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6 Longevity Peptides & What Each One Is For

Most longevity peptides are sold on promise rather than proof. Here are six of the most discussed, what each one is actually approved or studied for, how much human evidence stands behind it, and where the FDA has raised concerns.

Clinically reviewed
Medically reviewed by Arbor Health TeamMedical Content Team8 min read
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The top three

None is FDA-approved for aging
Our pick

01  Sermorelin

Growth hormone signaling, small human studies

29amino acids, the active part of GHRH

02  Tesamorelin

Approved for one narrow use

2010FDA approval, HIV-related belly fat

03  Glutathione

Antioxidant status, mixed oral trials

30-35%rise in blood levels, oral, 6 months

Read the claims against the approvals. Not one peptide on this list is FDA-approved to slow aging or extend life. Two are prescribed by Arbor's clinicians as support, one is a supplement, and one carries FDA safety concerns.

What counts as a longevity peptide

A peptide is a short chain of amino acids. Insulin is one, and so is the GLP-1 hormone your gut releases after a meal. Longevity peptides are a looser group, said to support repair, body composition or energy as you age.

That label comes from marketing, not medicine. No peptide is FDA-approved to slow aging, and the human evidence behind most of them is thin, often a handful of small studies or work done only in cells and animals.

NAD+, often sold alongside peptides, is a coenzyme built from two nucleotides and contains no amino acids at all.

How this list is grouped

These six are grouped by what they act on, not ranked, since they do different jobs and their evidence cannot be compared:

  • Growth hormone signaling: sermorelin and tesamorelin
  • Antioxidant defense: glutathione
  • Skin and connective tissue: collagen peptides and GHK-Cu
  • Flagged by the FDA: BPC-157

Sermorelin and glutathione are the two that Arbor’s clinicians prescribe. Both are compounded, which means neither is FDA-approved.

01

Sermorelin

GHRH analog, injection

29amino acids, the active part of GHRH

Sermorelin is the first 29 amino acids of growth hormone-releasing hormone, the signal your brain sends the pituitary to make growth hormone. It prompts your own production instead of replacing the hormone.

Where it wins

  • Raised growth hormone and IGF-1 in a small trial of adults aged 55 to 71
  • Once FDA-approved as Geref, for children with growth hormone deficiency
  • Most common side effects were flushing and injection-site pain

What it costs you

  • Not FDA-approved for adults or for aging
  • Compounded sermorelin is not FDA-approved
  • Human data in older adults is small and decades old

Growth hormone signaling, small human studies

02

Tesamorelin

GHRH analog, injection

2010FDA approval, HIV-related belly fat

Tesamorelin is the only growth hormone-releasing peptide here with a current FDA approval, and a narrow one: reducing excess abdominal fat in adults with HIV who have lipodystrophy.

Where it wins

  • FDA-approved since 2010, sold as Egrifta
  • Backed by controlled trials for its approved use
  • Works on the same pituitary pathway as sermorelin

What it costs you

  • Not approved for aging or for weight loss
  • Label says long-term heart safety is not established
  • Prescribed for a specific condition, not general wellness

Approved for one narrow use

03

Glutathione

Tripeptide antioxidant, oral or injected

30-35%rise in blood levels, oral, 6 months

Glutathione, a tripeptide of glutamate, cysteine and glycine, is one of the body's main antioxidants and the most familiar true peptide on this list.

Where it wins

  • 1,000 mg a day by mouth raised blood glutathione 30-35% in a 6-month trial
  • Made by your own cells every day
  • On FDA's list of substances under evaluation for compounding, not the safety-concern list

What it costs you

  • Higher levels were measured, not health outcomes
  • A smaller 4-week oral trial found no change
  • Human evidence for injected glutathione is limited

Antioxidant status, mixed oral trials

04

Collagen peptides

Hydrolyzed collagen, oral supplement

19randomized trials in a 2021 skin review

Collagen peptides are broken-down collagen taken by mouth, usually as a powder. They have more randomized trials than anything else here, and the results split by who paid for the research.

Where it wins

  • A 2021 meta-analysis of 19 trials found better skin hydration, elasticity and wrinkles
  • A joint review found lower overall osteoarthritis scores
  • Oral, no injections

What it costs you

  • A 2025 review of 23 trials found no effect in studies without industry funding
  • Sold as a supplement, so the FDA does not approve it before sale
  • Not a complete protein

Skin and joints, results split by funding

05

GHK-Cu

Copper tripeptide, topical or injected

3amino acids bound to copper

GHK-Cu is a three-amino-acid peptide carried with copper and found naturally in human plasma. Most of what is known comes from cell, animal and small cosmetic skin studies.

Where it wins

  • Studied in skin care for collagen and repair
  • Topical use is the best-documented route
  • Non-injected forms are back under FDA evaluation for compounding

What it costs you

  • FDA flagged injected GHK-Cu for immunogenicity risk and limited human data
  • Much of the literature comes from its discoverer's group
  • No approved medical use

Mostly skin research, little human data

06

BPC-157

Synthetic peptide, unapproved

NoneFDA-approved uses in people

BPC-157 is the most talked-about peptide online and the one with the least human safety data. The FDA has flagged it.

