Goal
Best-studied peptides for muscle growth
Ranked by the strongest evidence rung each compound holds, with what the study measured beside it. 20 were checked; 9 produced a graded row.
Last updated
20 compounds were read against this goal's condition; 9 produced a graded row. The other 11 are named further down.
About this page's scope
One condition, and its endpoint is body composition rather than strength. Every row here measures fat-free mass on a scan. The largest of them, MK-677 at 25 mg daily for a year, recorded a 1.1 kg gain that produced no measurable change in strength or function, alongside a rise in fasting glucose and HbA1c in the same trial.
The ranking, and the key it uses
Ordered by the best rung the compound holds anywhere in this goal; then by what that study measured; then by how many graded rows it holds here, as a tie-break only; then by name. There is no blended score — one number mixing the rung and what was measured would invent a third scale nothing was graded against. Every rung links to the rubric that assigned it.
Reading the strip
1 human RCT2 human observational3 human case series4 animal in vivo5 in vitro6 theoretical7 computational
A filled cell means at least one graded row at that rung. Its colour is what the strongest such study measured: direct outcome · surrogate marker · mechanistic only. An outlined cell means no row at that rung.
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1 graded row, 1 source
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Body recomposition
human RCT Direct outcome Not approved for this condition
- Who was studied
- healthy older adults aged 60-81, n=65 completing year 1 (43 MK-677, 22 placebo), 25 mg orally daily, 12 months with a 2-year exploratory extension
Both compartments were measured. Fat-free mass rose 1.1 kg (0.7 to 1.5) against a fall on placebo, while total fat mass did not differ between groups and abdominal visceral fat did not fall (+8.4 cm2 vs +4.2 cm2, p=0.68) - so the lean gain was not accompanied by fat loss. The same trial recorded fasting blood glucose up 0.3 mmol/L (p=0.015), HbA1c up 0.2% (p=0.002) and a significant decline in insulin sensitivity, and the fat-free mass gain produced no change in measured strength or function. No regulator has approved it for any indication.
Source PubMed Central 1 primary source read for this row
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1 graded row, 1 source
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Body recomposition
human RCT Direct outcome In registered trials
- Who was studied
- adults with type 2 diabetes and overweight or obesity; a prespecified substudy of a phase 2 placebo- and dulaglutide-controlled trial, 36 weeks; the substudy sample size is not established from the abstract read
The substudy measured both compartments by DXA, with percent change in total body fat mass at week 36 as its primary endpoint; total fat mass fell more than with placebo or dulaglutide, and the proportion of lean mass lost relative to total weight lost was reported as similar to other obesity treatments - lean mass fell alongside fat. The separate 48-week phase 2 obesity trial reported body weight only (22.8% and 24.2% reductions at 8 mg and 12 mg), which is not a composition measure. Retatrutide is investigational and approved by no regulator. Approval aligned with the fat-loss row, which cites the same trial: retatrutide's registered phase 3 programme reports body-composition endpoints, so 'in registered trials' is the true statement for this condition too.
Source PubMed 2 primary sources read for this row
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1 graded row, 1 source
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Body recomposition
human RCT Direct outcome Not approved for this condition
- Who was studied
- HIV-infected adults with lipodystrophy and excess abdominal fat, mean age 48, 84-86% male; n=273 vs 137 placebo (study 1) and n=270 vs 126 placebo (study 2), 26 weeks with a 26-week extension
Both compartments were measured: visceral adipose tissue by CT at L4-L5 fell 27 cm2 (-18%) and 21 cm2 (-14%) against placebo, and lean body mass rose 1.3 kg and 1.2 kg. The FDA label states the drug is weight-neutral and is not indicated for weight loss, and it records elevated HbA1c (>=6.5%) in 5% on tesamorelin vs 1% on placebo, hazard ratio 3.3. The FDA approval is for reduction of excess abdominal fat in HIV-infected adults with lipodystrophy only; there is no approval, and no trial on file, in people without that diagnosis.
Source DailyMed — the FDA label 2 primary sources read for this row
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1 graded row, 1 source
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Body recomposition
human RCT Mechanistic only Not approved for this condition
- Who was studied
- healthy adults aged 21-61, two randomised placebo-controlled trials of 28 and 49 days; sample size not reported in the abstract
Recorded, and not evidence for this condition
The trials measured peak concentration and area under the curve of GH and IGF-1 and standard pharmacokinetic parameters. No study measured body composition: neither lean mass nor fat mass was assessed, and a rise in GH or IGF-1 is not a composition outcome. A registered trial in HIV patients with visceral obesity (NCT00267527) was terminated in September 2006 with no results posted.
Source DOI 2 primary sources read for this row
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1 graded row, 1 source
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Body recomposition
human RCT Mechanistic only Not approved for this condition
- Who was studied
- prepubertal children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency, 30 mcg/kg/day subcutaneously, 12 months
Recorded, and not evidence for this condition
The registrational outcome was height velocity in growth-hormone-deficient children. No study measured body composition: neither lean mass nor fat mass was assessed, in that population or any other. The FDA approval (Geref, NDA 019863) is for short stature associated with paediatric growth hormone deficiency; there is no approval for any body composition indication and no trial in adults without that diagnosis on file.
Source FDA label 1 primary source read for this row
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1 graded row, 1 source
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Body recomposition
human RCT Mechanistic only Not approved for this condition
- Who was studied
- adults with genetically confirmed primary mitochondrial myopathy, n=218 (109 elamipretide, 109 placebo), mean age 45.6, 64% women, 40 mg/day subcutaneously, 24 weeks
Recorded, and not evidence for this condition
MMPOWER-3 measured distance on the 6-minute walk test and total fatigue on a symptom scale, and did not meet either primary endpoint in the overall population. No study measured body composition: neither lean mass nor fat mass was assessed, and the link from mitochondrial bioenergetics to a change in the lean-to-fat ratio is an argument, not a result. The enrolled population had a diagnosed mitochondrial disease and does not stand in for anyone else.
