HGH

Areas of active research — not promised effects

Each tag links to other compounds with research into that goal. Research use only: these are areas of study, not human-use claims.

Related by research scope · open each to compare

Multiple somatropin products (Genotropin, Humatrope, Norditropin, Omnitrope, Saizen, Nutropin, Serostim, Zomacton, and others) hold their own FDA Biologics License Application (BLA) approvals for specific labeled indications and require a valid prescription. Separately and importantly, 21 U.S.C. § 333(e) (part of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended by the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004) makes it a federal offense to knowingly distribute or possess with intent to distribute human growth hormone (defined in the statute to mean somatrem, somatropin, or an analogue of either) for any human use other than treatment of a disease or recognized medical condition that has been FDA-authorized and is prescribed by a physician — punishable by up to 5 years' imprisonment (up to 10 years if the recipient is under 18), and the DEA is statutorily authorized to investigate such offenses even though HGH itself is not a scheduled controlled substance under the CSA. This makes HGH's US legal posture unusual: an approved prescription biologic for its labeled indications, but criminally restricted (not merely off-label) for common non-medical uses such as anti-aging or bodybuilding.

Transparent blend · bci-1.0 · never paid-placement

Primary name

HGH

Length

191 aa

Origin

Human growth hormone (GH1 gene product, UniProt P01241) is normally secreted in a pulsatile pattern by somatotroph cells of the anterior pituitary under hypothalamic control (GHRH stimulatory, somatostatin inhibitory). Recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH, INN somatropin) is produced by recombinant DNA technology in E. coli or mammalian cell expression systems and is marketed under many brand names (Genotropin, Humatrope, Norditropin, Omnitrope, Saizen, Nutropin, Serostim, Zomacton, and the long-acting prodrug lonapegsomatropin/Skytrofa, among others) by multiple manufacturers, each holding its own FDA approval for a specific set of indications.

Registry IDs

CAS

12629-01-5

DrugBank

DB00052

Appearance

White to off-white lyophilized powder or cake (product-typical for recombinant somatropin formulations); some modern presentations are supplied as a pre-mixed liquid in a pen injector

Solubility

Soluble in aqueous buffers; reconstituted per each product's specific accompanyi…

Sequence · one-letter

Stability: As a single-chain protein with two intramolecular disulfide bonds, somatropin is susceptible to aggregation, oxidation, and denaturation with heat, agitation, o

Vial sizes

null mg

Purity grades

pharmaceutical

Salt forms

Free base (primary)

• GHS hazard class on file
• PPE & spill response
• Disposal guidance
• Not-for-human-consumption posture

How much research exists, and of what maturity — never a verdict on whether it works.

Mechanism of action

• Somatropin binds the growth hormone receptor (GHR), a single-pass transmembrane receptor, inducing GHR homodimerization and activation of the receptor-associated tyrosine kinase JAK2
• This triggers phosphorylation and activation of STAT5b, which translocates to the nucleus and drives transcription of IGF-1 and other GH-responsive genes, principally in the liver but also in cartilage, muscle, and adipose tissue
• Circulating and locally produced IGF-1 mediates most of GH's growth-promoting and anabolic effects (linear bone growth via epiphyseal chondrocyte proliferation, skeletal muscle protein synthesis, nitrogen retention)
• GH also has direct, IGF-1-independent actions: it is lipolytic (mobilizes triglycerides from adipose tissue) and anti-insulin/diabetogenic (reduces peripheral glucose uptake), effects that become clinically relevant at supraphysiologic exposure

Pharmacokinetics (ADME)

Half-life

Approximately 2-4 hours in serum after subcutaneous injection of conventional (daily) somatropin formulations; the long-acting prodrug lonapegsomatropin (Skytrofa) is engineered for weekly dosing via a releasable PEG linker with a distinct, substantially longer effective half-life. Figures vary by product per individual FDA-approved labeling.

Clearance

Primarily hepatic and renal; exact clearance values are product- and formulation-specific per each brand's FDA clinical pharmacology labeling.

PK–PD note: Subcutaneous bioavailability for conventional somatropin formulations is commonly reported in FDA clinical pharmacology reviews in the 60-80% range, with peak serum concentration several hours post-in…

Reading the evidence

• Evidence quality and gaps vary by application — see the cited grades above.
• Indexed-article counts span all evidence tiers, not only completed human trials.
• No first-party human-dosing, efficacy, or benefit claims are made here.

