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GHRP-6

Also known as Growth hormone releasing peptide 6.

No modern, large or long randomized controlled trial exists. Most human evidence is decades old, small and focused on diagnosis or drug action, not safety.

HisTrpAlaTrpPheLys
6 amino acids, in order. A double ring marks a mirror-image, modified or non-standard one. End caps, bridges and anything attached to the chain are not drawn. Source: PubChem.
Human evidence
Grade C

Small studies

Completed randomized trials
4+

The plus sign marks a floor: the record counts more trials than it lists.

Approved?
No

Not approved in the US or the EU

Sport (WADA)
Banned

On WADA's Prohibited List.

Checked on .

How we count a trial
Short answer

As of September 2026, the FDA and the EMA have not approved GHRP-6. Most of the human evidence is small and decades old. No modern, large or long randomized controlled trial exists. WADA bans it in sport at all times. It is commonly discussed among people who use unregulated peptides of this kind, and you cannot tell by eye what a vial holds.

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What is GHRP-6?

GHRP-6 is a lab-made chain of six amino acids, one of the original peptides built to make the pituitary gland release more growth hormone. It was developed in the 1980s and 1990s. The FDA and the EMA have not approved it, and it is commonly discussed among people who use unregulated peptides of this kind.

Does GHRP-6 work?

In studies on this record, GHRP-6 released growth hormone in people. Nobody knows whether that leads to any benefit, because no modern, large or long randomized controlled trial exists.

What we found. 4+ completed randomized trials counted on the record. 3 study rows listed below, so the number shows with a plus sign until every trial is listed.

Studies on the GHRP-6 record: each study, what it was tested in, its status and what it shows.
Clinical safety study in healthy volunteersPeoplePublishedIt assessed the clinical safety of GHRP-6 in healthy volunteers. The record gives no result
Study of GHRP-6 and GHRH, the body's own signal for releasing growth hormone, 1998PeoplePublished in 1998The growth hormone release from GHRP-6 depended on the body's own GHRH signal being intact
Study in children with short stature, 1995PeoplePublished in 1995. A diagnostic-style studyGHRP-6 released growth hormone in these children
How we count a trial

Is GHRP-6 safe?

Nobody knows over the long term. One published study assessed its clinical safety in healthy volunteers, and the record does not say what it found. Most of the human evidence is small, decades old and focused on diagnosis or on how the compound acts. The record says GHRP-6 is known for stimulating appetite, a real concern outside a controlled setting. So far this is GHRP-6 in a study. The vial is a separate problem, taken up further down.

What is in a vial sold as GHRP-6?

The record describes GHRP-6 as commonly discussed among people who use unregulated growth-hormone-releasing peptides for muscle gain or recovery. It lists no test of a vial sold to them. A "research use only" label guarantees nothing about purity. A certificate of analysis counts only if it names your lot number, a lab with no stake in the result, and the method used. Purity and identity are separate tests.

Three questions to ask the seller:

  1. Which lot number is this certificate for?
  2. Who ran the test, and are they independent of you?
  3. Does the report confirm identity by mass spectrometry, or purity alone?
Score a seller on 20 criteria

What don't we know?

  • Whether it is safe over the long term. No long randomized controlled trial exists.
  • What the safety study in healthy volunteers found. The record gives no result.
  • What the appetite effect means for people who use it outside a controlled setting.
  • What is in any given vial.

The other side

A personal result is real to the person who had it. It cannot show how much came from the compound, and it says nothing about what a given vial held.

What would change this record?

  • A new registered trial built to measure longer-term safety.

Change log

  • Amino acid sequence corrected to His-D-Trp-Ala-Trp-D-Phe-Lys. The record had listed His-Trp-Ala-Trp-Phe-Lys. PubChem (opens in new tab)
  • Record checked. No change logged yet.
Every change on the Table

Three questions to ask next

Ask better questions.

More questions about GHRP-6

Is GHRP-6 approved by the FDA?

No. It has been studied since the 1990s, and neither the FDA nor the EMA has approved it.

Has GHRP-6 been tested in people?

Yes. The record names studies in children with short stature, in adults with growth hormone deficiency for diagnostic testing, and in healthy volunteers. Most of that evidence is small and decades old.

Is GHRP-6 banned in sport?

Yes, at all times. The record says WADA's prohibited list names it as a growth-hormone-releasing peptide.

Does GHRP-6 increase appetite?

The record says so. It calls GHRP-6 known for stimulating appetite, and it lists no study that measured the effect.

Are any human trials of GHRP-6 running now?

This record lists none. Its newest dated study is from 1998.
Sources

Record checked on . Each source shows the date it was checked.

Growth hormone axis

In the same group

All 8 in this group
Still curious

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