selectivity is one of those subjects where the details matter more than the headlines. This page pulls together the background, the mechanisms, and the practical points readers ask about most.
Updated 2026-05-05. Numbers and descriptions here follow the published literature rather than marketing material.
Ipamorelin is a synthetic pentapeptide classified as a growth hormone secretagogue. Its sequence, Aib-His-D-2-Nal-D-Phe-Lys-NH2, combines three non-proteinogenic residues with a C-terminal amide. The N-terminal aminoisobutyric acid unit and the two aromatic D-amino acids distinguish it from peptides assembled only from standard L-amino acids. Its formula is C38H49N9O5, corresponding to an average mass near 711.9 Da. At neutral pH the molecule carries a net positive charge, a property that shapes its behaviour in chromatographic and electrophoretic systems.
The compound was developed at Novo Nordisk during the 1990s as part of a programme seeking secretagogues with improved selectivity. It was described in the peer-reviewed literature in 1998 alongside related pentapeptides from the same series. Investigators advanced it because it raised growth hormone output in animal models while leaving other pituitary hormones comparatively unaffected. The development code NNC 26-0161 appears in earlier reports, and ipamorelin later became the common designation in published work.
Selectivity is the property most often attached to this peptide. Published animal and early human studies record increases in growth hormone release after administration, with adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol responses remaining small by comparison. Effects on appetite-related pathways also appear weaker than those reported for several earlier secretagogues. Reviews that compare members of the growth hormone secretagogue family cite these findings frequently, though the receptor-level explanation for the selectivity continues to be debated rather than settled.
Ipamorelin 是一种合成五肽，序列为 Aib-His-D-2-Nal-D-Phe-Lys-NH2，分子式 C38H49N9O5，游离碱分子量约 711.85 g/mol。它属于生长激素促分泌素（GHS）家族，作用靶点是胃饥饿素受体 GHS-R1a。该化合物由诺和诺德的研究团队在二十世纪九十年代末报道，设计目标是提高对生长激素释放的选择性。C 端酰胺化与 N 端 Aib 残基是两个用于抵抗肽酶降解的结构特征。
在 GHS 家族中，早期肽类如 GHRP-6 与 GHRP-2 会同时促进生长激素、皮质醇与催乳素的释放，并明显增加食欲。Ipamorelin 在动物与早期人体研究中表现出对生长激素释放的相对选择性，对上述其他激素的影响较小。这种差异通常归因于受体结合模式与下游信号偏向的不同，而完整的分子解释仍有待补充。需要区分的是，选择性是研究观察中的相对程度，并非绝对界限。
从用途定位看，ipamorelin 目前主要以研究用肽的身份被讨论，未见主要药品监管机构将其批准为治疗药物。市售材料通常标注仅供研究使用，不得用于人体或诊断程序。文献中它常与生长激素促分泌素、GHS-R1a 激动剂、胃饥饿素拟似物等表述并列出现。既有研究的样本量普遍偏小，因此对其效应强度与一致性的描述应保持谨慎。
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular formula | C38H49N9O5 | Pentapeptide with C-terminal amide |
| Average mass | Approximately 711.9 Da | Value derived from the formula |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Typically supplied as a lyophilised solid |
| Solubility | Soluble in water and aqueous acetonitrile | Dissolution aided by acidic diluents |
| Common synonyms | Ipamorelin; NNC 26-0161 | Code name used in early reports |
Ipamorelin is a synthetic pentapeptide that belongs to the growth hormone secretagogue class. It acts as an agonist at the ghrelin receptor, also called the growth hormone secretagogue receptor type 1a. The compound was designed in the 1990s during a search for agents that release growth hormone with fewer off-target hormonal effects than earlier secretagogues. It appears in the research literature under several sequence-based names. Material supplied for laboratory work is normally a lyophilized solid, and it is not marketed as an approved therapeutic in major jurisdictions.
The molecule contains five residues, including alpha-aminoisobutyric acid, D-2-naphthylalanine, and D-phenylalanine, and it ends in a lysine amide. Non-natural and D-configured residues make the chain less susceptible to common peptidases, which helps explain its resistance to rapid breakdown. Its molecular formula is C38H49N9O5, corresponding to a free-base mass near 711.9 daltons. The C-terminal amide removes a negative charge and is a recurring feature in receptor-active peptides of this family. These structural choices are usually discussed as the basis for its selectivity profile.
Ipamorelin is a synthetic pentapeptide first described in the 1990s by researchers at Novo Nordisk during a program to develop selective growth hormone secretagogues. Its sequence is Aib-His-D-2-Nal-D-Phe-Lys-NH2, incorporating two non-natural residues, alpha-aminoisobutyric acid and D-2-naphthylalanine. The C-terminus is amidated, and the material is supplied as a white lyophilized powder. The molecular formula is C38H49N9O5 and the monoisotopic mass is approximately 711.85 daltons. The short chain and modified residues give it greater resistance to enzymatic degradation than many larger peptide hormones.
