Independent · non-commercial · publishes on a quarterly cycle|Current cycle 2026 Q3
Compound Evidence InstituteEvidence synthesis · established 2023Graded assessments of compounds, trials, methods and supply
Document set current to 30 July 2026
Compound monograph · §4

GHRP-6 — safety

Adverse events as reported, contraindications, warnings, and an explicit statement of what the safety evidence does not establish.

Document identifier
CEI-MN-027/4
Series
Compound monograph
Version
4.0
Published
21 Nov 2024
Last reviewed
21 Sep 2025
Next review
21 Sep 2027
Identifier
10.71829/cei.mono.27
Certainty
Very low
Cycle
2024 Q4

§4Safety

§4.1Adverse events reported in controlled trials

Table 4. Adverse events for GHRP-6 as reported in the trial safety tables the Institute holds. Percentages are of randomised participants in the stated trial and arm.

EventActive, %Comparator, %Difference, ppSource
Marked appetite stimulationThe most prominent effect and the one that distinguishes this compound from selective secretagogues
Cortisol elevationConsistent and larger than with GHRP-2
Prolactin elevationConsistent
FlushingReported
SomnolenceReported
Injection-site reactionReported
A difference column is computed by the Institute from the two reported percentages and is not itself a published figure. Confidence intervals for adverse-event differences are not reported in the contributing trials and are not constructed here.

§4.2Contraindications

  • Not established — no marketing authorisation

§4.3Warnings and precautions

  • Non-selective secretagogue with substantial cortisol and prolactin elevation
  • Tachyphylaxis develops
  • No long-term human safety data
  • Prohibited in competitive sport at all times

§4.4What this section does not establish

Related assessments: tolerability of incretin receptor agonists · acute pancreatitis · the rodent thyroid C-cell signal.[1,2]

References cited on this page

References are numbered in order of first citation in this document. Each superscript in the text links to its entry below.

  1. Raun K, Hansen BS, Johansen NL, Thøgersen H, Madsen K, Ankersen M, Andersen PH. Ipamorelin, the first selective growth hormone secretagogue. European Journal of Endocrinology 1998;139(5):552–561. doi:10.1530/eje.0.1390552 · PMID 9849822
  2. Thevis M, Thomas A, Schänzer W. Detecting peptidic drugs, drug candidates and analogs in sports doping: current status and future directions. Expert Review of Proteomics 2019;11(6):663–673. doi:10.1586/14789450.2014.965158

Identifiers are reproduced only where the Institute holds them. Where a digital object identifier or PubMed identifier is not shown, the Institute has recorded the journal and year and has not constructed an identifier.

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