Key reviews & evidence-gap sources

• Cochrane CD004440 (2007): recombinant GH for idiopathic short stature in children/adolescents — Bryant et al., Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2007;(3):CD004440, PMID 17636758. 10 RCTs, 741 children. [Verification note: the near-final-height effect sizes came from SINGLE included trials, not a pooled meta-analysis — one trial found GH-treated girls reached 7.5 cm greater near-final height (155.3 vs 147.8 cm, P=0.003); another found +3.7 cm vs placebo. The other 8 trials reported only short-term growth. Attributed Layer-A literature, RUO — not a first-party efficacy claim.]
• Hazem et al. 2012, Eur J Endocrinol — GH therapy body composition & QoL in adults (systematic review/meta-analysis) — EJE 166(1):13-20, PMID 21865409 (primary article; corroborates the CRD/DARE record NBK84765). 54 RCTs, >3,400 adults with GH deficiency (3,438 per the DARE extraction). RUO, attributed.
• Schambelan et al. 1996, Ann Intern Med — rhGH in HIV-associated wasting (Serostim Study Group) — PMID 8967667; Ann Intern Med 1996;125(11):873-882. Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled multicenter trial (n=178). [Verification CORRECTED an overstatement: rhGH significantly increased lean body mass (+3.0 kg, P<0.001) and treadmill work output (P=0.039) vs placebo, BUT quality-of-life/health-status scores did NOT differ between groups — QoL was a NULL endpoint, not a positive finding.] A pivotal trial behind the 1996 Serostim HIV-wasting approval.
• foresiGHt trial results — once-weekly lonapegsomatropin in adults with GHD (JCEM 2026) — NCT04615273; JCEM 2026;111(6):1640-1650, PMID 41420532. Completed Phase 3 RCT (n=264, Ascendis Pharma). [Verification framing: the EXPERIMENTAL intervention was once-weekly lonapegsomatropin, a long-acting GH prodrug — daily somatropin (rhGH) is the ACTIVE-COMPARATOR arm here, not the primary intervention. Cited as a completed human RCT in which daily HGH served as a comparator.]
• Somatropin for Growth Hormone Deficiency — NCBI Bookshelf overview — General reference overview of somatropin's approved-indication evidence base; used to cross-check era/indication framing.

5 registered trials — 2 currently recruiting.

Phase 2
NCT00314938
A Single Dose Study to Evaluate the PK-PD Response and Safety of PHA-794428 in Children With Growth Hormone Deficiency

TERMINATED

Phase 4
NCT05681299
Effects of GH and Lirglutide on AgRP

RECRUITING

Phase 4
NCT00458263
Biochemical Markers of Growth Response to Growth Hormone Treatment in Children With Idiopathic Short Stature

COMPLETED

Phase 1
NCT07542886
A Study to Learn How Different Injector Pens Affect the Study Medicine Called Genotropin (Somatropin) Delivery and Taken up Into the Blood in Healthy Adults

RECRUITING

NA
NCT01540773
Single Low-Dose of Supplement Amino Acid

COMPLETED

Summary (literature)

Per FDA-approved somatropin prescribing information (e.g., Norditropin, DailyMed set ID 1058e17c-9261-459c-a3e6-fae38d196c14), contraindications include: acute critical illness following open-heart surgery, abdominal surgery, or multiple accidental trauma, or acute respiratory fa…

WADA status

Prohibited at all times (in-competition and out-of-competition) under WADA Prohibited List category S2.1 (Growth Hormone (GH)). Growth hormone is one of the mos…

Dominant research route: Subcutaneous injection is the dominant route in both clinical use and the controlled human PK literature — it is the sole route on the current FDA labeling for Humatrope, Norditropin and Genotropin. [Verification narrowed the scope to these three named products; other marketed somatropins exist and Zomacton historically carried an IM option, so this is not a blanket 'all marketed products' claim.] Intramuscular and intravenous were characterized in the same era of human PK work (IM historically used clinically; IV chiefly as the absolute-bioavailability reference and research-infusion route). Non-injectable routes (intranasal, transdermal microneedle, inhaled) exist only as feasibility research, predominantly in animals; no oral rhGH product has been shown to deliver bioactive hormone systemically.

