25 articles
Peptides: what the evidence shows
Most of the peptides on a telehealth menu next to semaglutide have never been given to people in a published randomized trial. A few have, and one is an approved drug under another name. These articles take them one at a time, separate the human evidence from the animal work it is usually sold on, and say where each stands with FDA's compounding lists.
The Peptide Menu: What Has Human Trials and What Does Not
152 of the 560 sellers we track run a peptide menu. We counted the human randomized trials behind each one. BPC-157: 226 papers, zero. The peptides with real evidence are the ones that became approved drugs.
8 min read · 1 citationAre Peptides Legal? What FDA’s 2026 Lists Say
Most peptides sold online are not approved drugs and are not on FDA’s 503A bulks list. This reads each FDA list as it stands in 2026, peptide by peptide, and explains why “withdrawn” is not a green light.
10 min read · 21 citationsBPC-157: What FDA Actually Said About It
Not approved, and not on the list of substances a 503A compounding pharmacy may use. FDA recorded specific concerns: immunogenicity, peptide impurities, and “no, or only limited, safety-related information”.
7 min read · 6 citationsTB-500: What the Evidence Shows, and What FDA Found
TB-500 is a synthetic seven-amino-acid fragment of thymosin beta-4, first sold for racehorses. FDA's 2026 review found no human studies or toxicity data. It is not approved, not on the 503A bulks list, and banned by WADA.
10 min read · 28 citationsMOTS-c Peptide: What the Evidence Shows, and What FDA Found
MOTS-c, a mitochondrial peptide, slowed weight gain and improved insulin sensitivity in mice. No published trial has given it to people, there is no established human dose, and it is absent from the 503A bulks list.
11 min read · 25 citationsGHK-Cu: What the Evidence Shows for Skin, Hair and Injections
GHK-Cu, a copper peptide, has a thin record on skin: two of three randomized trials found no objective benefit. Injected, it has no human trials. Since May 2026 FDA's compounding leeway covers every route except injection.
9 min read · 25 citationsPT-141 (Bremelanotide): What the Evidence Shows
PT-141 is bremelanotide, approved as Vyleesi only for low sexual desire in premenopausal women. Its phase 3 trials found small gains in desire and no rise in satisfying sexual events. The men's program stopped in 2007 over blood pressure.
11 min read · 21 citationsMelanotan and the Approved Drug It Is Not
An approved melanocortin-1 receptor agonist exists: afamelanotide, for preventing phototoxic pain in erythropoietic protoporphyria, given as a 16 mg implant under supervision. Melanotan II, sold for cosmetic tanning, is not that drug.
5 min read · 2 citationsThymosin Alpha 1 (Thymalfasin): What the Evidence Shows
Thymosin alpha 1, sold abroad as Zadaxin, is licensed in 30+ countries for hepatitis B but was never FDA-approved. Its largest sepsis trial found no benefit, and FDA's advisers voted 17 to 4 against letting pharmacies compound it.
10 min read · 21 citationsEpitalon: What the Evidence Shows, and What FDA Found
Epitalon, a four-amino-acid peptide from one Russian lab, lengthened telomeres in cell studies. The human mortality results were for a pineal extract, not epitalon, and FDA's 2026 review found no human safety data.
11 min read · 18 citations5-Amino-1MQ: What the Evidence Shows, and What FDA Has Said
5-amino-1MQ is not a peptide but a small molecule that blocks the enzyme NNMT. Injected into obese mice it caused about 5% weight loss in 11 days. No human study exists, it is on no FDA compounding list, and FDA cited a 503B facility for using it in 2026.
9 min read · 20 citationsKPV Peptide: What the Evidence Shows, and What FDA Found
KPV, a three-amino-acid fragment of alpha-MSH, calmed gut inflammation in mouse colitis studies. FDA's 2026 review found no human studies or safety data. It is not approved and not on the 503A bulks list.
9 min read · 18 citationsAOD-9604: What the Evidence Shows
AOD-9604, a growth hormone fragment, failed its obesity trials: in 536 adults, weight loss beyond placebo was under 1 kg and the developer ended the program in 2007. FDA advisers voted 12 to 0 against compounding it.
9 min read · 15 citationsNAD+ Injections: What the Evidence Shows
A 2026 systematic review screened 113 studies and found no outcomes trials of injected NAD+ for anti-aging or wellness. With sermorelin, it is one of the two most common add-ons in our register: 142 of 560 sellers offered NAD+ and 147 offered sermorelin at the August 2026 count.
7 min read · 5 citationsSermorelin for Weight Loss: Zero Trials, Real History
Approved once as Geref, for growth hormone deficiency in children. Discontinued for commercial reasons, not safety. No published trial has ever tested it for weight loss.
7 min read · 6 citationsTesamorelin for Weight Loss? Read Its Own Label
Tesamorelin is FDA-approved, for reducing abdominal fat in HIV-associated lipodystrophy. Its label carries six words that matter: “Not indicated for weight loss management.”
6 min read · 3 citationsCJC-1295 and Ipamorelin: What FDA Recorded
Sold as a stack for fat loss. FDA identified serious adverse events with CJC-1295 (increased heart rate and systemic vasodilatory reaction), and neither peptide has a weight-loss trial.
7 min read · 5 citationsSelank: Real Clinical Trials, One Country, No Replication
Selank was tested against a benzodiazepine in 62 patients with generalized anxiety disorder and reported similar anxiolytic effects. The study is from 2008, published in Russian, and has never been independently replicated.
5 min read · 1 citationSemax: Human Brain Imaging, No Cognitive Outcome
Semax has human data (52 healthy participants, resting-state fMRI, a placebo arm), and it found changes in brain connectivity. It did not measure memory, attention or any task performance.
5 min read · 2 citationsDSIP: A Sleep Peptide Named in 1977, With No Known Receptor
Delta sleep-inducing peptide was isolated in 1977 and named after a brain-wave effect seen in rabbits. A review of the field states the sleep hypothesis is extremely poorly documented and weak, and that no gene, protein or receptor has been isolated.
4 min read · 2 citationsLL-37: Thousands of Papers, No Human Trials
LL-37 is the body's own cathelicidin and the subject of thousands of papers. Read what they are and it is structural biology, cell culture and mice, including a wound-healing study in diabetic mice. We found no human clinical trial.
5 min read · 2 citationsKisspeptin: What the Human Studies Show, and What They Don't
Kisspeptin, the hypothalamic hormone that drives GnRH and LH, works in hospital studies as a hypogonadism test and an IVF trigger. It has no weight-loss trials, no FDA approval, and kisspeptin-10 is in FDA's Category 2 for safety risks.
11 min read · 32 citationsGlutathione: What the Evidence Shows for Pills, IV Drips and Injections
Daily glutathione pills raised blood levels by about a third over six months, then fell back. Small trials show slight skin lightening; IV drips did not beat placebo. No trial tests it for weight loss. FDA status, compounding rules and why GLP-1 sellers offer it.
11 min read · 24 citationsHexarelin: What the Human Studies Show, and Why It Is Not on FDA's Lists
Hexarelin releases a strong pulse of growth hormone, but the response fades with daily injections, it raises cortisol and prolactin, and a 16-week study found no change in body fat. It is not FDA-approved, not on any FDA compounding list, and banned in sport.
11 min read · 36 citationsIs Ozempic a Peptide? What Semaglutide and Tirzepatide Are Made Of
Yes. The molecules behind all four big brands, semaglutide and tirzepatide, are synthetic peptides; orforglipron (Foundayo) is not. What each is built from, why peptides are injected, why FDA calls them drugs rather than biologics, and what else is in the pen.
10 min read · 17 citations