Where it wins

  • Studied in rats and other animal models of tissue healing
  • Reviewed by an FDA advisory committee in July 2026, for ulcerative colitis

What it costs you

  • FDA: it lacks enough information to know whether it causes harm in humans
  • Risk of immune reactions and impurities, per FDA
  • Often sold as a research chemical, which the FDA treats as an unapproved drug

Not recommended

Peptides & compounds that did not make the list

Several names on longevity peptide lists were left off for the same reason: almost no human evidence.

  • MOTS-c, a mitochondrial peptide, prevented diet-induced insulin resistance and obesity in mice. FDA staff found no clinical studies of its safety or effectiveness in humans.
  • Epitalon has animal data and small studies from the group that developed it. FDA staff proposed against allowing it in compounding, citing a lack of human safety data.
  • Elamipretide (SS-31) received accelerated FDA approval in 2025, but only for Barth syndrome, a rare genetic condition, and not for aging.
  • NAD+ is not a peptide. Arbor offers it as a separate longevity program, covered in what NAD+ therapy is.

What to check before starting any peptide

Check three things first: what the peptide is FDA-approved for, if anything, whether a licensed clinician prescribes it and a licensed U.S. pharmacy fills it, and whether the human evidence matches the claim.

Arbor’s clinicians review your health history before prescribing sermorelin or glutathione. If it is not the right fit, it is not prescribed. Individual responses vary, and the honest expectation is support under guidance, not a reversal of aging.

When to get care now

Trouble breathing, wheezing, swelling of the face, eyes or tongue, or hives spreading quickly after an injection can be anaphylaxis, which needs emergency care. For anything else, such as flushing or soreness where you inject, message your Arbor clinician before your next dose.

Frequently asked questions

None is FDA-approved to slow aging, so there is no proven best. Tesamorelin has one narrow approval, and collagen peptides have the most trials.

It depends on the peptide, since some are medicines with narrow approvals, others are supplements with mixed trial results, and a few have almost no human safety data.

BPC-157 is not FDA-approved for any use. In 2026, FDA staff recommended against adding it to the list of substances pharmacies may compound. The FDA has also issued warning letters to sellers marketing peptides as research chemicals.

No. NAD+ is a coenzyme made of two nucleotides, with no amino acids.

Not today. Its 1997 approval as Geref covered children with growth hormone deficiency, and the drug was discontinued in 2008. Compounded sermorelin is not FDA-approved.

Yes. Unapproved products can carry impurities, and the FDA has flagged immune reaction risks for several injected peptides. The bigger downside of most longevity peptides is spending on a claim the human evidence does not support.

Sources

  1. Certain bulk drug substances for use in compounding that may present significant safety risks, FDA.
  2. FDA briefing document: BPC-157, Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee, July 2026.
  3. FDA briefing document: epitalon, Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee, July 2026.
  4. FDA briefing document: MOTS-c, Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee, July 2026.
  5. FDA 503A bulk drug substance categories, updated May 14, 2026.
  6. Determination that GEREF (sermorelin acetate) was not withdrawn for reasons of safety or effectiveness. Federal Register, March 4, 2013.
  7. Prakash A, Goa KL. Sermorelin: a review. BioDrugs. 1999.
  8. Khorram O et al. Effects of a GHRH analog in age-advanced men and women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1997.
  9. Egrifta WR (tesamorelin) label, DailyMed.
  10. Glutathione, PubChem, NIH.
  11. Richie JP et al. Randomized trial of oral glutathione on body stores. Eur J Nutr. 2015.
  12. Allen J, Bradley RD. Oral glutathione and oxidative stress biomarkers. J Altern Complement Med. 2011.
  13. Sonthalia S et al. Glutathione as a skin whitening agent: facts, myths and evidence. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol. 2016.
  14. de Miranda RB et al. Oral collagen supplementation and skin aging: a meta-analysis. Int J Dermatol. 2021.
  15. Myung SK, Park Y. Collagen supplements and skin aging: a meta-analysis. Am J Med. 2025.
  16. Garcia-Coronado JM et al. Collagen supplementation and osteoarthritis: a meta-analysis. Int Orthop. 2019.
  17. Paul C, Leser S, Oesser S. Significant amounts of functional collagen peptides can be incorporated in the diet. Nutrients. 2019.
  18. Pickart L, Margolina A. Regenerative and protective actions of the GHK-Cu peptide. Int J Mol Sci. 2018.
  19. Lee C et al. The mitochondrial-derived peptide MOTS-c. Cell Metab. 2015.
  20. FDA grants accelerated approval to first treatment for Barth syndrome, September 2025.
  21. NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide), MeSH, NIH.
  22. FDA warning letter to Pink Pony Peptides, March 31, 2026.
  23. Questions and answers on dietary supplements, FDA.
  24. Anaphylaxis, MedlinePlus.

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