PEP-0039Research chemical

GHRP-6

Also known as

GHRP-6 is catalogued in the Peptides Pub research index, with coverage focused on Lean mass.

Evidence

Preliminary· 4.0

Animal or in-vitro only

Risk band

Elevated

Serious AEs reported or theoretical

Research goals

Lean mass

Summary

GHRP-6 is a synthetic growth hormone-releasing hexapeptide and GHS-R agonist that has been used in humans as a provocative test of pituitary GH reserve, though its diagnostic discrimination overlaps between GH-deficient and normal individuals on an individual basis [1]. Its potential therapeutic benefits — preserving left-ventricular function and reducing toxicity in doxorubicin-induced cardiac injury, and protecting tubular cells in acute kidney injury via mTOR signaling — are demonstrated only in animal and in vitro models [2,3]. A related analog ([D-Lys3]-GHRP-6) shows pro-autophagic and myoprotective effects in injured skeletal muscle, again preclinically [4]. The provided literature contains no interventional human trials of GHRP-6 as an administered therapeutic, so its therapeutic evidence base is preliminary [2,3,4].

Sources

  1. 1. Growth hormone releasing hexapeptide-6 (GHRP-6) test in the diagnosis of GH-deficiency Journal of pediatric endocrinology & metabolism : JPEM, 1996.
  2. 2. Growth hormone releasing peptide-6 (GHRP-6) prevents doxorubicin-induced myocardial and extra-myocardial damages by activating prosurvival mechanisms Frontiers in pharmacology, 2024.
  3. 3. Growth hormone-releasing peptide 6 (GHRP-6) hydrogel for acute kidney injury therapy via metabolic regulation Journal of nanobiotechnology, 2025.
  4. 4. [D-Lys3]-GHRP-6 exhibits pro-autophagic effects on skeletal muscle Molecular and cellular endocrinology, 2015.

For educational purposes only.

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