Peptides/Hormones and growth
Ipamorelin
Also sold as NNC 26-0161
A growth hormone releasing peptide popular in anti-ageing circles. Selective and well tolerated in studies, but never approved for anyone.
At a glance
What people use it for
- Sleep quality and recovery
- Lean muscle and body composition
- Marketed as a gentler alternative to growth hormone
How it is taken
Sold as a powder for injection, typically taken before bed, often stacked with CJC-1295.
Evidence
No human trials
Good to know
- No completed human trial supports the body composition or anti-ageing claims
- Not approved for human use anywhere
- Growth signalling is best avoided by anyone with a cancer history
- Almost always sold stacked, so effects cannot be attributed to it
Ipamorelin prompts the pituitary to release growth hormone, in a similar spirit to sermorelin but through a different receptor. Its selling point is selectivity: in early studies it raised growth hormone without much effect on cortisol or prolactin, which is what made it interesting compared with older compounds in its family.
What people take it for
Sleep, recovery and body composition, usually taken at night to sit alongside the body's own overnight growth hormone pulse. It is one of the most commonly used peptides in anti-ageing and physique circles.
The most consistently reported effect is deeper sleep.
What the evidence shows
The pharmacology is genuine and was developed by a real pharmaceutical company. Early human work confirmed it does raise growth hormone.
Development was discontinued, and no completed trial demonstrates the outcomes people buy it for. There is no published evidence that ipamorelin changes body composition, recovery or ageing markers in healthy adults.
Raising growth hormone is a mechanism, not a result. Whether that mechanism translates into anything a person notices over months is precisely the question a trial would answer, and it has not been asked.
What to know before
It is nearly always sold stacked with CJC-1295. If someone reports a benefit from that combination, there is no way to know which compound produced it, or whether better sleep hygiene would have done the same.
It is prohibited in sport.
Last reviewed .