Muscle & performanceAnti-aging & longevity
GHRP-6
Growth Hormone Releasing Peptide-6 · SKF-110679
GHRP-6 was the first synthetic growth hormone releasing peptide to be studied seriously, and much of what is known about the whole class was worked out with it. It binds the ghrelin receptor and produces a growth hormone pulse in the same way its relatives do.
What separates it is hunger. Ghrelin is the hormone that makes you hungry, and GHRP-6 mimics it more effectively than any other peptide in this family. For most people the appetite stimulation is not a mild side effect. It is the dominant experience of taking it, arriving within about twenty minutes and hard to ignore.
That has made GHRP-6 an odd compound in practice. People trying to gain weight sometimes want the hunger; people trying to lose it find the same effect makes the peptide unusable. Its other genuine research interest is cardiac and wound healing work — much of it Cuban — which is real literature but not the reason it is sold.
How it works
GHRP-6 activates the growth hormone secretagogue receptor, producing a pituitary growth hormone pulse and suppressing somatostatin. Mechanically this is the same action as GHRP-2 and hexarelin.
Its appetite effect comes from the same receptor, acting in the hypothalamus. Ghrelin's normal role is to signal hunger before meals, and GHRP-6 reproduces that signal directly and strongly. This is not an off-target effect waiting to be engineered away. It is the receptor doing what it does.
Prolactin and cortisol rise more with GHRP-6 than with GHRP-2, which is the trade for its lower potency at releasing growth hormone. It is the least selective of the three GHRPs on this site.
Separate from the growth hormone axis, GHRP-6 has been studied for direct tissue effects, cardioprotection after ischaemia and wound healing, mediated in part through the CD36 receptor. That work is largely preclinical and is unrelated to why the compound is bought.
Regulatory status — United States
Not approved for human use in any jurisdiction. Studied in humans in early-phase research decades ago; development was not carried through to approval. Sold only as a research chemical.
Last reviewed 16 Aug 2026. Regulatory positions in this category change frequently; we date this line so you can see how current it is.
What it is studied for
Each entry states the evidence behind it. We do not rank indications by effectiveness — for most compounds here, that would be a claim nobody can support.
Raising growth hormone
Clinical trialThe measured pharmacological effect.
EvidenceHuman studies consistently show a growth hormone pulse after dosing. This is the best-established fact about the compound.
Appetite stimulation
Published reviewSometimes the reason for use, more often the reason for stopping.
EvidenceA direct and well-documented consequence of ghrelin receptor agonism. Not developed or approved as an appetite treatment.
Cardioprotection and wound healing
Published reviewA genuine research thread, separate from the GH axis.
EvidenceAnimal studies, principally in cardiac ischaemia models. No human trial supports these uses.
Identity and clearance
Molecule
- Class
- Synthetic hexapeptide, growth hormone secretagogue
- Molecular weight
- 873.01 Da
- Length
- 6 amino acids
Sequence
His-D-Trp-Ala-Trp-D-Phe-Lys-NH2
Pharmacokinetics
Published reviewCleared faster than GHRP-2. The appetite effect arrives well before the growth hormone pulse peaks.
Dose protocols reported in sources
Displayed for reference only. Every row says where it came from, and a trial protocol and a community convention are not the same kind of information. None of this is fed into the calculator, and none of it is a recommendation.
| Goal | Dose | Frequency | Route | Units, 5 mg vial | Source | Start this protocol |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growth hormone response, as studied | 100 mcg | Single dose in study conditions | SubcutaneousRoughly 1 mcg per kilogram, the dose most often used in the human studies that characterised the growth hormone response. | 10 u | Clinical trial | Start this |
| Commonly described community protocol | 100 mcg – 300 mcg | One to three times daily | SubcutaneousDescribed in the same pattern as the other GHRPs, usually alongside a GHRH analogue. The hunger is why many people who try this protocol do not continue it. | 10–30 u | Community practice | Start this |
Start this copies a row into a protocol of your own, which you can then edit. Where a source gave a dose range or an ambiguous frequency, those fields arrive empty — we will not pick a number on your behalf.
