GHRP-2

Research-Grade

GHRP-2 (also called pralmorelin or KP-102) is a synthetic hexapeptide and a super-analog of the earlier peptide GHRP-6. It acts as an agonist at the growth hormone secretagogue receptor — the ghrelin receptor — and stimulates GH release from the pituitary. In a small study in healthy young adults, intravenous GHRP-2 (1–2 mcg/kg) produced a strong GH response, similar to hexarelin and larger than that to GHRH. It was not fully GH-specific: it also raised prolactin, ACTH and cortisol, with ACTH/cortisol release similar to that after corticotropin-releasing hormone. In swine, GHRP-2 and GHRP-6 both raised ACTH and cortisol, whereas the later compound ipamorelin did not, which is why ipamorelin was described as the first selective GH secretagogue. Like ghrelin, GHRP-2 increases appetite: in seven healthy men, a subcutaneous GHRP-2 infusion increased intake at a buffet meal by about 36% versus saline. Repeated dosing shows attenuation — in nine healthy men given 100 mcg subcutaneously once daily for five days, the GH response declined over time and IGF-1 did not rise. GHRP-2's best-documented clinical use is diagnostic: a single 100 mcg intravenous dose has been validated as a provocative test for adult GH deficiency, with GH peaking within 60 minutes. Outside diagnostic testing it is not an approved therapy; the FDA lists GHRP-2 among bulk drug substances that may present significant safety risks in compounding.