At the molecular level, ipamorelin acts as an agonist at the growth hormone secretagogue receptor type 1a, the same G protein-coupled receptor that binds ghrelin. Receptor activation couples to Gq/11 signaling, raising intracellular calcium through inositol trisphosphate and diacylglycerol, which in turn promotes exocytosis of growth hormone from pituitary somatotroph cells. Ipamorelin binds this receptor with high affinity and shows weak activity at other secretagogue-related targets in vitro. Its action requires the intact receptor and is not reversed by growth hormone-releasing hormone antagonists.
== Adverse effects == The exact incidence of the adverse effects of dexamethasone is not available, hence estimates have been made as to the incidence of the adverse effects below based on the adverse effects of related corticosteroids and on available documentation on dexamethasone.
== Role in non-mammalian vertebrates == In mammals, studies suggest that CRH has no significant thyrotropic effect. However, in representatives of all non-mammalian vertebrates, it has been found that, in addition to its corticotropic function, CRH has a potent thyrotropic function, acting with TRH to control the hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid axis (TRH has been found to be less potent than CRH in some species).
A number of studies has now demonstrated that aqueous exposure to components within the UCM can affect the health of marine organisms, including possible hormonal disruption, and high concentrations of environmental UCMs have been strongly implicated with impaired health in wild populations.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Knowing that large-scale production for medical use was futile in a laboratory, the Oxford team tried to convince the war-torn British government and private companies to engage in mass production, but the initial response was muted. Dr Blount, director of research at Glaxo Laboratories, wrote to Florey at Oxford in September 1940 but received no reply. It appeared that Florey had already appealed for assistance to two British pharmaceutical companies but had been turned down by them, and had become disillusioned with the British pharmaceutical industry. In April 1941, Warren Weaver met with Florey, and they discussed the difficulty of producing sufficient penicillin to conduct clinical trials. Weaver arranged for the Rockefeller Foundation to fund a three-month visit to the United States for Florey and a colleague to explore the possibility of production of penicillin there. Florey and Heatley left for the United States by air on 27 June 1941. Knowing that mould samples kept in vials could be easily lost, they smeared their coat pockets with the mould. Florey met with neurophysiologist John Fulton, who introduced him to Ross Harrison, the Chairman of the National Research Council (NRC). Harrison referred Florey to Thom, the chief mycologist at the Bureau of Plant Industry of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Beltsville, Maryland, and the man who had identified the mould reported by Fleming.
=== Tropical dairy farm === In 1937, Cold Storage founded the world's first tropical dairy farm at the Bukit Timah district of Singapore, which aimed to produce fresh pasteurised milk. This farm, then known as the Singapore Dairy Farm, was situated inside what is now the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. It kept as many as 800 cows. Pasteurised milk produced at the farm was packaged in pyramid-shaped cartons and sold under the brand Magnolia. By 1974, the farm was planned to be redeveloped into a residential area. Cold Storage is the Singapore's oldest established supermarket operator. It was the first supermarket in Singapore to receive the CaseTrust Mark introduced by the Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE) in 1998 which identifies companies that receive a high degree of consumer confidence. It was also the first supermarket in Singapore to receive MUIS certification for its supermarket operations at Causeway Point in Woodlands, thus providing Muslims with the assurance of Halal purchases.
=== Anorexia and obesity === Ghrelin levels in the plasma of obese individuals are lower than those in leaner individuals, suggesting that ghrelin does not contribute to obesity, except in the cases of Prader–Willi syndrome-induced obesity, where high ghrelin levels are correlated with increased food intake. Those with anorexia nervosa have high plasma levels of ghrelin compared to both the constitutionally thin and normal-weight controls. In healthy individuals, levels of circulating ghrelin increase during the time of day from midnight to dawn. However, a study comparing obese and healthy men found that this nocturnal increase in ghrelin was absent in the obese population, suggesting alterations of circadian patterns in obese men. Ghrelin levels are high in people with cancer-induced cachexia. There is insufficient evidence to conclude either for or against use of ghrelin in managing cachexia associated with cancer.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
It is a synthetic five-amino-acid peptide that acts as a growth hormone secretagogue. Three of its residues are non-standard amino acids, and the chain ends in an amide rather than a free acid. The molecule is small enough that it can be characterised by routine peptide analytical techniques.
It has not received marketing approval as a medicine in the United States or the European Union. Supplied material is generally described and handled as a research chemical. Regulatory treatment varies by jurisdiction, and some countries restrict growth hormone secretagogues under sports or medicines legislation.
Earlier secretagogues were associated with broader hormonal responses, including measurable changes in cortisol and prolactin. Reports on this peptide describe a narrower profile in which growth hormone release is the most prominent effect. The observation is influential because it shapes how the compound is compared with other members of the same receptor family.
两者都是 GHS-R1a 激动剂，但 ipamorelin 在研究中显示出更高的生长激素释放选择性。早期资料显示它对皮质醇、催乳素与食欲的刺激弱于 GHRP-6。这些差异是相对程度，而非绝对区分。