The sole FDA-approved administration route on current labeling for the major marketed rhGH products (Humatrope, Norditropin, Genotropin). Characterized in the controlled human PK dataset in the Humatrope FDA label (single 0.1 mg/kg SC dose, n=8 healthy adults).

Bioavailability: Absolute bioavailability ≈75% (Humatrope FDA-label PK dataset); mean Cmax 63.3 ng/mL at median Tmax 4.0 h; apparent elimination half-life ≈3.4 h post-injection (absorption-limited kinetics).

The FDA-labeled injection sites (back of upper arm, abdomen, buttock, thigh) are cited only to describe the labeling, not a protocol. This is the reference route the others are compared against.

Used clinically in earlier eras of GH therapy and characterized in earlier comparative human PK studies; current FDA labeling for the marketed somatropins (Humatrope, Norditropin, Genotropin) authorizes subcutaneous administration only — IM is a studied-but-not-currently-approved route for these products. On the Humatrope label, IM appears only in Clinical Pharmacology (12.3) as a historical PK study, not as prescribing guidance.

Bioavailability: The current FDA label reports NO intramuscular absolute-bioavailability figure (only the ≈75% SC value). Earlier comparative human studies found IM produced a higher, earlier peak (~36.9 ng/mL near 3 h) than SC, with SC giving a lower but more sustained concentration profile.

Historically an alternative clinical route before current SC-only labeling; retained to describe what was studied, not a usable option under present labeling.

Studied as the PK reference route (100% bioavailability by definition) in the controlled human dataset used to derive the SC absolute-bioavailability figure, and in research protocols on continuous-infusion vs pulsatile-bolus GH delivery in GH-deficient subjects. Not an outpatient therapy route for any marketed product.

Bioavailability: 100% by definition (reference route). Apparent elimination half-life is short — reported ~0.36 h in one PK review — reflecting rapid clearance vs the hours-long apparent half-lives after SC absorption-limited kinetics.

Its role in the literature is as the PK reference standard and in inpatient research infusion studies, not an administered therapy route for any marketed rhGH product.

Tested in a controlled five-way crossover human trial (n=8 healthy males, endogenous GH suppressed) of an absorption-enhanced intranasal hGH formulation (CP024) vs SC injection and a plain nasal solution — Lewis AL et al., JCEM 2015;100(11):4364-4371 (PMC4702464). Earlier work was mainly in rats and sheep with chemical absorption enhancers.

Bioavailability: The enhanced intranasal formulation reached ~3% relative bioavailability vs SC (about 3× the plain nasal solution) — far below SC. Despite low systemic hGH exposure, twice-daily intranasal dosing induced an IGF-1 response comparable to SC up to 19 h post-dose (the first reported IGF-1 induction in man via intranasal hGH), with mild transient nasal-irritation events and no serious adverse events.

No intranasal hGH product is FDA-approved or marketed; all data are formulation-feasibility research from a small (n=8) early-phase study — an RUO PK/PD finding, not an efficacy claim.

No controlled clinical trial of a legitimate oral rhGH formulation reaching systemic circulation was found. General peptide-oral-delivery literature explains the barrier: larger peptides are degraded by gastric/intestinal proteases within minutes, limiting unmodified peptides to well under 1% oral bioavailability absent specialized protective formulation (none exists for a marketed GH product). Separately, FTC enforcement targeted marketers of OTC 'oral HGH' pills/sprays.

Bioavailability: Essentially negligible/unquantified for intact bioactive hGH absent an enabling delivery technology; no marketed oral rhGH product exists. Per the primary FTC record, the marketed oral-spray products were homeopathic (purified water) and alleged not to contain HGH — established via composition/allegation, not a documented FTC assay.

hGH is a large (~22 kDa, 191-residue) protein with no reported special gastric stability — a general peptide-degradation mechanism, reported to explain why oral 'HGH' products cannot plausibly deliver active hormone, not as evidence for or against any product.

