Peptides / Recovery and repair

Natural peptide · 3 amino acids · 340.4 Da

GHK (glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine)

Not approved

GHK is a three-amino-acid peptide (Gly-His-Lys) found in human blood that binds copper to form GHK-Cu. It is not approved, and its studies are in animals and lab cells, on bone, the liver and the nervous system. PepBank shows 43 results on GHK from animal and lab studies. No study in people has reported results yet. Data as of 2026-10-30.

Also known as GHK, NSC-379527, PC-1020 free base, Gly-His-Lys, Growth-modulating peptide (human), Liver cell growth factor and 5 more

3 amino acids, from first to lastGHK

Evidence level: Animal and lab studies onlyNo study in people has results. ClinicalTrials.gov lists no trial.

Results in people

0% of 43 results

Results in animals

65% of 43 results

Results in lab cells

35% of 43 results

From computer models

0% of 43 results

Overview

GHK (glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine) at a glance

What it is	Natural peptide, 3 amino acids
Approval	Not approved for any use
In sport	Status unknown
Studies	27 studies with results. 15 of them gave GHK, with 43 results. 28 in animals15 in lab cells
Clinical trials	None registered

The science

What is GHK?

Tripeptide Gly-His-Lys found in human plasma. Binds copper(II) to form GHK-Cu. GSRS name: prezatide.

Amino acids in one chain

GHK (glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine) structure and chemistry

The key facts about the molecule. Long codes are in the closed section below.

Sequence, 3 amino acidsFrom the first amino acid to the last

G1H+K

Darker means more water-repelling+ and − show charge in the body

Structure

GHK (glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine) is a natural peptide of 3 amino acids, with no ring, no changed amino acids.

Formula

C₁₄H₂₄N₆O₄

Molecular weight

340.4 g/mol

CAS number

49557-75-7

Development

Highest phase: no known clinical development.

Identifiers

PubChem 73587, ChEMBL CHEMBL1814493, UNII 39TG2H631E, DrugBank DB11296

Full sequence, SMILES and InChIKey

Three-letter sequence
H-Gly-His-Lys-OH

InChIKey
MVORZMQFXBLMHM-QWRGUYRKSA-N

SMILES
C1=C(NC=N1)C[C@@H](C(=O)N[C@@H](CCCCN)C(=O)O)NC(=O)CN

See charge, composition and 3D structure on the Scientific page

The evidence

What GHK studies show

Results grouped by what the studies measured. Each card shows where its results come from.

Animal and lab studies onlyNo study in people has results. ClinicalTrials.gov lists no trial.

Liver

6 results · 6 animal

In animals with toxic liver damage, Gly-His-Lys at 2.5 mu/kg increased hepatocyte division. Patologicheskaia fiziologiia i eksperimental'naia terapiia, 2003

Top results

In animals with toxic liver damage, Gly-His-Lys at 2.5 mu/kg increased hepatocyte division. (Patologicheskaia fiziologiia i eksperimental'naia terapiia, 2003)
In the reported study, Gly-His-Lys injections increased hepatocyte division. (Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine, 2002)
In animals with toxic liver damage, Gly-His-Lys at 150 mu/kg increased hepatocyte division. (Patologicheskaia fiziologiia i eksperimental'naia terapiia, 2003)

Immune system and inflammation

5 results · 5 animal

In animals with liver damage, Gly-His-Lys at 1.5 mu/kg corrected immune responsiveness. Patologicheskaia fiziologiia i eksperimental'naia terapiia, 2003

Top results

In animals with liver damage, Gly-His-Lys at 1.5 mu/kg corrected immune responsiveness. (Patologicheskaia fiziologiia i eksperimental'naia terapiia, 2003)
In sleep-deprived mice, GHK prevented increased hippocampal MCP-1 levels compared with saline treatment. (Aging pathobiology and therapeutics, 2023)
In the reported study, Gly-His-Lys injections reduced antibody-producing cells in a dose-dependent manner. (Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine, 2002)

Skin, hair and wounds

5 results · 5 animal

In rats with cutting wounds, GHK in hydrogels increased healing degree compared with no treatment. International journal of biological macromolecules, 2020

Top results

In rats with cutting wounds, GHK in hydrogels increased healing degree compared with no treatment. (International journal of biological macromolecules, 2020)
In rats with cutting wounds, GHK in hydrogels increased healing degree compared with GHK in water. (International journal of biological macromolecules, 2020)
In rats with cutting wounds, GHK in hydrogels reduced healing time compared with no treatment. (International journal of biological macromolecules, 2020)

Mood, stress and behavior

4 results · 4 animal

In rats, Gly-His-Lys increased time spent in open maze arms. Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine, 2015

Top results

In rats, Gly-His-Lys increased time spent in open maze arms. (Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine, 2015)
In rats in a foot-shock model, Gly-His-Lys reduced aggressive behavior. (Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine, 2017)
In rats, Gly-His-Lys reduced time spent in closed maze arms. (Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine, 2015)

Bones and joints

7 results · 2 animal · 5 lab

In guinea-pigs, complete Colladel accelerated bone healing more than Colladel without GHK. Biomaterials, 1996