Source NCBI 2 primary sources read for this row
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Ipamorelin
human observational · mechanistic only · 1 graded row across 1 of 1 condition
1 graded row, 1 source
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Body recomposition
human observational Mechanistic only Not approved for this condition
- Who was studied
- healthy human volunteers in a pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic study; sample size and duration not reported in the abstract
Recorded, and not evidence for this condition
What was measured was GH release and the pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic relationship. No study measured body composition - neither lean mass nor fat mass was assessed in any human trial on file. The only registered human efficacy trial (NCT01280344) had recovery of gastrointestinal function after bowel resection as its endpoint, which is unrelated to body composition.
Source DOI 2 primary sources read for this row
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5-Amino-1MQ
animal in vivo · surrogate marker · 1 graded row across 1 of 1 condition
1 graded row, 1 source
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Body recomposition
animal in vivo Surrogate marker Not approved for this condition
- Who was studied
- diet-induced obese mice maintained on a high-fat diet; sample size and duration not reported in the abstract read
In mice, 5-amino-1-methylquinolinium limited gains in body weight and white adipose tissue mass, reduced adipocyte size and lowered total plasma cholesterol. Only the fat compartment was measured; lean mass was not reported, so no ratio of lean to fat mass was established. The later mouse work that reported normalised body composition tested the inhibitor together with a reduced-calorie diet, so nothing there is attributable to the compound by itself. There is no human study of any kind on file.
Source DOI 2 primary sources read for this row
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IGF-1 LR3
animal in vivo · mechanistic only · 1 graded row across 1 of 1 condition
1 graded row, 1 source
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Body recomposition
animal in vivo Mechanistic only Not approved for this condition
- Who was studied
- guinea pigs, continuous infusion of Long R3 IGF-I; sample size and duration not reported in the abstract
Recorded, and not evidence for this condition
What was measured in guinea pigs was organ growth and circulating IGF-I, IGF-II and IGF binding protein concentrations, which fell. No study measured body composition in any species: neither lean mass nor fat mass was assessed. A separate animal study reported that IGF-1 LR3 did not promote growth in growth-restricted fetal sheep. No human study is on file.
Source DOI 2 primary sources read for this row
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Checked, and nothing on file
11 compounds were read against this condition and produced no gradeable row. They are named here rather than left off, because a list of 9 reads identically whether 9 survived 20 or 9 were all anyone thought of.
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AOD-9604
No rung — nothing on file to grade
Checked against body recomposition. No study meeting the rubric was found for any of them.
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CJC-1295 no-DAC on body recomposition
No rung — nothing on file to grade Not approved for this condition
This row records an absence, not a finding. The record carries no evidence rung and none of its eight citations is graded; no trial, registry entry or regulator document measuring lean mass, fat mass or any other body composition outcome for CJC-1295 without DAC was located. The modified GRF(1-29) fragment sold under this name is a different molecule from the DAC-conjugated compound, and evidence for the latter does not transfer to it.
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Enfuvirtide on body recomposition
No rung — nothing on file to grade Not approved for this condition
The TORO body imaging substudy (PMID 20497250) measured body composition by DEXA and CT over 48 weeks in 155 patients, but as a safety analysis of an antiretroviral, not as a trial against body composition. It found a mean weight gain of 0.99 kg and an increase in truncal and total fat with no change in the truncal-to-peripheral ratio, and concluded there was no unfavourable effect on fat distribution. Nobody has used this compound to alter body composition deliberately, so there is no efficacy claim to grade.
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GHRH (Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone) on body recomposition
No rung — nothing on file to grade Not approved for this condition
No completed trial of native GHRH with a body-composition endpoint was retrieved. The body-fat reduction reported in the 20-week trial was produced by tesamorelin and belongs to that compound; improvements in body composition in the frail elderly are described only as a planned investigation in a review.
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GHRP-1 on body recomposition
No rung — nothing on file to grade Not approved for this condition
No trial has used this compound against this condition. GHRP-1's human record consists of growth hormone release after a single dose; no study measured lean mass, fat mass or strength.
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GHRP-2 on body recomposition
No rung — nothing on file to grade Not approved for this condition
No trial has used this compound against this condition; no study on file measured lean mass, fat mass or strength after a course of GHRP-2.
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GHRP-6 on body recomposition
No rung — nothing on file to grade Not approved for this condition
No trial has used this compound against this condition; nothing retrieved measured lean mass, fat mass or strength.
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Hexarelin on body recomposition
No rung — nothing on file to grade Not approved for this condition
No trial has used this compound against this condition; no study on file measured lean mass, fat mass or strength after a course of hexarelin.
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HGH Frag 176-191 on body recomposition
No rung — nothing on file to grade Not approved for this condition
No study reports lean mass and fat mass together. The rodent endpoints are bodyweight gain, fat oxidation and plasma glycerol.
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IGF-1 on body recomposition
No rung — nothing on file to grade Not approved for this condition
No trial reports lean mass and fat mass from the same scan. The only body-composition figure on file is percentage body fat in a 12-patient diabetes study; fat-free mass is not reported.
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Setmelanotide on body recomposition
No rung — nothing on file to grade Not approved for this condition
No trial measures lean and fat mass in the same study. Bodyweight and BMI are the endpoints throughout.
What this page does not say
It reports what was measured, in whom, and how directly. It does not say what to take or at what dose, and a position here is a record of study depth rather than a reason to use anything. A compound at the top of this list is the most studied against these conditions; that is not the same claim as the most effective, and nothing on this page makes the second one.
Browse by goal
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