Description
Ipamorelin at a glance
Ipamorelin is a synthetic five-residue peptide that triggers growth-hormone release through the ghrelin (GH secretagogue) receptor. A 1998 paper called it the first selective growth hormone secretagogue of its kind, because it released GH in animal tests without raising ACTH or cortisol. Ellepeptides lists standalone ipamorelin among its research peptides in 5 mg and 10 mg vials, separate from the CJC-1295 No DAC + Ipamorelin Blend.
- Molecule type: synthetic pentapeptide; ghrelin-receptor agonist (GH secretagogue)
- Vial sizes: 5 mg and 10 mg
- Listed price: from $40.00 USD for 5 mg
- Form: freeze-dried (lyophilized) powder
- Shipping: ships within the US; free shipping above a $200 merchandise subtotal
- Use: for laboratory research only
Ipamorelin vial sizes and price per mg
| Vial size | Listed price (USD) | Price per mg |
|---|---|---|
| 5 mg | $40.00 | $8.00 |
| 10 mg | $60.00 | $6.00 |
Listed USD prices reflect the time of writing, and the size selector always carries the current figure. The 10 mg vial works out to $6.00 per mg against $8.00 for the 5 mg size; multi-vial savings through the cart or coupons are not promised.
Ipamorelin compound profile
| Compound | Ipamorelin |
|---|---|
| Reference class | Synthetic pentapeptide; GH secretagogue |
| Peptide length | 5 amino-acid residues |
| Reference CAS | 170851-70-4 |
| Reference molecular formula | C38H49N9O5 |
| Reference molar mass | 711.9 g/mol |
| Reference sequence | H-Aib-His-D-2Nal-D-Phe-Lys-NH2 |
| Molecular reference source | PubChem CID 9831659 |
Aib is a non-standard amino acid, D-2Nal and D-Phe mark specific stereochemistry, and NH2 indicates a C-terminal amide. The table describes the parent reference structure only; counterion, hydration and the composition of any Ellepeptides lot need material documentation.
How ipamorelin works in research
Ipamorelin belongs to the GH-releasing peptide family but stands out for selectivity. In rat pituitary cells it matched GHRP-6 in potency (EC50 1.3 vs 2.2 nmol/L), and in conscious swine it released GH without changing FSH, LH, prolactin or TSH. Unlike GHRP-6 and GHRP-2, it did not raise ACTH or cortisol even far above its effective range, a profile the authors likened to GHRH itself (Raun et al., 1998).
Its target is the ghrelin receptor rather than the GHRH receptor. That receptor also matters in gastrointestinal research, and the one large human trial of ipamorelin examined bowel recovery after surgery (Beck et al., 2014). In healthy men, a single administration produced one GH peak around 40 minutes later, with a terminal half-life of about 2 hours (Gobburu et al., 1999). Those are study-specific blood measurements and say nothing about lasting effects.
Key ipamorelin studies
| Year | Study & model | What was measured | Main finding | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Rat pituitary cells, anesthetized rats, conscious swine | GH release; ACTH, cortisol and other pituitary hormones | GH potency similar to GHRP-6; no ACTH or cortisol rise in swine | Raun et al. |
| 1999 | Healthy men; pharmacokinetic and GH-response modeling | Plasma levels; GH response | Terminal half-life about 2 h; single GH peak at about 40 min | Gobburu et al. |
| 2000 | Adult female rats | Bone mineral content, dimensions and density | Mineral content rose via larger bones; cortical density unchanged | Svensson et al. |
| 2014 | 117 adults after bowel resection; double-blind, placebo-controlled; up to 7 days | Time to first tolerated meal; adverse events | 25.3 h vs 32.6 h, not significant (p = 0.15); adverse events 87.5% vs 94.8% | Beck et al. |
Most of what is known about the selectivity of ipamorelin comes from the 1998 animal work. Its strength is the side-by-side comparison with older GH-releasing peptides; its limit is that rats and swine are not people, and no human hormone-panel study of similar scope was identified for this page.
The bowel-surgery trial is the largest human dataset. Its 114 analyzed adults showed a numerically shorter time to first tolerated meal with ipamorelin, but neither the key nor the secondary efficacy analyses reached significance. Adverse events were frequent in both arms, and the authors judged the compound well tolerated over up to seven days (Beck et al., 2014).
The female-rat study adds a mechanistic note: bone mineral content rose because bones grew larger, not because cortical tissue became denser (Svensson et al., 2000). Animal skeletal data cannot be read as an osteoporosis finding. More summaries are in the Ellepeptides research library.
Ipamorelin research involving women
Direct evidence in women is thin. The bowel-surgery trial enrolled female and male adults, but its abstract reports results for the whole cohort without a women-specific estimate (Beck et al., 2014). The healthy-volunteer pharmacokinetic work used men only, so no half-life or GH-response figure specific to women was identified.
The female-rat bone study is the main female-model dataset, and it is preclinical. For female-focused questions, that leaves a real gap rather than a reassuring result. Related compounds are grouped under peptides for women.
