Peptides

5-amino-1MQ

5-amino-1MQ is not a peptide.

It is a small molecule that inhibits nicotinamide N-methyltransferase, an enzyme that sits between cellular metabolism and the regulation of gene activity.

BPC-157

BPC-157 is a synthetic peptide of 15 amino acids.

Cagrilintide

Cagrilintide is a long-acting synthetic analogue of amylin, a 37-amino-acid hormone released alongside insulin that slows stomach emptying and signals fullness.

CJC-1295

CJC-1295 is a synthetic analogue of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), modified so that it binds to the body's own albumin after injection and lasts far longer than the natural hormone, with a half-life of about eight days.

Epitalon

Epitalon is a synthetic four-amino-acid peptide (Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly) designed from the amino acid composition of epithalamin, an extract of the bovine pineal gland.

FOXO4-DRI

FOXO4-DRI is a synthetic peptide designed in 2017 by a group at Erasmus MC in the Netherlands to kill senescent cells, the damaged cells that stop dividing but accumulate with age.

GHK-Cu

GHK-Cu is a naturally occurring three-amino-acid peptide bound to copper.

Glutathione

Glutathione is a tripeptide, three amino acids joined together (glutamate, cysteine and glycine), made by nearly every cell in the body and the most abundant antioxidant inside cells.

Ipamorelin

Ipamorelin is a synthetic five-amino-acid peptide developed in the 1990s as a growth hormone secretagogue, meaning a compound that prompts the release of growth hormone.

KPV

KPV is a three-amino-acid peptide (lysine-proline-valine) that corresponds to the tail end of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, a hormone involved in pigmentation and in damping inflammation.

MOTS-c

MOTS-c is a 16-amino-acid peptide encoded not in the cell nucleus but inside the mitochondrial genome, in the 12S rRNA region.

NAD+

NAD+ is not a peptide.

It is a coenzyme built from two nucleotides, present in every living cell, where it carries electrons in the reactions that release energy from food.

Pancragen

Pancragen is a synthetic four-amino-acid peptide (Lys-Glu-Asp-Trp) from the Khavinson series of bioregulator peptides, designed from a peptide extract of pancreatic tissue.

Pinealon

Pinealon is a synthetic three-amino-acid peptide (Glu-Asp-Arg) from the Khavinson series of bioregulator peptides.

PT-141

PT-141, or bremelanotide, is a synthetic peptide that activates melanocortin receptors, developed out of research on analogues of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone.

Retatrutide

Retatrutide is a synthetic peptide developed by Eli Lilly that acts on three hormone receptors at once: GLP-1, GIP and glucagon.

Selank

Selank is a synthetic seven-amino-acid peptide based on tuftsin, a short fragment of an antibody protein that occurs naturally in the body, with a stabilising tail added.

Semaglutide

Semaglutide is a synthetic analogue of GLP-1, a hormone released by the gut after eating.

Semax

Semax is a synthetic seven-amino-acid peptide built from a fragment of ACTH, the adrenocorticotropic hormone, with a three-amino-acid tail added to slow its breakdown.

Sermorelin

Sermorelin is the first 29 amino acids of growth hormone-releasing hormone, the shortest fragment that still triggers the pituitary to release growth hormone.

SLU-PP-332

SLU-PP-332 is a synthetic small molecule, not a peptide.

SS-31 (elamipretide)

SS-31, known as elamipretide in clinical development, is a synthetic four-amino-acid peptide that concentrates in mitochondria and binds cardiolipin, a lipid of the inner mitochondrial membrane.

TB-500

TB-500 is a synthetic peptide corresponding to a fragment of thymosin beta-4, a naturally occurring 43-amino-acid protein involved in regulating actin, a building block of cell structure.

Tesamorelin

Tesamorelin is a synthetic, stabilised analogue of growth hormone-releasing hormone, the hypothalamic hormone that prompts the pituitary to release growth hormone.

Thymogen

Thymogen is a synthetic two-amino-acid peptide, glutamic acid joined to tryptophan, identified in the 1980s as an active component of thymalin, a calf-thymus extract.

Thymosin alpha-1

Thymosin alpha-1 is a 28-amino-acid peptide originally isolated from thymus tissue, the gland where T cells mature.

Tirzepatide

Tirzepatide is a synthetic peptide that activates two hormone receptors at once: GIP and GLP-1, both involved in insulin release and appetite.

VIP (vasoactive intestinal peptide)

Vasoactive intestinal peptide is a 28-amino-acid hormone and neurotransmitter made in the gut, pancreas and nervous system.