Peptide Reference Guide
Source-linked citations are shown where we pulled specific dose ranges from studies or community reporting. Legacy entries remain high-level reference values and have not all been backfilled with per-entry citations yet.
Educational Purposes Only: The information provided in this peptide reference guide is strictly for educational and research purposes only. This information should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment recommendations. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before starting any new treatment or supplement regimen. The dosages and protocols listed are based on research literature and should not be interpreted as prescriptive guidance. The creators of this guide assume no responsibility for how this information is used.
Weight Loss & Metabolism
| Peptide | Purpose | Typical Dose | Half-Life | Frequency | Timing | Duration | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semaglutide | Weight Loss/Diabetes Management | 0.25-2.4mg | - | Once weekly | Any time of day | Ongoing with medical supervision | - |
| Tirzepatide | Weight Loss/Diabetes Management | 2.5-15mg | - | Once weekly | Any time of day | Ongoing with medical supervision | - |
| Retatrutide | Investigational Weight Loss/Metabolic Support | 1-12mg NEJM phase 2 trial arms ranged from 1mg to 12mg weekly; common titration between 0.5mg and 5mg weekly. | - | Once weekly | Same day each week | 24-48 weeks in trials | Study-backed range with community-reported titration context. |
| AOD-9604 | Weight Loss/Fat Reduction | 300-350mcg | - | 1-2x daily | Morning/pre-workout | 8-12 weeks | - |
| 5-Amino-1MQ | Metabolism/Fat Loss | 50-100mg | - | Daily | Morning | 8-12 weeks | - |
| MOTS-c | Metabolism/Exercise Performance | 5-10mg | - | Daily | Morning/pre-workout | 8-12 weeks | - |
| Cagrilintide | Investigational Weight Loss/Appetite Control | 0.3-4.5mg Weekly obesity studies escalated from sub-milligram starts into multi-milligram maintenance. There is no approved non-study dosing standard yet. | 159-195h (~6.6-8.1 days) | Once weekly | Same day each week | 16-68 weeks in trials | Half-life and development data come from medicinal chemistry and obesity-trial literature. |
| Liraglutide | Weight Loss/Diabetes Management | 0.6-3mg The standard escalation used in labeling starts at 0.6mg daily and titrates upward based on tolerance and indication. | ~13h | Once daily | Any time of day | Ongoing with medical supervision | |
| Mazdutide | Investigational Weight Loss/Metabolic Support | 1-9mg Dose-escalation obesity studies have used weekly step-ups from low starting doses into higher maintenance doses. PK appears long enough for once-weekly use. | ~6-7 days | Once weekly | Same day each week | 24-48 weeks in trials | |
| Survodutide | Investigational Weight Loss/MASH Support | 0.6-4.8mg Current clinical programs use weekly titration into multi-milligram maintenance ranges; human PK supports weekly dosing. | ~6 days (~144h) | Once weekly | Same day each week | 46-48 weeks in current studies | |
| AICAR | AMPK Activation/Endurance Research | 10-25mg Published human work does not provide a clean modern injection protocol for gray-market use, so this remains a rough research convention rather than a standardized regimen. | Not well characterized; parent exposure appears short and downstream metabolite effects last longer | Once daily | Morning or pre-workout | 2-6 weeks | Human PK reporting is sparse; the review source is stronger on mechanism than on injectable parent-compound half-life. |
Recovery & Healing
| Peptide | Purpose | Typical Dose | Half-Life | Frequency | Timing | Duration | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TB-500 | Recovery/Healing/Inflammation | 2-4mg | - | 2-3x weekly | Post-workout/evening | 4-8 weeks | - |
