The grade board
Every peptide, two honest grades.
The whole graded index on one board: evidence and safety side by side, sortable, and never collapsed into a single score. Tap a column to sort, tap a name for the full profile with its sources. Free to read, free to share, and every row has its own link.
Evidence is the highest level of human evidence reached (A proven in humans, down to E theoretical). Safety is a composite roll-up (A well-tolerated, down to F harmful). One number would hide which is which. How the grades work.
The third column, Legal, is deliberately not a grade. It answers a different question: whether there is any lawful way to get the thing. It moves when regulators move, and it never touches the two grades. When an FDA advisory committee recommended six of these peptides in July 2026, this column changed and not one grade did, because a vote about who may legally prepare a compound is not evidence that the compound works.
| The read | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melanotan I (afamelanotide) | A | B | FDA-approved | FDA-approved for a rare disease; thin evidence for the tanning use people actually want it for. |
| PT-141 (Bremelanotide) | A | C | FDA-approved | FDA-approved for women; off-label everything else is thinner |
| Semaglutide | A | C | FDA-approved | Proven drug, real risks |
| Tesamorelin | A | B | FDA-approved | Proven |
| Thymosin Alpha-1 | A | B | Approved abroad | A real approved drug abroad; honest human evidence, modest biohacker payoff |
| Tirzepatide | A | B | FDA-approved | FDA-approved dual incretin with the strongest weight-loss RCT data in class, real risks, not a research peptide |
| AOD-9604 | B | B | Research-only | Real human trials, but the big one failed |
| ARA-290 (Cibinetide) | B | B | Research-only | Real human RCT data, narrow indication, orphaned program |
| Cagrilintide | B | B | Investigational | Real Phase 3 human drug, not yet approved standalone |
| Cerebrolysin | B | C | Approved abroad | Porcine brain extract with real RCT data in stroke and TBI, but evidence is thin for healthy-brain cognitive enhancement. |
| DSIP (Delta Sleep-Inducing Peptide) | B | C | Advisory: no | Old peptide, thin and contradictory human data |
| Ipamorelin | B | C | Research-only | Real human trials exist, and they failed |
| Kisspeptin | B | C | Research-only | One of the few peptides with actual RCT data, but almost all of it is for fertility and sexual dysfunction in clinic settings, not wellness. |
| MK-677 (Ibutamoren) | B | E | Research-only | MK-677 reliably raises GH and IGF-1 in humans. Whether that translates to meaningful clinical benefit is a much messier story. |
| Retatrutide | B | C | Investigational | Best-in-class trial data, still investigational, gray-market reality |
| Selank (N-Acetyl Selank) | B | B | Approved abroad | Real Russian human trials, but small, unblinded, and never placebo-controlled |
| Sermorelin | B | B | Compoundable | Real ex-FDA drug; thin modern adult data |
| SS-31 (Elamipretide) | B | B | FDA-approved | FDA-approved for one ultra-rare disease, but its big Phase 3 trial for the broader indication it was built for missed both endpoints. |
| Survodutide | B | B | Investigational | Real Phase 2/3 evidence, no approval yet, barely on the grey market |
| VIP (Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide) | B | C | Research-only | Real human RCTs exist, but they're negative, and the popular nasal-spray use is a different, near-unproven story |
| BPC-157 | C | C | Advisory: yes | Promising, anecdote-led |
| GHK-Cu | C | B | Under review | Real for skin, extrapolated by needle |
| GHRP-2 | C | C | Approved abroad | It definitely raises GH in humans. Whether that translates to anything useful in healthy adults is still an open question. |
| GHRP-6 | C | C | Research-only | GHRP-6 does reliably spike GH in humans. The catch is intense hunger and cortisol/prolactin bleed at higher doses. No one has run the kind of trials that would tell you if any of that translates to outcomes that matter. |
| Hexarelin | C | D | Research-only | Hexarelin is one of the few GHRPs with actual human data, but it builds tolerance fast and raises cortisol alongside GH. |
| LL-37 (cathelicidin) | C | E | Under review | Real human trials, but topical, mixed-to-failed, and not for the injected use being sold |
| Melanotan II | C | E | Under review | Real tanning effect, real risks, no finished safety trial |
| NAD+ (injectable) | C | C | Compoundable | Real molecule, mostly degraded on arrival, outcomes unproven |
| Semax (N-Acetyl Semax) | C | C | Advisory: yes | Decades of Russian use, thin modern human data |
| 5-Amino-1MQ | D | D | Research-only | Strong mouse data, zero human trials |
| Cartalax (AED, Ala-Glu-Asp cartilage peptide bioregulator) | D | D | Research-only | Cell-culture peptide, no human trials |
| CJC-1295 (no-DAC / Modified GRF 1-29) | D | C | Research-only | No human trial of its own; rides on a cousin's data |
| Epitalon (Epithalon) | D | C | Advisory: yes | Big longevity story, borrowed evidence |
| KPV (Lysine-Proline-Valine) | D | C | Advisory: yes | Strong animal/lab data, zero human trials |
| MOTS-c | D | D | Advisory: yes | Striking in mice, barely tested |
| Pentadeca Arginate (PDA) | D | D | Research-only | Animal data with an arginate twist nobody has actually tested in humans |
| Pinealon | D | C | Research-only | Russian lab data is real but comes from one research group, and no controlled human trial exists outside Eastern Europe. The sleep effects Huberman reports are anecdote, not evidence. |
| SNAP-8 (Acetyl Octapeptide-3) | D | B | Research-only | A cosmetic "Botox-in-a-jar" peptide with a plausible mechanism, a clean topical safety record, and almost no independent human evidence. |
| TB-500 | D | D | Advisory: yes | Animal data, modest signal |
| Thymulin | D | C | Research-only | A real thymic hormone with interesting biology and almost no controlled human trials behind it. |
| AHK-Cu (Copper Tripeptide-3) | E | B | Research-only | Lab-promising, human-unproven copper peptide for hair |
| Dihexa | E | E | Under review | The two papers that explained how it works were retracted for data fabrication in 2025. No human trial has ever been run. This is one of the riskiest gambles in the nootropic space. |
Evidence (A–E)
Highest level of human evidence reached. Animal data does not move it.
Multiple human randomized controlled trials, or FDA-approved.
At least one human randomized controlled trial.
Human pilot or observational studies only, no RCT.
Promising in animals; no meaningful human evidence.
In vitro, mechanistic, or anecdote. No controlled data.
Safety (A–F)
A composite roll-up, not an absence of bad news.
Extensive human safety data; benign, well-mapped profile.
Well-studied; real but manageable risks under monitoring.
No red flags observed, but human exposure is small.
Little or no human safety data exists either way.
Documented serious risks or major theoretical red flags.
Known to cause serious harm.
Grades are a read as of the last review and change as evidence changes. Nothing here is medical advice. Ground Truth sells nothing and takes no vendor money.