In brief
The paper that introduced ipamorelin. It is a five-residue peptide (Aib-His-D-2-Nal-D-Phe-Lys-NH₂) found in a chemistry programme that removed the central Ala-Trp of GHRP-1. In cultured rat pituitary cells it released growth hormone with potency and efficacy close to GHRP-6, and antagonist experiments showed it acts through a GHRP-type receptor rather than the GHRH receptor. In anaesthetised rats and in conscious swine the growth-hormone response was again comparable to GHRP-6; GHRP-2 was more potent but less efficacious. The point of the paper is selectivity: in swine, ipamorelin did not change FSH, LH, prolactin or TSH, and unlike GHRP-6 and GHRP-2 it did not raise ACTH or cortisol. The authors describe it as a candidate for clinical development.
Study design
Pharmacology paper: rat pituitary cells in culture, anaesthetised rats and conscious swine, compared against GHRP-6 and GHRP-2.
What it does not show
Animal and cell work from the company that made the compound. The selectivity claim rests on the hormones measured in swine; human data for ipamorelin are limited to short pharmacokinetic studies such as the 1999 volunteer study also cited here.
Results in rodents or other animals often do not reproduce in people. Species, route, dose and the injury or disease model all shape the outcome, and an effect in a rat is a reason for further study, not a conclusion.
Where this paper is cited
- Ipamorelin — In rats and pigs, ipamorelin released growth hormone without the ACTH or cortisol release seen with GHRP-6.
Other papers cited for Ipamorelin
- Study in humans Pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modeling of ipamorelin, a growth hormone releasing peptide, in human volunteers Gobburu et al. (1999), Pharm Res
Further reading
- Research library: every paper cited on this site, by compound and by study type.
- Growth hormone secretagogue comparison
- How to read a certificate of analysis
- Lyophilised peptide storage and stability
How this page was made: the citation was retrieved from PubMed by PMID and checked against the title on the product page; the summary was written from the paper's abstract and reports only what the abstract reports. Read the paper itself before relying on any figure here.