently, keep it cold, keep it dark — but any specific figure you see quoted for this compound elsewhere is someone's assumption, not a measurement.
→ Reconstitution walkthrough→ Reconstitution calculator

Safety

Commonly reported
  • ·Increased appetite
  • ·Water retention
  • ·Injection site reactions
Rarely reported
  • ·Gynecomastia
  • ·"Carpal tunnel syndrome"
Contraindications
  • ·Pregnancy
  • ·"Active cancer"
Drug interactions
  • ·Insulin - may alter glucose metabolism

Strong hunger, water retention, injection-site reactions

Reported combinations

Reported as synergistic
  • ·CJC-1295 - another GH secretagogue that may enhance GH release
Reported as antagonistic
  • ·Somatostatin - inhibits growth hormone release

Combination claims in this dataset are largely unsourced and should be treated as folk knowledge until a citation appears beside them.

References (4)

Data provenance

Chemistry and citations on this page were checked against primary sources on 2026-08-14. Values that could not be verified were left blank rather than filled with a plausible guess.

Could not verify
storage, reconstitution

Research use only
This profile is educational reference material. It is not medical advice, not a prescription, and not an endorsement of self-administration. Compounds discussed here are research chemicals and most are not approved for human therapeutic use.

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CJC-1295 (No DAC)
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