Product Overview
GHRP-6, or growth hormone-releasing hexapeptide, is a six-residue molecule that activates the ghrelin receptor. It was the first of its kind to be described, development code SKF-110679, and it remains the reference point against which later secretagogues are judged. Generic Peptides lists it as a 5 mg and a 10 mg lyophilised vial, both intended for laboratory work.
What separates it from the rest of the family is the appetite response. The ghrelin receptor is the receptor the stomach uses to say it is empty, so stimulating it does not merely nudge hunger upward, it produces the strongest feeding signal of any peptide in this group. Where GHRP-2 is chosen for the growth hormone pulse alone, this one is studied when food intake is part of the question.
Two other properties matter. Human data comes from an intravenous bolus in healthy volunteers, where the terminal half-life was 2.5 hours with a spread of roughly one hour either side, and the distribution phase lasted under eight minutes. Like its sibling, it also lifts ACTH and cortisol, which is exactly the behaviour Ipamorelin was designed to avoid. In competitive sport the compound is named in class S2 and prohibited at all times.
Dosage Protocol
The table restates what published work and vendor convention contain. Human studies used single intravenous boluses in volunteers, not repeated courses, and no schedule was ever approved for people.
| Item | Figure | Basis |
| Published human route | Intravenous bolus | Pharmacokinetic study in nine healthy volunteers |
| Terminal half-life | 2.5 hours, plus or minus 1.1 | Measured in that study |
| Research timing | Divided shots, often at bedtime | Vendors and community convention, not a proven schedule |
| Course length | Short blocks | No long continuous blocks are described in the sources |
| Female | No confirmed protocol | Nothing found in the sources checked |
The powder is mixed with bacteriostatic water against the wall of the vial, never shaken. Two millilitres in the 5 mg vial gives 2.5 mg per millilitre, so one tenth of a millilitre carries 250 mcg, which a U-100 syringe shows as 10 units. The same 2 ml in the 10 mg vial doubles the strength, while 5 ml in that vial lowers it to 200 mcg per tenth. Because clearance takes hours, splitting the total across several injections changes the shape of the day far more than a single larger shot does.
Suggested Protocols
Secretagogue research normally pairs a ghrelin-side peptide with a GHRH-side peptide, because the two act at different receptors and the combined release exceeds either alone. Combinations below are read as pairings of that kind.
For support rather than partnership, Hexarelin represents the more powerful and faster-desensitising end of the ghrelin group, IGF-1 LR3 sits downstream of growth hormone itself, and Somatropin is the finished hormone rather than a signal to produce it. Long uninterrupted courses make little sense with a compound whose own action is spent in a few hours.
What to Expect
- Appetite is the headline. A pronounced hunger response is the defining characteristic of this peptide, watched deliberately in studies rather than noted as an annoyance.
- Release is quick, then gone. Growth hormone climbs within the first hour after a shot and the effect fades over several hours, matching the 2.5 hour terminal half-life.
- The stress axis is involved. Cortisol and ACTH rise along with growth hormone, a difference from ipamorelin that shows up even at modest amounts.
- Swallowing it achieves nothing. Oral bioavailability is below one percent, so every published figure comes from an injection.
- There is no licensed form. No drug version, no ATC code and no approval in any country; the vial is research material only.
- Frequency beats size. With such a short action, results depend on how often injections are given rather than on one large amount.
- Doping rules are absolute. Class S2 covers every use, in and out of competition.
Side Effects and Management
The reactions reported with this peptide split into two groups: the appetite it is bought for, and the hormonal traffic that comes with it.
Post-Cycle Therapy (No SERM Needed)
Nothing here touches testosterone production. A recovery protocol built from tamoxifen or clomiphene belongs to suppressive steroids, and no source describes one for a growth hormone secretagogue.
The lyophilisate stays between 2 and 8 C away from light. After mixing, keep the solution refrigerated and use it within about four weeks, and never put it through a freezer.