CheckRows marked community practice describe what people commonly do, drawn from public discussion. They are not derived from any trial and are not evidence that a dose is safe or effective.
Calculator
Work out what to draw
Pre-filled with a 5 mg vial as a worked example. These are not recommended values — change them to match the vial in front of you.
Draw to 4 units on a 1 mL U-100 syringe. That is 0.04 mL, containing 100 mcg of GHRP-6.
4 units sits exactly on a printed line.
Bioalmanac performs arithmetic on values you enter. It does not recommend doses, schedules or compounds, and nothing here is medical advice. Confirm every calculation against your vial and syringe before drawing, and speak with a licensed healthcare provider.
Open this calculation in the full calculator
Units, concentration, bacteriostatic water — the glossary defines the vocabulary, and a unit is not a fixed volume.
Safety
Reported effects
- Intense hungerPublished review
Very common. The defining effect
Arrives within about twenty minutes and is strong enough that most people describe it as the main thing the compound does.
- Rise in prolactin and cortisolClinical trial
Measured in human studies
Larger than with GHRP-2. Persistently raised prolactin can affect libido, mood and menstrual cycles.
- Water retention and puffinessCommunity practice
Commonly reported
- Tingling or numbness in the handsCommunity practice
Occasionally reported
Consistent with carpal tunnel symptoms from raised growth hormone.
- Flushing and head rush after injectionCommunity practice
Commonly reported
Usually within minutes and short-lived.
- Reduced insulin sensitivityPublished review
Expected from raised growth hormone
When to stop
- Numbness, tingling or persistent pain in the hands or wrists.
- Swelling that does not settle, particularly in the ankles or face.
- Rising fasting glucose, or new thirst, frequent urination or blurred vision.
- Nipple tenderness or discharge, or a change in menstrual cycle.
- Any allergic response: rash, hives, facial swelling or difficulty breathing. Seek urgent care.
- Any new lump, unexplained weight loss or unexplained persistent pain.
Interactions and situations that need care
- Active or previous cancerAvoid
Growth hormone and IGF-1 are proliferative signals, and there is no evidence supporting deliberate elevation of either in someone with malignancy.
- Diabetes or impaired glucose toleranceUse caution
Reduced insulin sensitivity from raised growth hormone, compounded here by an appetite effect strong enough to change what someone eats.
- Disordered eating, current or pastUse caution
This compound produces strong, artificial hunger on a schedule you control. For anyone with a history of binge eating or a difficult relationship with appetite, that is a specific and foreseeable harm, not an inconvenience.
- Competing in a tested sportAvoid
Growth hormone secretagogues are named explicitly in WADA's S2 category and are prohibited at all times, in and out of competition. Whether a current test detects this particular compound is beside the point — the prohibition is on the substance, not on being caught.
- Pregnancy and breastfeedingAvoid
No reproductive or developmental safety data.
SportProhibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency under S2: Peptide Hormones, Growth Factors, Related Substances, at all times, in and out of competition. Growth hormone secretagogues are named explicitly in S2. Prohibition applies whether or not a test can currently detect the specific compound.
What to expect
HonestlyThere is no human efficacy data for this compound, so there is no evidence-based timeline to give. Any site publishing a week-by-week schedule of expected effects has invented it.
- The hunger is the first thing you will notice, it arrives within about twenty minutes, and it is stronger than people expect.
- The growth hormone pulse is real and measured. What repeated pulses do to body composition over months has not been studied for this compound.
- If you are eating in a deficit, this is the wrong peptide in the family. GHRP-2 and ipamorelin do the same job to the growth hormone axis without it.
- It is the least selective GHRP available. Prolactin and cortisol rise more than with its relatives.
- The cardiac and wound-healing research is genuine but is almost entirely in animals, and is not what anyone is buying it for.
Storage and handling
- Freeze-dried powder
- Refrigerated at 2–8 °C, protected from light.
- After mixing
- Refrigerated at 2–8 °C. Do not freeze once mixed.
- Long-term, frozen
- Unopened powder is stable at −20 °C or colder.
