Ipamorelin

In plain terms

Ipamorelin is a synthetic pentapeptide that binds the growth hormone secretagogue receptor. Its interest in the literature is selectivity: earlier secretagogues raise cortisol and prolactin alongside growth hormone, and published animal work reports that Ipamorelin does not to the same degree. That selectivity is the reason it appears in comparative studies. The research is in animal and cell models, and it is supplied for laboratory research only.

Research overview

Ipamorelin is a highly selective synthetic pentapeptide and ghrelin receptor agonist. Preclinical laboratory studies have investigated its ability to stimulate targeted pulsatile growth hormone release without significantly elevating cortisol or prolactin levels, observing its effects on bone density retention and cellular regeneration in animal models.

What has been studied

1. 1

   Growth hormone secretagogue receptor

   Ipamorelin is an agonist at GHS-R, the receptor ghrelin acts on. Animal studies have measured the pulsatile growth hormone release that follows, rather than a sustained elevation.

2. 2

   Selectivity

   The distinguishing feature in the literature: published models report growth hormone release without the cortisol and prolactin increases seen with GHRP-6 and GHRP-2, which is why it is often the comparator in secretagogue studies.

3. 3

   Bone and connective tissue models

   Smaller bodies of rodent research have examined effects on bone mineral density and connective tissue, downstream of the somatotropic axis rather than directly.

4. 4

   Studied alongside GHRH analogues

   It appears in research paired with CJC-1295 and other GHRH analogues, because the two act on different receptors in the same pathway.

Research articles

• Ipamorelin, the first selective growth hormone secretagogueEuropean journal of endocrinology · 1998
• Effects of acupuncture at pai-hui on the deficit of memory storage in ratsThe American journal of Chinese medicine · 1999
• Pharmacokinetics of sertraline in relation to genetic polymorphism of CYP2C19Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics · 2001