Published human work used intravenous boluses of 0.1 to 1.0 micrograms per kilogram . Children received a 300-microgram-per-kilogram oral dose . The stroke trial gave 5 milligrams intravenously twice daily for seven days . As reported on bodybuilding forums catalogued in a 2026 clinical review: 100 to 300 micrograms subcutaneously or intramuscularly . Two or three times daily, fasted, in eight to twelve week cycles. Convention, not guidance.

GHRP-6: uses, evidence and status | Inside Your Peptides

compound file

The answer, first. The first growth hormone releasing peptide, a synthetic hexapeptide acting on the ghrelin receptor. Described by Bowers and colleagues in 1984 and never developed to approval. The strongest evidence is for growth hormone release, graded B — one well-powered human trial.

In 18 normal men, peak GH rose from 1.2 micrograms per litre to 7.6, 16.5 and 68.7 ¹.

The doses were 0.1, 0.3 and 1.0 micrograms per kilogram intravenously. Single doses, placebo-referenced, no outcome measured.

Every other use — appetite stimulation, tissue protection after injury, muscle gain or recomposition, recovery after ischemic stroke — grade D or E: animal or mechanism data only, or a claim the human trials have already tested and not supported.

What it is used for

Every use graded on its own evidence, not the compound as a whole. 5 outcomes, ranked by what the human record supports.

#outcome · human · animal · gradewhat the best evidence actually shows

01Growth hormone release18 normal men, dose-response · founding rodent workgrade BIn 18 normal men, peak GH rose from 1.2 micrograms per litre to 7.6, 16.5 and 68.7 ¹. The doses were 0.1, 0.3 and 1.0 micrograms per kilogram intravenously. Single doses, placebo-referenced, no outcome measured.

02Appetite stimulationno feeding trial · consistentgrade DThe ghrelin-receptor mechanism is established and the orexigenic effect is consistent in animals ⁶. The human food-intake trial people cite for this was run on GHRP-2, not GHRP-6 ⁷. No human feeding study of GHRP-6 exists.

03Tissue protection after injuryone failed trial · lung, kidney, braingrade DRodent work across acute lung injury, acute kidney injury and stroke reports reduced damage from GHRP-6 ¹⁰¹¹. All animal or in vitro. The one human trial of the stroke indication missed its endpoint ³.

04Muscle gain or recompositionno trial · mechanism onlygrade DNo trial has measured lean mass, fat mass or strength on GHRP-6. Off-label narratives extrapolate from the GH response, which a 2026 clinical review calls limited and to be read cautiously ⁶.

05Recovery after ischemic stroke188 adults, randomised · rodent stroke modelsgrade EA randomised open-label phase 3 gave intravenous epidermal growth factor plus GHRP-6 to 95 adults within 12 hours of stroke. Another 93 had standard care. It missed its primary endpoint on Rankin, Barthel and survival ³.

gradewhat it means

ARegulatory approval, or multiple adequately-powered trials agreeing with each other

BAt least one well-powered human randomised trial, with the direction replicated

CSmall or open-label human trials only

DAnimal or mechanism data only, with no controlled human outcome

EA claim the human trials have already killed

How it works

The proposed mechanism, in three steps. A mechanism is a reason to run a trial, never a substitute for one.

1targetBinds the growth hormone secretagogue receptor GHSR-1a in the hypothalamus and pituitary. A second target, the scavenger receptor CD36, is described for the class.

2signalNeeds intact endogenous growth hormone releasing hormone for a full response. Blocking that pathway sharply cut the GH rise in healthy men.

3effectGH rises in a pulse. Sleep architecture, ACTH and cortisol move with it in healthy men.

What it does not do

Claims the current record does not support. Worth knowing before you set expectations.

not supported by the evidence

Builds muscle. No human trial has measured muscle, lean mass or strength on GHRP-6. The record is hormone concentrations ¹⁶.
Proven to increase appetite in people. The human food-intake trial belongs to GHRP-2 ⁷. The case for GHRP-6 is mechanism and animal work ⁶.
Selective for growth hormone. Cortisol, ACTH and prolactin rise alongside GH and sleep architecture shifts ⁴. FDA names a cortisol effect and reduced insulin sensitivity ⁸.
Cuba proved it works for stroke. The phase 3 missed its primary endpoint across 188 patients. Only a 27-patient severe-stroke subgroup separated ³.

