GHK
Status
Cosmetic ingredient. No FDA-approved drug labeling exists. GHK-Cu appears widely as a cosmetic ingredient, which in the United States means it is regulated as a cosmetic and not reviewed for therapeutic efficacy.
What it is
The copper-free form of the GHK tripeptide studied in skin models.
What published research measured
A naturally occurring tripeptide, glycyl-histidyl-lysine, which falls in plasma with age and binds copper with high affinity — the copper complex GHK-Cu is the form most of the research concerns. Most of the dermatological and wound-healing literature concerns the copper complex: controlled studies of topical GHK-Cu report improvements in skin density, wrinkle depth and wound closure, and its effects on collagen and metalloproteinase expression are well characterized in cell and animal work. That evidence is for topical and local application. Injected systemic GHK for anti-ageing or organ repair is a different proposition with no published human trial support identified, and the gene-expression studies frequently cited for broad systemic claims are cell-culture work, not clinical outcomes.
Source
Pickart et al., GHK and GHK-Cu tissue remodelling literature
Sources
No linked primary source is on file for this entry yet.
Educational use only, never medical advice. No doses.