Top results

In guinea-pigs, complete Colladel accelerated bone healing more than Colladel without GHK. (Biomaterials, 1996)
In minipigs, gel with GHK healed bone defects faster than the same gel without GHK. (Acta chirurgiae orthopaedicae et traumatologiae Cechoslovaca, 1995)
In cells from chick embryos, GHK increased growth mostly on ISC-40 support. (Biomaterials, 1995)

Pain

2 results · 2 animal

In rats in a foot-shock model, Gly-His-Lys reduced pain. Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine, 2017

Top results

In rats in a foot-shock model, Gly-His-Lys reduced pain. (Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine, 2017)
In mice, Gly-His-Lys increased the time before paw licking in a hot-plate test, indicating reduced pain. (Eksperimental'naia i klinicheskaia farmakologiia, 2015)

All 27 GHK studies by area Open the Scientific page

Key GHK studies

Studies in people come first, then studies in animals and in the lab.

Animals
Hydrogels based on low-methoxyl amidated citrus pectin and flaxseed gum formulated with tripeptide glycyl-l-histidyl-l-lysine improve the healing of experimental cutting wounds in rats
Synytsya et al. 2020 · International journal of biological macromolecules · cited by 30
5 results
Animals
Morphological features of bone healing under the effect of collagen-graft-glycosaminoglycan copolymer supplemented with the tripeptide Gly-His-Lys
Pohunková et al. 1996 · Biomaterials · cited by 19
1 result
Animals
Anxiolytic effects of Gly-His-Lys peptide and its analogs
Bobyntsev et al. 2015 · Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine · cited by 9
3 results
Animals
GHK peptide prevents sleep-deprived learning impairment in aging mice
Rosenfeld et al. 2023 · Aging pathobiology and therapeutics · cited by 7
3 results
Animals
Simultaneous determination of glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine and its metabolite, L-histidyl-L-lysine, in rat plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with post-column derivatization
Endo et al. 1997 · Journal of chromatography. B, Biomedical sciences and applications · cited by 7
2 results

All 27 GHK (glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine) studies

GHK clinical trials

ClinicalTrials.gov lists no trial of GHK. A trial under another name may exist.

Status and safety

Is GHK approved?

FDA

United States

Not approved

No approved medicine contains it.

EMA

European Union

Not approved

No approved medicine contains it.

WADA

Sport

Not recorded

Status unknown.

No. Not approved for any use. The sources we use show no clinical development. They show no approval at the FDA, the EMA or elsewhere (as of 13 Oct 2026). Status unknown.

Laws and labels change, so check the regulator for the current status.

GHK side effects and safety

PepBank has 2 safety results from studies of GHK. None of them come from studies in people, so they do not show what happens in people.

Safety results from studies (2)

In animals with liver damage, Gly-His-Lys at 150 mu/kg worsened serum biochemical indices. (Patologicheskaia fiziologiia i eksperimental'naia terapiia, 2003)
In animals with liver damage, Gly-His-Lys at 150 mu/kg worsened liver degeneration. (Patologicheskaia fiziologiia i eksperimental'naia terapiia, 2003)

See every safety result on the Scientific page

Doses studied (11 shown)

The doses that these studies used. They are not recommendations.

Dose as reported	Class	Species	Route	Duration	Design	Source
0.5, 5, and 50 μg/kg	Animal	rats	intraperitoneal	Not reported	Study in live animals	Bobyntsev 2015
0.5 μg/kg	Animal	rats	intraperitoneal	Not reported	Study in live animals	Bobyntsev 2015
15 mg/kg per day	Animal	mice	injection	five days	Study in live animals	Rosenfeld 2023
5, 15, 50 and 150 μg/kg	Animal	rats	intraperitoneal	Not reported	Study in live animals	Sever'yanova 2017
0.5, 1.5, 5, 15, and 50 mg/kg	Animal	mice	intraperitoneal	Not reported	Study in live animals	Bobyntsev 2015
2.5 mu/kg	Animal	Not reported	intraperitoneal	10-day	Study in live animals	Smakhtin 2003
150 mu/kg	Animal	Not reported	intraperitoneal	10-day	Study in live animals	Smakhtin 2003
1.5 mu/kg	Animal	Not reported	intraperitoneal	10-day	Study in live animals	Smakhtin 2003
1.5, 5, 50, 150, and 450 mg/kg	Animal	Not reported	intraperitoneal	Not reported	Other study type	Smakhtin 2002
1 mM	Lab	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported	Test-tube study without cells	Beretta 2007
0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0 mM	Lab	Not reported	Not reported	4h	Test-tube study without cells	Beretta 2008

Questions and more

Ask a question about GHK

The answer links to every study it uses.

What does the evidence say about GHK?Is GHK tested in people?Compare with Thymosin beta-4 (human)Compare with BPC-157

Sources

Database: PepBank data for GHK (data version 308560)
Regulator: FDA status record
Regulator: EMA status record
Regulator: WADA status record

AI wrote and checked these results. AI can make mistakes, so check important results against the source.

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GHK (glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine)

GHK (glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine) at a glance

What is GHK?

GHK (glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine) structure and chemistry