How it is used

What published protocols administered, and what the community reports doing. Descriptive on both counts, and never a recommendation.

routeSubcutaneous or intramuscular injection in the community record. Published human work used intravenous bolus, oral dosing and, in the stroke trial, intravenous infusion.

formatLyophilised powder in a multi-dose vial, reconstituted with bacteriostatic water. Sold by the milligram.

published dosesHuman GH studies used intravenous boluses of 0.1 to 1.0 micrograms per kilogram ¹. Children received 300 micrograms per kilogram orally as a single dose ⁹. The stroke phase 3 gave 5 milligrams intravenously twice daily for seven days, alongside 75 micrograms of epidermal growth factor ³.

human pharmacokineticsNo human pharmacokinetic study of GHRP-6 has been published. Urinary metabolites stayed traceable about 23 hours after a nasal dose in one volunteer ¹³.

reported conventionsAs reported on bodybuilding forums catalogued in a 2026 clinical review, 2025 to 2026: 100 to 300 micrograms subcutaneously or intramuscularly ⁶. Two or three times daily, fasted, in cycles of eight to twelve weeks. That review presents these as behavioural data, not treatment strategies. Convention, not guidance.

commonly paired withCJC-1295

This site does not publish protocols to follow. The doses above are what studies administered or what users report, stated as facts about the literature and the market. How protocols are structured, mixing and storage and the reconstitution calculator cover the arithmetic.

What to expect

Where a trial measured it, the trial. Where only the community reports it, that is said out loud.

onsetGH rises within minutes of an intravenous dose and the pulse is over inside two hours ¹. In a sleep laboratory, GHRP-6 altered sleep architecture the same night ⁴. No trial has measured how long any downstream change takes.

most common reportAs reported: hunger, and hunger that arrives fast. The measured human effects are a GH pulse and a shift in sleep.

adverse effectsCortisol, ACTH and prolactin rise with the GH pulse ⁴. FDA cites a potential cortisol effect and rising blood glucose from reduced insulin sensitivity ⁸. In the stroke trial serious adverse events occurred in 30 of 95 treated and 18 of 93 control patients, none judged treatment-related ³.

the stop signalNo trial defined a stop rule. FDA's named concerns are cortisol effects and falling insulin sensitivity ⁸. The 2026 review treats dysglycaemia and cortisol or prolactin abnormalities as the signals to retest after withdrawal ⁶.

Approval and status

What regulators and sport bodies have actually said, separately from what the evidence shows.

approvalNot approved anywhere, for any indication.

FDAOn FDA's compounding category 2 list since 29 September 2023, flagged for immunogenicity, a cortisol effect and reduced insulin sensitivity ⁸.

sport [WADA]Prohibited at all times under S2.2.4, named as GHRP-6 ¹².

sold asresearch chemical

Check the vial

The grade above describes a molecule studied under controlled conditions. It says nothing about the powder in a particular vial.

That gap is the one part of this market a reader can actually close. How to read a certificate of analysis covers the five measures in five minutes, and the 2026 audit grades vendors on the documents they publish against a rubric printed in full.

Questions we get

What is GHRP-6 used for?

Raising growth hormone, which it does well and briefly. In 18 normal men a 1-microgram-per-kilogram intravenous dose lifted peak GH from 1.2 to 68.7 micrograms per litre ¹. Off-label it is bought for appetite and for muscle, and neither has a human outcome trial.

Its one large human trial was for stroke, combined with epidermal growth factor, and it missed its primary endpoint across 188 patients ³.

How is GHRP-6 used?

Published human work used intravenous boluses of 0.1 to 1.0 micrograms per kilogram ¹. Children received a 300-microgram-per-kilogram oral dose ⁹.

The stroke trial gave 5 milligrams intravenously twice daily for seven days ³. As reported on bodybuilding forums catalogued in a 2026 clinical review: 100 to 300 micrograms subcutaneously or intramuscularly ⁶. Two or three times daily, fasted, in eight to twelve week cycles. Convention, not guidance.

