Ipamorelin 10mg

What Ipamorelin is

Ipamorelin is a synthetic pentapeptide with the sequence Aib-His-D-2-Nal-D-Phe-Lys-NH₂. It was derived from GHRP-1 by deleting the central Ala-Trp dipeptide, and it acts as an agonist at the growth hormone secretagogue receptor, GHS-R1a — the same receptor ghrelin binds.

Functionally that puts it in a different category from growth hormone itself. Rather than supplying the hormone, it acts on the pituitary to release stored GH, which is why the resulting profile in study models is pulsatile rather than a sustained elevation.

Why it is called selective

The defining paper is Raun and colleagues in the European Journal of Endocrinology (1998), titled without much modesty “Ipamorelin, the first selective growth hormone secretagogue.” The claim was specific and testable.

In conscious swine, potency was comparable to GHRP-6 — ED₅₀ 2.3 ± 0.03 nmol/kg with an E_max of 65 ng GH/ml plasma, against GHRP-6 at 3.9 ± 1.4 nmol/kg and 74 ng/ml. So far, unremarkable.

The difference was in what else moved. GHRP-6 and GHRP-2 both elevated ACTH and cortisol. Ipamorelin did not — not even at doses more than 200-fold above its ED₅₀ for GH release. None of the compounds tested affected FSH, LH, prolactin or TSH. That made ipamorelin the first GHRP-receptor agonist with a selectivity profile resembling GHRH itself.

What the human work showed

A phase I study in healthy adults found ipamorelin generally well tolerated, producing a clear growth hormone response with peak levels approximately 40 to 60 minutes after administration, and no significant effects on other pituitary or adrenal hormones in that setting. Pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modelling in human volunteers has been published separately.

Where it did not succeed is worth stating plainly. Ipamorelin showed prokinetic effects in preclinical models and was taken into a randomised controlled proof-of-concept study in patients undergoing bowel resection. It did not produce a statistically significant improvement in postoperative gastrointestinal recovery. It holds no regulatory approval in any jurisdiction for any indication.

Ipamorelin versus the alternatives

The reason ipamorelin appears so often alongside CJC-1295 in research protocols is that the two act through different receptors — GHS-R1a and the GHRH receptor respectively — and the literature on combined secretagogue administration examines whether that produces a different release pattern than either alone. We also stock the combined CJC-1295 and Ipamorelin blend for protocols calling for both.

Handling, storage and reconstitution

Supplied as a lyophilized powder under vacuum seal. Store the sealed vial at −20 °C away from light. The dry cake is stable well past normal transit times, so ambient shipping is not a quality concern in either direction.

Reconstitute with bacteriostatic water, running the stream down the inside of the glass rather than directly onto the cake, and swirl rather than shake — peptides denature at an air-liquid interface. Store the solution at 2–8 °C afterwards. Our reconstitution calculator handles the volume maths for any target concentration.

Verification

Every lot is third-party tested, HPLC for purity and mass spectrometry for identity. The certificate for your lot is on the COA page, and if you want to know what those numbers actually mean we wrote a guide to reading a peptide COA.

Frequently asked questions