With other peptides
- CJC-1295synergistic
A GHRH analogue and a ghrelin-receptor agonist act through different pathways, so the growth hormone pulse is larger than either produces alone.
- GHRP-2caution
Both act on the same receptor. Combining them stacks side effects without stacking the growth hormone response.
- Hexarelincaution
The same receptor once more. No mechanistic reason to run two GHRPs together.
- Ipamorelincaution
Same receptor, overlapping effects. Ipamorelin exists specifically to avoid GHRP-6's hunger, prolactin and cortisol effects, and combining them gives those back.
Checking your vial
Research chemicals carry no manufacturing standard, so what the vial looks like is often the only quality signal available before you use it. More on assessing quality and COAs.
White cake, clear solution
Standard for a short hexapeptide.
Collapsed, melted or fused cake
Heat exposure in transit. Refrigerating it afterwards does not undo the damage.
Cloudy solution or visible particles after gentle mixing
Degraded or contaminated. Do not use it.
Questions
- How strong is the hunger, really?
- Strong enough that it is the most consistent thing people report, and the most common reason they stop. It arrives about twenty minutes after injecting. Treat it as the main effect, not a side effect you might not get.
- Why would anyone choose GHRP-6 over GHRP-2?
- Almost always because they want the appetite stimulation: someone struggling to eat enough. For raising growth hormone alone, GHRP-2 does it more potently with less prolactin and far less hunger.
- Is the cardiac research relevant to me?
- Not currently. It is a real body of work, mostly in animal models of cardiac ischaemia, and it does not translate into a reason to take GHRP-6 for heart health. No human trial supports that.
References
Growth hormone response to GHRP-6 in healthy adults
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 1993 · Human pharmacology study
Healthy adults · About 1 mcg/kg, single dose · Single administration with sampling over hours
Produced a reproducible growth hormone pulse, with concurrent rises in prolactin and cortisol. Established the pharmacology of the class in humans.
Ghrelin receptor agonists: appetite, growth hormone and the limits of the evidence
Endocrine review literature, 2018 · Review
Humans and animals
Describes appetite stimulation as an intrinsic consequence of ghrelin receptor agonism rather than an avoidable side effect, and notes GHRP-6 as the least selective member of the class.
GHRP-6 in models of cardiac ischaemia and tissue repair
Preclinical cardiovascular literature, 2015 · Animal studies
Rodents and larger animal models
Reported reduced infarct size and improved tissue repair in animal ischaemia models, attributed partly to CD36 signalling rather than to growth hormone. No human trials have tested these findings.
Commonly reported community protocols
Bioalmanac editorial summary of public community sources, 2026 · Not a study
Records dose patterns described in public discussion. Carries no evidential weight about safety or effect.
Related compounds
CJC-1295
A GHRH analogue that raises growth hormone by amplifying the body's own release signal. Sold in two forms whose durations differ by two orders of magnitude.
GHRP-2
A growth hormone releasing peptide approved in Japan as a diagnostic agent. It triggers a pulse of your own growth hormone rather than supplying any.
Hexarelin
The most potent growth hormone releasing peptide of the three, and the only one that reliably stops working. Its response fades within about two weeks of continuous use.
Ipamorelin
A selective growth hormone secretagogue that prompts a short pulse of GH release. Widely used, and supported almost entirely by early pharmacology rather than outcome trials.
Next
What to do with GHRP-6
- Keep a record of itTurn a dose and a schedule into a protocol, then log what you actually take. GHRP-6 is filled in for you.
- See what it costsPer-milligram prices read from vendor sites and confirmed by a person, so vial sizes compare.
- Check a combinationWhat our profiles record about GHRP-6 alongside each other compound — including the pairs where nothing is recorded.
Keep this page honest
If something here is wrong, out of date, or missing a source, tell us and we will fix it and say that we did.
This page is educational. It describes what published research reports, not what you should do. Peptides discussed here are largely not approved for human use, and nothing on Bioalmanac is medical advice. No clinician reviews these pages.
Page last updated 16 Aug 2026