| BPC-157 | Tissue Healing/Gut Health | 250-500mcg | - | 1-2x daily | Morning/evening | 4-8 weeks | - |
| GLOW (BPC-157 + TB-500 + GHK-Cu) | Recovery/Healing/Collagen & connective tissue | BPC-157 250-500mcg daily + TB-500 2-5mg weekly + GHK-Cu 1-2mg daily | - | Daily; TB-500 2x weekly | Morning/evening | 6-12 weeks; 2-4 week break | - |
| KLOW (GLOW + KPV) | Recovery/Healing/Inflammation (adds KPV) | Total blend 2-4mg daily (GHK-Cu 1-2mg + BPC-157/TB-500/KPV 250-500mcg each) | - | Daily | Morning/evening | 4-12 weeks; 2-4 week break | - |
| LL-37 | Antimicrobial/Wound Healing | 500mcg-1.6mg | - | 1-2x daily | Morning/evening | 2-4 weeks | - |
| KPV | Anti-inflammatory | 1-2mg | - | 1-2x daily | Morning/evening | 4-8 weeks | - |
| ARA-290 | Neuropathy/Tissue Protection Research | 2-4mg Human trials have used repeated dosing despite the short plasma half-life, suggesting the biologic effect outlasts circulating exposure. | ~20 min | Once daily | Morning | 28-56 days in trials | |
| Dermorphin | Analgesia Research | 50-200mcg Most modern discussion is non-medical and experimental. Published work is much stronger on receptor pharmacology than practical human dosing. | Not well characterized; preclinical work suggests rapid enzymatic breakdown | As needed | Protocol-dependent | Short courses only |
Growth Hormone & Performance
| Peptide | Purpose | Typical Dose | Half-Life | Frequency | Timing | Duration | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tesamorelin | GH Secretion/Fat Loss | 1-2mg | - | Daily | Before bed | 12-16 weeks | - |
| Ipamorelin | GH Secretion/Recovery | 200-300mcg | - | 1-3x daily | Before bed/post-workout | 8-12 weeks | - |
| CJC-1295 | GH Production/Muscle Growth | 2mg | - | 2-3x weekly | Before bed | 8-12 weeks | - |
| GHRP-2 | GH Secretion/Appetite | 100-300mcg | - | 2-3x daily | Morning/pre-workout/night | 8-12 weeks | - |
| GHRP-6 | GH Secretion/Appetite Stimulation | 100-300mcg | - | 2-3x daily | Morning/pre-workout/before bed | 8-12 weeks | - |
| Sermorelin | GH Secretion/Anti-aging | 0.2-0.5mg | - | Once daily | Before bed | 3-6 months | - |
| Modified GRF 1-29 | GH Secretion/Recovery | 100-200mcg | - | 1-3x daily | Morning/post-workout/before bed | 8-12 weeks | - |
| IGF-LR3 | Muscle Growth/Recovery (Research Peptide) | 20-50mcg common; up to 80-100mcg reported I did not find a controlled human dosing study for IGF-LR3; this range reflects internet guides and Reddit community reports rather than a standardized clinical protocol. | - | Daily | Morning or post-workout | 4-6 weeks on, 3-6 weeks off | Community/internet-reported range only. |
| HGH 191AA (Somatropin) | GH Replacement/Performance Research | 1-4IU Official replacement protocols are highly individualized. Gray-market use is typically framed in IU rather than mg. | ~2-4h SC (~0.4h IV) | Once daily | Morning or before bed | 8-24 weeks | |
| Hexarelin | GH Secretion/Cardiometabolic Research | 100-200mcg | ~55 min | 1-2x daily | Morning or before bed | 4-8 weeks | |
| Follistatin 344 | Myostatin/Activin Pathway Inhibition | 100-500mcg There is no standardized human self-administration protocol in the published literature; common gray-market dosing is highly speculative. | Not well characterized; preclinical protein work suggests minutes-to-hours rather than days | Once daily | Morning | 10-30 days | Most human literature is anti-doping or biologic-pathway oriented rather than practical self-use PK. |
| MGF | Localized Muscle Recovery/Tissue Repair Signaling | 200-500mcg The native peptide is short-lived; most practical interest is in the immediate post-training signaling window rather than sustained exposure. | ~5-7 min | 3-4x weekly | Post-workout | 2-4 weeks | Published biology exists, but practical injectable PK reporting is thin and often summarized secondarily. |
