Research

Ipamorelin and CJC-1295 are amongst the most heavily researched growth hormone secretagogues. While ipamorelin acts at the ghrelin receptor, CJC-1295 acts at the growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) receptor. This fact alone makes the combination of these peptides popular in research investigating how both high and widened growth hormone (GH) peaks might work synergistically to produce enhanced effects while limiting side effects. Fortunately, the Ipamorelin/CJC-1295 cost point remains low because both peptides are well established and therefore affordable.

Ipamorelin/CJC-1295 Cost

There are two ways to look at the Ipamorelin/CJC-1295 cost paradigm. On the one hand, using two GH secretagogues together may seem like some to be overkill. After all, both will cause relatively physiologic increases in GH levels to increase muscle and bone mass while decreasing fat mass. It would seem that money can be conserved by simply choosing either the highly specific ipamorelin with its enhanced bone benefits or the equally selective CJC-1295 with its long half-life.

On the other hand, however, is the argument that Ipamorelin/CJC-1295 cost, even when both peptides are combined, is both affordable in and of itself, but almost a steal when the effects of the two peptides are combined. After all, while CJC-1295 causes enhanced peaks when used alone, it can cause both doubly enhanced peaks and higher troughs as a result of a higher baseline when used with ipamorelin[1]. In other words, the peptides work together to drastically elevate GH levels into a stratosphere that cannot be achieved, even with large doses, when using the two peptides alone. Thus, if the goal is to study the benefits of vastly enhanced growth hormone secretion, the cheapest and only way to get it is with the Ipamorelin/CJC-1295 combination.

Tesamorelin is a growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) analogue approved by the FDA for use in HIV-associated lipodystrophy. Because it increases growth hormone (GH) levels, tesamorelin can increase lean body mass, improve bone strength, burn fat, and even enhance immune function. It is the fat burning properties of tesamorelin, however, that are of greatest interest in the clinical setting. Tesamorelin is also known for its ability to improve peripheral nerve regeneration and is under investigation as a potential treatment for mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Tesamorelin has been in clinical use since 2010. Because of its long production history and relatively simple to produce characteristics, tesamorelin cost is one of the lowest among the GHRH analogues.

Purification Steps Determine Tesamorelin Cost

The cost of producing peptides generally comes from the purification and lyophilization steps of the process and not from the actual peptide synthesis. This was not always the case and producing larger peptides like tesamorelin cost quite a lot in the past. With advances in scalable synthesis, however, the production costs of many peptides have come down dramatically. This is particularly true for peptides, like tesamorelin, that require some degree of modification from their “normal” or standard counterpart[1]. In short, tesamorelin cost has declined significantly as manufacturing processes have advanced. While the purification step currently represents the bulk of the cost to manufacture tesamorelin, that is only because the cost of all of the other steps has been reduced so dramatically.

Ipamorelin vs GHRP-2

Many people think that ipamorelin and GHRP-2 are the essentially the same thing. After all, both cause an increase in the secretion of growth hormone (GH). In reality, ipamorelin and GHRP-2 are very different peptides and the fact that they cause GH hormone release is the only thing they really share in common. Below is summary of ipamorelin vs GHRP-2 that outlines the similarities, differences in their respective research studies.
Both ipamorelin and GHRP-2 cause the pituitary gland to release more growth hormone by binding to the growth hormone secretagogue receptor. This means that both peptides are analogues of ghrelin. Ghrelin, a naturally occurring peptide produced in the gastrointestinal tract, is often referred to as the hunger hormone as it stimulates eating behavior. It does so much more than that though.Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone (GHRH).Stimulation of the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R) has effects on learning, memory, the sleep-wake cycle (diurnal cycle), reward behavior, glucose metabolism, and even taste sensation. Most importantly, stimulating this receptor impacts energy balance in the body, helping to shift the body from catabolism (the breakdown of stored energy) to anabolism (the storage of energy and the repair and building of muscle and other tissue). This shift occurs via the stimulation of GH release. GHS-Rs are found on both the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland, which means that peptides like ipamorelin and GHRP-2 have a two-pronged approach for stimulating growth hormone release. The first is via direct stimulation of the pituitary gland where GH is stored and the second is via the release of GHRH, which has its own receptors on the pituitary gland for stimulating GH release.

What Is Ipamorelin?

In the world of anti-aging research, a handful of peptides have become superstars. Ipamorelin is one of those peptides. This short peptide is just five amino acids in length, but is one of the most selective growth hormone secretagogue receptor agonists known. This means that ipamorelin research has been shown to help build lean body mass and fight obesity without having unwanted effects on other aspects of the body like hair growth or decreased sexual function[1].

