GHRP-6 — wholesale 10-vial kits

Research context

GHRP-6 was reported by Bowers and colleagues in 1984 as a synthetic hexapeptide that acts on the pituitary to release growth hormone specifically (Endocrinology, 1984). Because its activity did not behave like GHRH's, it pointed to a separate regulatory pathway with an unidentified natural ligand. That inference drove two landmark results: Merck researchers cloned the growth hormone secretagogue receptor, GHS-R1a, from pituitary and hypothalamus in 1996 (Howard et al., Science), and Kojima and colleagues identified its endogenous ligand, the acylated stomach peptide ghrelin, in 1999 (Nature). GHRP-6's two D-amino acids make it resistant to rapid enzymatic degradation.

As a GHS-R1a agonist GHRP-6 is less selective than ipamorelin: in the conscious-swine comparison that defined ipamorelin's profile, GHRP-6 raised ACTH and cortisol along with GH while ipamorelin did not, at matched GH-releasing potency. Increased food intake was the first non-GH effect recorded for the GHRP class, which is why GHRP-6 is still a standard comparator in feeding-behavior models.

A second binding site. Beyond growth-hormone release, the GHRP family has a GHS-R1a-independent target: the scavenger receptor CD36, first identified in cardiac membranes using a photoactivatable hexarelin probe (Bodart et al., Circulation Research, 2002). GHRP-6 then became the scaffold for that work. Aza-amino-acid analogs of GHRP-6, such as MPE-001 ([aza-Tyr4]-GHRP-6), were developed as CD36-selective ligands and studied in macrophage polarization, atherosclerosis and choroidal-angiogenesis models, where their effects were absent in CD36-null animals. That makes GHRP-6 a useful tool for separating GHS-R1a-dependent from CD36-dependent signaling in cardiovascular models, and a starting point for medicinal-chemistry work on CD36. It is also a reference GHS-R1a agonist in appetite-signaling studies and anti-doping analytics.

U.S. regulatory status: GHRP-6 is not an FDA-approved drug. In FDA's compounding records it was placed in Category 2 under the 503B interim policy in September 2023, with the agency citing immunogenicity risk from aggregation and peptide-related impurities and limited safety-related information. WholesalePeptide.us supplies it only for in-vitro, analytical and preclinical laboratory research.

Analytically, GHRP-6 is a short peptide with two tryptophans, so it is UV-active and resolves well on RP-HPLC; oxidation of the tryptophan side chains is the main degradation route to watch for in stored solutions. Each lot ships with a COA showing the chromatogram and LC-MS identity mass. Labs studying secretagogue structure–activity relationships often order GHRP-6 together with hexarelin, GHRP-2 and ipamorelin, and those compounds can be combined in one order toward the same price tier.

The identity table on this page uses the stereochemically defined PubChem record for GHRP-6 together with the CAS number confirmed against its FDA GSRS substance record, so the registry numbers and the lot COA should agree; the COA remains the authoritative document for the material in a given vial.

Research areas

• Ghrelin receptor (GHS-R1a) agonism
• CD36-mediated cardiac signaling
• CD36-selective azapeptide ligand design
• Appetite-signaling models
• Secretagogue structure–activity history

U.S. regulatory status of the compound (as an active ingredient): Not approved by the FDA. The material sold here is a research reference chemical, not a drug product.

Handling and storage

• Store lyophilized vials at −20 °C, sealed, protected from light and moisture.
• Let the vial reach room temperature before opening to limit condensation on the powder.
• Reconstitute in a sterile buffer appropriate to the assay, following your lab's SOP.
• Aliquot reconstituted material and freeze once; avoid repeated freeze–thaw.