Ipamorelin vs sermorelin, CJC-1295 No DAC and the CJC + Ipamorelin blend
| Compound | Type | Receptor studied | Main research focus | Published half-life | Sizes on Ellepeptides |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ipamorelin | Synthetic pentapeptide | Ghrelin receptor | Selective GH release (animals); bowel-recovery trial | About 2 h (healthy men) | 5 and 10 mg |
| Sermorelin | GHRH(1–29) amide | GHRH receptor | Growth in GH-deficient children; aging studies | About 4.3 min (healthy men) | 5 and 10 mg |
| CJC-1295 No DAC | Tetrasubstituted GRF(1–29), no DAC | GHRH receptor | Little direct published research | No peer-reviewed human value found | 10 mg |
| CJC-1295 No DAC + Ipamorelin Blend | Two-component mixture | GHRH + ghrelin receptors | No study of this mixture | Not established | 5 mg + 5 mg |
Ipamorelin is the only ghrelin-receptor compound here; sermorelin and CJC-1295 No DAC act on the GHRH receptor. Pairing the two receptor classes has a long history: in 1990, a different GH-releasing peptide combined with GHRH released GH synergistically in 18 healthy men (Bowers et al., 1990). No comparable data exist for ipamorelin with CJC-1295 No DAC specifically, which matters when weighing the standalone vials against the 5 mg + 5 mg blend.
Ipamorelin handling, storage and reconstitution math
Standalone ipamorelin ships as a lyophilized solid. The vial label is the source for storage conditions, and general online advice is no substitute. Keeping vials sealed until needed, avoiding moisture and recording when each one is opened make laboratory records easier to audit.
A concentration needs only two numbers: milligrams in the vial and milliliters of solvent. Divide one by the other, so 10 mg in 4 mL gives 2.5 mg/mL. The peptide calculator does this with unit conversion, and bacteriostatic water is listed for laboratories that use it. None of this is guidance for people or animals.
Ordering ipamorelin in the US
Ipamorelin orders ship to addresses within the United States. Shipping is free when the merchandise subtotal exceeds $200 after coupon discounts, before taxes and shipping; otherwise standard shipping is $15.99 per order. Delivery options and the available payment methods are shown at checkout. Current details are in the shipping policy.
Ipamorelin FAQ
What is ipamorelin?
Ipamorelin is a synthetic pentapeptide, five amino-acid residues long, that stimulates growth-hormone release by acting on the ghrelin receptor. Animal studies called it a selective GH secretagogue because it did not raise ACTH or cortisol. It is not growth hormone, and Ellepeptides lists it as freeze-dried research material.
How much does ipamorelin cost in the US?
Ipamorelin is listed at $40.00 USD for 5 mg and $60.00 for 10 mg, about $8.00 and $6.00 per mg. Prices were current at the time of writing, and the size selector on this page always shows the live figure, including any later change.
Where can I buy ipamorelin in the US?
Ellepeptides lists standalone ipamorelin vials shipped within the US, with prices in U.S. dollars and the available payment methods shown at checkout. Shipping is free when the merchandise subtotal exceeds $200 after coupons; otherwise standard shipping is $15.99. All material is sold for laboratory research only, not for personal use.
What are the benefits of ipamorelin in research?
Published work has mostly measured hormone release. In animals, ipamorelin raised GH selectively, and in female rats it increased bone mineral content through larger bone size. A human bowel-surgery trial found no significant difference in recovery time versus placebo. None of this establishes muscle, sleep or wellness benefits.
What side effects were reported in ipamorelin studies?
In the 117-patient bowel-surgery trial, treatment-emergent adverse events occurred in 87.5% of the ipamorelin group and 94.8% of the placebo group, and the authors described ipamorelin as well tolerated for up to seven days. Comparable safety data from healthy volunteers are limited.
What is the half-life of ipamorelin?
In healthy men, ipamorelin had a terminal half-life of about 2 hours, and the GH response peaked once, roughly 40 minutes after administration. That is longer than the minutes-long values reported for sermorelin and tesamorelin, but these are study-specific measurements only.
Ipamorelin vs sermorelin: what is the difference?
Sermorelin is a 29-residue GHRH fragment acting on the GHRH receptor; ipamorelin is a five-residue peptide acting on the ghrelin receptor. They reach growth-hormone release by different routes and have different evidence bases. The sermorelin page covers its pediatric and aging studies.
What is CJC-1295 with ipamorelin?
The phrase usually means pairing a GHRH-receptor compound with ipamorelin. Ellepeptides sells a fixed blend of 5 mg CJC-1295 No DAC plus 5 mg ipamorelin in one vial, alongside both standalone compounds. No published study has evaluated that exact mixture, so the evidence remains component-level.
Does ipamorelin work differently in women?
That has not been established. The human surgery trial included women but reported no separate result for them, and the pharmacokinetic study used men. Female-rat bone data exist, yet animal findings do not show how ipamorelin behaves in women, so this remains an open evidence gap.
Is ipamorelin available as capsules or a nasal spray?
Ellepeptides offers ipamorelin only as freeze-dried powder in sealed research vials, in 5 mg and 10 mg sizes. No oral, nasal or topical product is listed, and the studies cited here did not evaluate those formats, so their results should not be assumed to carry over to them.
Ipamorelin references
- Raun et al., 1998. Ipamorelin, the first selective GH secretagogue. PubMed
- PubChem. Ipamorelin, CID 9831659. PubChem
- Beck et al., 2014. Ipamorelin after bowel resection. PubMed
- Gobburu et al., 1999. Ipamorelin pharmacokinetics in healthy men. PubMed
- Svensson et al., 2000. Ipamorelin and bone in female rats. PubMed
- Soule et al., 1994. D-Ala2 and GHRH(1–29) half-life in men. PubMed
- Bowers et al., 1990. GHRP and GHRH synergy in normal men. Oxford Academic
- US FDA, 2025. EGRIFTA WR (tesamorelin) prescribing information. FDA (PDF)
Related research materials: Muscle & Performance peptides, CJC-1295 No DAC, CJC-1295 No DAC + Ipamorelin Blend, Sermorelin, Tesamorelin and the research library. For laboratory research only. Not for human or veterinary use.
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