Ipamorelin is a peptide, which means it is made of the same amino acid building blocks found in all proteins. Ipamorelin falls into the subcategory of anti-aging peptides as well as into the subcategory of fat-burning peptides. In animal studies, it has been shown to effectively fight the signs of aging while benefiting muscle growth, bone health, and GI system function.

Because of its relative lack of secondary effects, ipamorelin is often referred to as the gentle growth hormone releasing peptide. This is because, when compared to other peptides like Sermorelin or GHRP-6, Ipamorelin tends to only affect the growth hormone axis. This makes it particularly useful in research exploring the isolated effects of growth hormone secretagogue agonists.

Sermorelin vs Ipamorelin: Structure and Route of Administration

Sermorelin is made up of the first 29 amino acids from the much larger, naturally occurring GHRH peptide. It is the smallest fraction of GHRH than retains all of the properties of the parent molecule. Weighing in at 3357.9 g/mol, Sermorelin is a relatively large, heavy peptide that must be injected sub-cutaneous to be absorbed. It is not orally bioavailable. As a result of its large size, Sermorelin has a more significant three-dimensional structure than Ipamorelin and is thus is a little less stable in terms of storage half-life.

Source: PubChem

Ipamorelin is substantially smaller than Sermorelin at just 5 amino acids and 711.868 g/mol. It is a derivative of GHRP-1, which is itself a derivative of met-enkephalin. Though the most common route of administration for Ipamorelin is via sub-cutaneous injection, the peptide is also orally active and can even be absorbed though the nasal mucosa.

Source: PubChem

Ipamorelin vs Sermorelin: Lean Body Mass

Both Sermorelin and Ipamorelin favor the development of lean body mass over fat mass, but Sermorelin is the more potent of the two. This arises from the fact that Sermorelin is both a growth stimulator and a fat burner while Ipamorelin is a more general growth stimulator. That is not to say that Ipamorelin isn’t effective, it is, but ipamorelin isn’t as strictly favorable of lean body mass deposition as Sermorelin. This difference arises from the fact that Ipamorelin is a ghrelin analogue and ghrelin favors food intake in general. Its growth hormone boosting properties shift the overall balance away from fat deposition and toward lean body mass deposition, but the Ipamorelin peptide is best thought of as a general weight boosting peptide while Sermorelin is best thought of as a more exclusive booster of lean body mass. In fact, Sermorelin is often referred to as a lipolytic or fat-burning peptide.

Both peptides stimulate the development of bone and other connective tissue, but Ipamorelin appears to have the advantage in this realm. In fact, ipamorelin is so effective in boosting bone density and mineralization that it has been investigated as a potential treatment for corticosteroid-induced bone loss as well as osteoporosis[7], [8].

When it comes to muscle growth, Sermorelin is probably the big winner, though this can be debated endlessly. Sermorelin not only boosts muscle hypertrophy and hyperplasia, it reduces fat mass and thus causes a shift in body chemistry toward lean body weight. In other words, Sermorelin will always favor the production of lean body mass even if diet is not perfectly geared toward muscle development. Ipamorelin, on the other hand, is more of a mixed bag. It will always cause muscle growth, but ipamorelin may channel some of those calories into fat deposition as well.

Sermorelin Cost

Because of low Sermorelin prices, the synthetic growth hormone-releasing hormone analogue has long been favored in research investigating the effects of enhanced human growth hormone (HGH) levels. It is also increasingly used in the clinical setting as alternative to HGH in the diagnosis and treatment of HGH deficiency. Sermorelin acetate costs, however, are not the only thing that make the peptide of interest to researchers and clinicians alike. Sermorelin has a favorable side effect profile and a number of proven benefits that are of interest to those investigating anti-aging, wound healing, metabolic processes, and sleep physiology.

How Sermorelin Works

Sermorelin is a peptide hormone analogue of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), which means it stimulates the release of GH from the anterior pituitary. Sermorelin is actually one of the earliest peptide hormone analogues produced and has been used in research and clinical settings for nearly thirty years.

Sermorelin is a shortened, synthetic version of GHRH, consisting of only the first twenty-nine amino acids of the larger protein. It retains most of the functions of GHRH and is capable of binding to the GHRH receptor, with equal affinity to native GHRH, after subcutaneous injection. It is thought to be the shortest fragment of GHRH that is still fully functional.

By stimulating the release of HGH (and in fact growth hormone in a number of animals), Sermorelin causes the same biochemical actions as GHRH. These include the production of insulin-like growth factor 1, increased long bone growth, muscle hypertrophy/hyperplasia, enhanced wound healing, improved energy metabolism, and changes in the immune system. Though Sermorelin has been found to stimulate growth in a reliable, reproducible manner, the peptide is of greater interest for its effects on wound healing, body composition, sleep, and the aging process.