Studied via titanium microneedle transdermal-patch delivery in preclinical (rat) PK studies, coating formulated rhGH onto the microneedle array vs SC Norditropin in the same animal model. Other transdermal approaches (radiofrequency microchannel ablation) were studied in rats and guinea pigs.

Bioavailability: Reported preclinical (rat) absolute bioavailability from the microneedle patch was similar to SC injection, with average Tmax ≈30 min. Radiofrequency-microchannel delivery was reported at ~75% (rats) and ~33% (guinea pigs) in the same review.

Device-feasibility, preclinical-stage research only — no transdermal or microneedle rhGH product is human-approved or marketed.

Animal & human figures are kept visibly separate so studied animal doses are never misread as human guidance.

Sorted A–Z by vendor — never by price

Researched storefront prices, bucketed

p25 $7.60 · median $7.65 · p75 $13.50 · 9 researched vendors

Value rule: don't just buy the cheapest — a price under $3/mg is a red flag. Pair price with COA and independent-test grade.

Estimated cost of research (10 mg)

Vial (best researched price)

$76

Bacteriostatic water (generic estimate)

$6

Syringes / supplies (generic estimate)

$12

What each test proves — general guidance, plus this compound's researched purity data

Purity on the current market (researched)

No independent aggregate purity distribution across many HGH samples was located this pass. Two reference points instead: (1) even the FDA-approved brand Genotropin was found by Hepner et al. 2005 (Proteome Science, PMC549540) to be 84.4% unmodified main component (with 13.7% oxidation product and ~2% amino-acid-substituted material — i.e. ~2% substituted, NOT ~15% substituted) — even pharma-grade rhGH is not 100% single-species. (2) A MANUFACTURER-FUNDED (Pharmaqo-submitted) Janoshik test on AnabolicLab (analysis completed 2024-02-01) of 'Qomatropin HGH' reported 97.253% protein purity and 12.69 IU (4.23 mg) PER VIAL — on-/slightly-over the 10 IU-per-vial label (the product is a 10-vial kit, 100 IU total). [Verification REFUTED the first-pass '12.69 of 100 labeled IU' underdose reading — 12.69 IU is per single vial, so it is on-label, not an ~87% underdose. Purity % and per-vial dose are different axes; neither alone confirms legitimacy, and this single vendor-funded batch is not an independent multi-batch result.]

Independent labs cited for this compound

No FDA product recall (Class I/II/III) of an approved somatropin brand (Genotropin, Norditropin, Omnitrope, Humatrope, Saizen, Nutropin, Serostim, Zomacton) was found for 2023–2026; the supply issues in this window were manufacturer shortages/allocation and a discontinuation (Humatrope — a business decision), not safety recalls. Non-prescription 'research'/grey-market HGH is not part of the FDA recall system at all — for that channel, enforcement takes the form of import detention (Import Alert 66-71), warning letters and criminal prosecution (see events). Reported as an honest empty recall result, not invented.

Buyer red-flag checklist

• No batch-specific third-party COA/assay (Janoshik- or AnabolicLab-style) provided on request, or one that won't confirm the product tests as HGH-191AA specifically.
• Seller offers a blood/serum GH-elevation result as 'proof' of authenticity — cheap GH-secretagogue peptides (GHRP-2, GHRP-6, Hexarelin) can elevate serum GH enough to pass a blood test without containing real rhGH.
• Steeply discounted or bulk/BOGO pricing well below the branded-pharma or reputable research-market range — HGH is the most expensive product in this market, a frequent target for underdosing/substitution.
• Product ships from China with a generic or hand-relabeled English box/label and no traceable manufacturer BLA/DIN — the pattern in multiple DOJ/CBP HGH-trafficking cases.
• Customs/shipping description doesn't match the actual product (e.g. declared as a cosmetic ingredient or unrelated chemical) — the evasion pattern named in FDA Import Alert 66-71.
• No FDA-approved brand name (Genotropin, Norditropin, Omnitrope, Humatrope, Saizen, Nutropin, Serostim, Zomacton) or matching BLA — non-prescription 'research HGH' is not FDA-approved regardless of any purity claim, and 21 U.S.C. § 333(e) makes non-medical human distribution a federal offense independent of quality.
• COA/report ID that does not resolve in the testing lab's own public verification database.