| PEG-MGF | Extended MGF Signaling/Muscle Recovery | 200-500mcg The pegylated form is used specifically to prolong the very short native MGF exposure profile. | ~24-72h | 2-3x weekly | Post-workout or morning | 4-6 weeks | |
| ACE-031 | Myostatin-Pathway Blockade/Muscle Growth Research | 1-3mg/kg Published human work used intermittent dosing because the Fc-fusion construct has a much longer apparent half-life than small peptides. | 10-15 days | Every 2-4 weeks | Morning | 4-12 weeks in early studies | |
| EPO | Erythropoiesis/Endurance Support | 1000-4000IU Medical dosing depends heavily on indication and hemoglobin targets. Gray-market use carries meaningful hematologic risk. | ~4-13h IV; ~19-24h SC | 1-3x weekly | Morning | 2-8 weeks |
Cognitive Enhancement & Neuroprotection
| Peptide | Purpose | Typical Dose | Half-Life | Frequency | Timing | Duration | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dihexa | Cognitive Enhancement | 10-20mg | - | Daily | Morning | 4-8 weeks | - |
| Semax | Cognitive Function/Neuroprotection | 300-600mcg | - | 1-2x daily | Morning/afternoon | 4-12 weeks | - |
| Selank | Anxiety/Cognitive Function | 300mcg | - | 1-3x daily | Morning/as needed | 4-8 weeks | - |
| Pinealon | Cognitive Function/Neuroprotection | 1-2mg | - | Daily | Morning | 4-8 weeks | - |
| Cerebrolysin | Neuroprotection/Cognitive Enhancement | 5-30ml | - | Daily | Morning | 10-20 days | - |
| P21 | Neurogenesis/Cognitive Function | 200-400mcg | - | Daily | Morning | 20-30 days | - |
| DSIP | Sleep/Stress Regulation Research | 100-300mcg DSIP literature is old and inconsistent. Human injection protocols used in gray-market circles are much less standardized than the mechanistic literature suggests. | ~15 min in vitro; circulating exposure is likely brief | Nightly | Before bed | 2-6 weeks | |
| PE 22-28 | Mood/Neurogenesis Research | 1-2mg Most published work is preclinical. Human self-use dosing is extrapolative rather than established. | ~90-120 min | Once daily | Morning | 2-6 weeks |
Immune System & Inflammation
| Peptide | Purpose | Typical Dose | Half-Life | Frequency | Timing | Duration | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thymosin Alpha-1 | Immune Function/Inflammation | 1.5mg | - | 2-3x weekly | Morning | 6-12 weeks | - |
| Thymosin Beta-4 | Tissue Repair/Anti-inflammatory | 2-10mg | - | 2-3x weekly | Morning/post-workout | 4-8 weeks | - |
| VIP | Anti-inflammatory/Immune Modulation | 50-100mcg | - | 1-2x daily | Morning/evening | 3-6 months | - |
| Thymalin | Immune Modulation/Bioregulator Research | 5-10mg Most clinical literature uses short courses rather than chronic administration. | Not well characterized; likely short peptide-complex exposure rather than multi-day persistence | Once daily | Morning | 5-10 days |
Longevity & Anti-Aging
| Peptide | Purpose | Typical Dose | Half-Life | Frequency | Timing | Duration | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epithalon | Longevity/Circadian Rhythm | 5-10mg | - | Daily | Before bed | 10-20 days | - |
| GHK-Cu | Skin Health/Collagen Production | 1-2mg | - | 1-2x daily | Morning/evening | 4-12 weeks | - |
| Humanin | Mitochondrial Function/Neuroprotection | 2-4mg | - | Daily | Morning | 8-12 weeks | - |
| NAD+ (IV) | Cellular Energy/NAD Repletion | 10-50mg IV daily in 7-day HF trials; 500mg IV daily x4 in retrospective pilot Direct human NAD+ dosing evidence is IV-only and heterogeneous. Published controlled heart-failure studies used 10mg/day IV for 7 days and 50mg/day IV for 7 days. A separate retrospective wellness-clinic pilot used 500mg IV daily for four consecutive days as a commercial loading protocol rather than a standardized medical regimen. Most human NAD-raising trials otherwise study oral precursors like NR or NMN instead of IV NAD+ itself. | Not well characterized for IV NAD+; plasma exposure appears short while whole-blood NAD changes can persist for days | Daily | Clinic infusion setting | 4-7 days in published human studies | Study-based IV protocols only; evidence is limited and not sufficient for a generalized non-IV NAD+ dosing recommendation. |
