GHRP-2

weak data

Also seen as: Pralmorelin, KP-102, GHRP2, growth hormone-releasing peptide 2

The Dose Guy’s verdict
Aug 28, 2026
5 sources

GHRP-2 is the step you take when ipamorelin isn’t moving the needle. It fires a harder GH pulse, but it brings company: appetite, prolactin, and cortisol all come up with it. If clean and gentle matters to you, stay with ipamorelin. If you want more raw GH output and can manage the tradeoffs, GHRP-2 is the next rung.

Would I take it?Caution, only when the gentle one isn't enough.

What it is

A synthetic hexapeptide secretagogue, meaning it hits the ghrelin receptor on your pituitary and triggers a burst of your own growth hormone. The difference from ipamorelin is selectivity: ipamorelin releases GH and mostly leaves the rest alone, while GHRP-2 pulls harder on the GH lever but also tugs prolactin, ACTH, and cortisol up with it. That broader endocrine footprint is why most people reach for ipamorelin first and only step up to GHRP-2 when the cleaner option isn’t doing enough. It pairs with a GHRH analog like CJC-1295 the same way ipamorelin does: one primes the pituitary, the other pulls the trigger.

What the research shows

More human data than most GHRPs, including a controlled trial that failed. None of it answers the question the community is actually asking, which is whether it recomps you:

Continuous subcutaneous GHRP-2 in healthy older adults boosted pulsatile GH secretion more than threefold on day 1 and more than 1.8-fold on days 14 and 30.JCEM 2004 · older adults · n=17
Mean peak GH fell from 83 mcg/L on day 1 to 51 mcg/L by day 5 on 100 mcg subcutaneously daily. The GH pulse attenuates, and the day-1 peak is not the steady state.EJE 1998 · healthy men · n=9
Subcutaneous GHRP-2 increased food intake versus placebo by 33.5% at 1 mcg/kg/hr in healthy adults, regardless of whether they were lean or obese.Obesity 2006 · crossover · n=19
Five daily 100 mcg subcutaneous doses did not raise mean serum IGF-1 in the same nine men. The GH pulse attenuates and does not translate to a sustained IGF-1 rise on this schedule.EJE 1998 · healthy men · n=9
Forty-eight weeks of twice-daily intranasal GHRP-2 in children with GH deficiency produced no significant height SDS benefit versus placebo and no between-group change in IGF-1. The longest controlled trial, and it failed.Clin Pediatr Endocrinol 2014 · RCT · n=126
Intravenous GHRP-2 raised prolactin, ACTH, and cortisol alongside GH. The endocrine activity is not GH-specific.Peptides 1997 · endocrine challenge · n=12

Realistic protocols

Same architecture as ipamorelin: sub-q, empty stomach, timed around your body’s natural GH windows. The side effects scale with dose in a way ipamorelin’s don’t, so start at 100 mcg and stay there unless you have a reason to push it.

The appetite hit shows up about 20 minutes after the shot and fades within an hour, less intense than GHRP-6 but enough to notice. If you pin pre-bed, ride it out or keep a small protein snack nearby for after the GH pulse clears. If you want more raw GH and can live with more cortisol and prolactin noise, hexarelin is the next step up, though it desensitizes faster.

The attenuation signal from the research is worth knowing. On daily subcutaneous dosing, peak GH dropped roughly 40% by day 5. On continuous infusion in older adults, GH was still up more than 1.8-fold at day 30 but well below the day-1 peak. How people actually pin, once or twice daily with breaks, probably lands somewhere between. Some cycle a few days off periodically to try to restore the response. There’s no hard evidence that this works, but the logic tracks with how ghrelin receptors behave.

Standard dose100–300 mcgSub-q, empty stomach. Start at 100; the sides scale faster than the GH.
Frequency1–3x dailyPre-bed at minimum. Add morning or pre-training for a second pulse.
The stack+ CJC-1295GHRH analog primes, GHRP-2 fires. Same pairing, stronger trigger.
TimingEmpty stomachFood blunts the pulse. Keep 20–30 min clear around each shot.

Side effects

The price of pulling harder on the ghrelin receptor:

commonAppetite spike within 20 minutes of the shot, fading over an hour. Real but manageable, not the freight train GHRP-6 sends.
commonFlush, head-rush, or light dizziness right after the pin, same family tell as ipamorelin but often more noticeable.
monitorProlactin creep. Not guaranteed and usually subclinical, but worth checking if you run GHRP-2 for months.
monitorCortisol bump on each dose. Acute and transient at normal doses, but worth knowing if stress or sleep is already an issue.
unknownNo long-term human safety data at the doses the community runs. The endocrine studies are single-dose snapshots or a few weeks, not months.

Where to buy

$14 / 5mg vial$2.80/mg
✓ verified Sep 12
$16 / 5mg vial$3.20/mg
✓ verified Sep 12

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