How long does GHRP-6 take to work?

The GH pulse starts within minutes and is finished inside two hours ¹. In a sleep laboratory it changed sleep architecture the same night ⁴.

Beyond that nothing has been timed, because nothing downstream has been measured. The nearest evidence in the class is a 48-week placebo-controlled trial of GHRP-2 in 126 children. GH rose, growth did not, IGF-I did not move ¹⁴.

Is GHRP-6 an approved drug?

No. GHRP-6 is sold as a research chemical, not as an approved medicine. On our index it is graded early human on clinical evidence and moderate on community adoption, and those two are rated separately on purpose. FDA placed it in compounding category 2 on 29 September 2023.

The stated concerns are immunogenicity, a potential cortisol effect and rising blood glucose from reduced insulin sensitivity ⁸.

References

Bowers CY, Reynolds GA, Durham D, et al. Growth hormone-releasing peptide stimulates GH release in normal men and acts synergistically with GH-releasing hormone. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1990;70:975-982. PMID 2108187
Bowers CY, Momany FA, Reynolds GA, Hong A. On the in vitro and in vivo activity of a new synthetic hexapeptide that acts on the pituitary to specifically release growth hormone. Endocrinology. 1984;114:1537-1545. PMID 6714155
Hernandez-Bernal F, Subiros-Martinez N, Gutierrez-Ronquillo JH, et al. Phase III open-label, randomized clinical trial of epidermal growth factor and growth hormone releasing hexapeptide in acute ischemic stroke. J Clin Neurosci. 2026;152:112195. PMID 42462342
Frieboes RM, Murck H, Maier P, et al. Growth hormone-releasing peptide-6 stimulates sleep, growth hormone, ACTH and cortisol release in normal man. Neuroendocrinology. 1995;61:584-589. PMID 7617137
Pandya N, DeMott-Friberg R, Bowers CY, et al. Growth hormone-releasing peptide-6 requires endogenous hypothalamic GH-releasing hormone for maximal GH stimulation. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1998;83:1186-1189. PMID 9543138
Dominikowski A, Rekos Z, Olejarz M, et al. The emerging landscape of performance-enhancing peptides modulating the GH-IGF1 axis. Front Endocrinol. 2026;17:1822475. PMID 42395176
Laferrere B, Abraham C, Russell CD, Bowers CY. Growth hormone releasing peptide-2, like ghrelin, increases food intake in healthy men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005;90:611-614. PMID 15699539
US Food and Drug Administration. Certain bulk drug substances for use in compounding that may present significant safety risks. Content current as of 22 April 2026. fda.gov
Bellone J, Ghizzoni L, Aimaretti G, et al. Growth hormone-releasing effect of oral growth hormone-releasing peptide 6 administration in children with short stature. Eur J Endocrinol. 1995;133:425-429. PMID 7581965
Wang L, Berlanga-Acosta J, Yu H, et al. Growth hormone releasing peptide-6 ameliorates acute lung injury and its subsequent evolvement to interstitial fibrosis. Int Immunopharmacol. 2026;172:116204. PMID 41534456
Zhao X, Pan K, Li R, et al. Growth hormone-releasing peptide 6 hydrogel for acute kidney injury therapy via metabolic regulation. J Nanobiotechnology. 2025;24:15. PMID 41327290
World Anti-Doping Agency. Prohibited List 2026, International Standard. wada-ama.org
Semenistaya E, Zvereva I, Thomas A, et al. Determination of growth hormone releasing peptides metabolites in human urine after nasal administration of GHRP-1, GHRP-2, GHRP-6, hexarelin and ipamorelin. Drug Test Anal. 2015;7:919-925. PMID 25869809
Tanaka T, Hasegawa Y, Yokoya S, Nishi Y. Increased secretion of endogenous GH after treatment with an intranasal GH-releasing peptide-2 spray does not promote growth in short children with GH deficiency. Clin Pediatr Endocrinol. 2014;23:107-114. PMID 25374440

Inside Your Peptides is published by the owners of the next lab, a vendor graded elsewhere on this site. We sell nothing here, and this page carries no vendor link. Grades follow the published criteria in our editorial policy — never referral terms. Research and education only. Not medical advice.