GMP vs research-grade: the chemistry (SPPS + HPLC + MS) is identical — the difference is the quality system.

Underdosing / mislabeling: No independent lab has published an aggregate underdosing-prevalence percentage across multiple HGH vendors/products, so no prevalence figure is reported — an honest 'unknown at this sample size', not an invented number. [The one documented data point (Pharmaqo Qomatropin, Janoshik, Feb 2024) was CORRECTED in verification from a fabricated underdose to an on-/slightly-over-label per-vial result (12.69 IU vs 10 IU/vial), and it is a vendor-funded single batch.] Separately, Colorimetrics/ROIDTEST documents a specific fraud pattern: sellers substituting cheap GH-secretagogue peptides (GHRP-2, GHRP-6, Hexarelin) for real rhGH — these can elevate a buyer's serum GH enough to 'pass' a blood test without containing actual somatropin, which an antibody-based kit is not fooled by.

• FDA Import Alert 66-71, 'Detention Without Physical Examination of Unapproved Human Growth Hormone (HGH)' (Published/last-revised 2026-04-07; verified live), authorizes DWPE of HGH/somatropin shipments as unapproved new drugs lacking adequate directions for use. FDA/CBP records cited in the alert describe shipments manifested under false customs declarations (e.g. labeled 'L-Alanine' or 'Glutathione' but found to contain undeclared HGH). An RUO or research-chemical label is not an import exemption — CBP/FDA evaluate actual intended use.66-71
• An RUO label is not an import exemption — CBP judges actual intended use.
• Lyophilized powder is ambient-stable in transit; temperature control needed for > 7-day transit.
• US-warehouse vendors dodge import scrutiny — they cost more but ship more reliably.

Every item dated & sourced

Prohibited at all times (in- and out-of-competition, no exemption) under WADA's S2 category — 'Peptide Hormones, Growth Factors, Related Substances and Mimetics', specifically S2.2.3 (Growth Hormone (GH), its analogues and fragments). The 2026 Prohibited List (approved by the WADA Executive Committee 11 Sep 2025, effective 1 Jan 2026) names the newer GH analogues lonapegsomatropin, somapacitan and somatrogon. GH-releasing factors (CJC-1295, sermorelin, tesamorelin) and GH secretagogues (ibutamoren/MK-677, ipamorelin) are separately listed in the same S2 category. DEA's fact sheet independently confirms hGH is listed by WADA/IOC as a performance-enhancing substance.

No granted patents identified in current seed. Composition-of-matter coverage is limited given the peptide's synthetic origin.

• IACUC / IRB research context
• RUO buyer responsibilities & documentation
• Veterinary / alternative-use where lawful
• Jurisdiction-aware "who may lawfully obtain"

What people discuss

Reported concerns — discussion, not established effects

Reading caveats

• Bodybuilding/PED-forum sampling skew — non-medical high-dose recreational users overrepresented vs GH-deficiency patients
• No field test kit is widely available, so anecdotal batch-quality/counterfeit claims can't be independently verified from the text alone
• Source-reputation heuristics ('trust your dealer') substitute for objective verification and can't be fact-checked at scale
• SEO/affiliate 'best HGH brand' content pollutes any automated tone read of vendor-recommendation threads
• Legal-risk framing is heavily US-state-dependent but often generalized as one blanket risk level
• Grey-market brand / cap-color folklore is repeated as settled fact despite threads themselves debunking it

Manually researched from reddit, youtube— theme weights are research estimates, not live counts; aggregated & de-identified. No individual posts, quotes, or usernames are ever shown.

Relative research / market volume — populated once the activity stream is wired

Inline tooltips for lyophilized, RUO, EU/mg, SPPS, 503A and more.

Toggle plain-language ↔ scientific in the header.

• How to read a COA
• Free base vs acetate
• Understanding evidence grades

FDA-approved recombinant 191-amino-acid human growth hormone (somatropin) that binds the GH receptor to drive hepatic and peripheral IGF-1 production; licensed for growth hormone deficiency and several other labeled indications, and separately restricted by federal statute for any other human use. Approximately 407 articles are indexed (literature last scanned 2026-07-16). US regulatory status: FDA-approved prescription biologic; additionally restricted by a dedicated federal criminal statute for non-approved human use. Research use only.

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