| A-Klotho (alpha-Klotho) | Experimental Cognitive Support/Longevity Factor | 10mcg/kg Nature Aging rhesus macaque data used a single 10mcg/kg subcutaneous dose. Separate online user reports describe very experimental self-use ranging from 0.5pg to 50mcg every 2 weeks, though the public Reddit examples I found were mostly around 10-20mcg every 2 weeks rather than a standardized protocol. | - | Single dose in macaque study | Research setting | Cognitive benefit measured through 2 weeks | Preclinical UCSF/Yale rhesus macaque data plus community-reported experimental self-use. |
| FOXO4-DRI | Senescent Cell Clearance | 20mg/kg | - | 3x weekly | Morning | 3 weeks | - |
| SS-31 | Mitochondrial Function/Anti-aging | 0.5-1.5mg/kg | - | Daily | Morning | 4-12 weeks | - |
| AHK-Cu | Hair/Skin Repair Copper Peptide Research | 1-5mg Most literature is topical or cell-based. Injectable gray-market use is much less characterized than cosmetic formulation use. | Not well characterized; no robust injectable human PK found | Once daily | Morning or evening | 4-8 weeks |
Sexual Function & Hormones
| Peptide | Purpose | Typical Dose | Half-Life | Frequency | Timing | Duration | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PT-141 (Bremelanotide) | Sexual Function/Libido | 1.75-2mg | - | As needed | 4-6 hours before activity | Single dose effect 6-72 hours | - |
| Melanotan II | Tanning/Appetite Suppression | 250-500mcg | - | Daily | Evening | 4-8 weeks | - |
| HCG | Gonadal Axis Support/Fertility Trigger | 250mcg single trigger dose or 250-500IU 2-3x weekly in research use Official fertility labeling is typically single-dose and indication-specific. Repeated low-IU schedules are mostly a gray-market convention. | ~29-30h | Single dose or 2-3x weekly | Morning | Protocol-dependent | |
| HMG | FSH/LH Support/Fertility Research | 75-150IU Published fertility regimens are often daily and indication-specific. Lower-frequency gray-market use is not a standardized medical protocol. | ~30h for FSH activity; LH activity is shorter | Daily in fertility protocols; 2-3x weekly in gray-market use | Morning | Protocol-dependent | |
| Melanotan 1 | Tanning/Photoprotection Research | 250-1000mcg | 0.8-1.7h after SC dosing | Daily or around UV exposure | Evening or pre-UV | 2-8 weeks | |
| Kisspeptin-10 | Reproductive Axis/Libido Research | 100-300mcg Human endocrinology studies often dose by mcg/kg or use IV infusion. Fixed-dose self-use conventions are extrapolative. | ~4 min | 1-2x daily or pulse-based | Morning or pre-intervention | Research-specific | |
| Oxytocin Acetate | Bonding/Libido/Social Modulation Research | 100-400mcg Most human pharmacology literature is intranasal or obstetric rather than gray-market subcutaneous self-use. | ~3-5 min IV | As needed or 1-2x daily | Pre-social or pre-intimacy window | Intermittent use or 2-6 weeks | |
| Gonadorelin | GnRH Signaling/LH-FSH Stimulation Research | 100-200mcg Classical medical use is pulsatile or diagnostic. Fixed once-daily self-use is a simplification rather than a direct clinical analogue. | ~2-10 min | Pulse-based or once daily | Evening | Protocol-dependent | |
| Triptorelin | GnRH Analog/Hormonal Axis Modulation | 100mcg-1mg Depot products dramatically change exposure. Small-dose gray-market self-use is not equivalent to the approved depot formulations. | ~2.8h in healthy adults | Single dose to intermittent use | Protocol-dependent | Protocol-dependent |