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Hexarelin (examorelin) is a synthetic hexapeptide growth hormone secretagogue that binds the ghrelin receptor (GHS-R1a) to trigger a potent, reproducible, and largely somatostatin-resistant pulse of endogenous growth hormone, an effect that is strongest in pubertal children and young adults and blunted in the very young and elderly. What distinguishes it from other secretagogues is a second receptor: hexarelin binds the cardiac scavenger receptor CD36, through which it exerts growth-hormone-independent cardiovascular actions, including protection against ischemia-reperfusion injury, attenuation of post-infarction heart failure via PTEN and Akt/mTOR modulation, and CD36-PPAR-gamma signaling relevant to lipid and energy metabolism. Some growth hormone secretagogues, including hexarelin, additionally show angiotensin-converting-enzyme-inhibiting activity that may contribute to their vascular effects. As a result it is one of the most thoroughly characterized peptides in its class, studied both as a growth hormone provocative agent and as an experimental cardioprotective compound.
- Potent, reproducible pulse of your own growth hormone
- Somatostatin barely blunts it, so the pulse holds up
- Binds cardiac CD36 for direct heart protective signaling
- Improved cardiac output in a human bypass surgery study
- Feeds the GH and IGF-1 axis behind recovery and physique
- More stable and more potent than natural ghrelin
- May reduce insulin sensitivity and nudge blood glucose upward
- Some water retention is possible as GH rises
Overview
Hexarelin is a synthetic hexapeptide (His-D-2-methyl-Trp-Ala-Trp-D-Phe-Lys-NH2) belonging to the growth hormone-releasing peptide (GHRP) family of growth hormone secretagogues. It was developed as an analog of GHRP-6 and, like other members of this class, was designed as a small peptide that potently and reproducibly stimulates growth hormone (GH) release, including after non-intravenous administration [1][5]. It acts as a ligand of the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R1a), the same receptor later found to be the target of the endogenous hormone ghrelin [2][3].
Historically, Hexarelin emerged from research in the 1990s into synthetic GH-releasing peptides and was investigated both as a potential way to boost GH and as a provocative agent for diagnosing GH deficiency. In this diagnostic role it produces a large, measurable GH rise in healthy pubertal children and young adults, although its GH-releasing effect is notably blunted in prepubertal children and in elderly subjects, an age dependence that limits its diagnostic reliability across all populations [5]. It has also been used to probe pituitary GH reserve in patients treated for acromegaly [6].
A defining feature that sets Hexarelin apart from a simple GH booster is its GH-independent cardiovascular activity. It binds not only the GHS receptor but also CD36, a scavenger receptor expressed in the heart and vasculature, and through these interactions it has shown cardioprotective effects against ischemia and reperfusion injury and improvements in cardiac function after experimental myocardial infarction in animal models [3][4]. Related work has linked Hexarelin to regulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-gamma) in macrophages and adipocytes, connecting it to lipid metabolism and insulin sensitivity and prompting interest in diabetes-associated heart disease [2]. Hexarelin is not an approved medicine; it is handled as a research peptide and remains a well-characterized tool compound within the growth hormone secretagogue class [1][2].
- Beyond releasing growth hormone, hexarelin binds the cardiac scavenger receptor CD36, giving it growth-hormone-independent protective effects directly on heart tissue.
- In an isolated rat-heart ischemia model, hexarelin pretreatment cut release of the injury marker creatine kinase by about 55%, outperforming the natural peptide ghrelin.
Mechanism
Hexarelin works through two receptor systems, which is what gives it a dual profile as both a growth hormone secretagogue and a cardiovascular . Its primary action is at the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R1a) in the pituitary and , the same receptor activated by ghrelin. Binding this G-protein-coupled receptor stimulates somatotroph cells to release stored growth hormone in a pulsatile fashion, an effect that stays subject to normal negative feedback and therefore tends to avoid the sustained supraphysiologic GH levels seen with injected recombinant GH [1]. Downstream, the released GH drives hepatic production of -like growth factor 1, which mediates much of GH's influence on lean mass, fat metabolism, and tissue repair [1]. The GH-releasing effect is powerful but age-dependent: it is robust in pubertal children and young adults yet substantially weaker in prepubertal children and the elderly [5].
The second, GH-independent axis is cardiovascular and is the feature that most distinguishes Hexarelin. In the heart it binds CD36, a scavenger receptor, in addition to the GHS receptor, and through these targets it exerts direct protective effects. In isolated rat hearts subjected to ischemia and reperfusion, a course of hexarelin pretreatment prevented roughly 60 percent of the rise in left ventricular end-diastolic pressure and cut the release of the injury marker creatine kinase by about 55 percent, markedly outperforming ghrelin in the same model [3]. In rats studied after experimental myocardial infarction, hexarelin lowered total peripheral resistance and raised stroke volume and cardiac output to a degree comparable with recombinant GH itself, indicating a genuine cardiac and vascular benefit [4].
These mechanisms translate into the effects for which Hexarelin is studied: increased GH and with their downstream anabolic and metabolic consequences, plus cardioprotection and improved cardiac performance in models of ischemic injury [1][3][4]. Additional research has tied Hexarelin to PPAR-gamma signaling in macrophages and adipocytes, linking it to lipid handling and sensitivity and suggesting possible relevance to diabetic heart disease [2]. Because its GH release stays under feedback control, it is often framed as a more physiologic way to raise GH than direct hormone administration [1].
receptor fingerprint
GHS-R1a (ghrelin receptor)Agonist that stimulates pituitary GH release
CD36 cardiac receptorDirect binding in heart tissue
IL-1 signaling in ischemic myocardiumShifts the balance toward anti-inflammatory IL-1Ra
Safetyrisks and cautions, not medical advice
Hexarelin is a growth-hormone secretagogue; raising GH and IGF-1 can cause fluid retention, joint pain, numbness, and reduced insulin sensitivity, and hexarelin can also increase cortisol and prolactin. Receptor desensitization tends to occur with continued use. Human long-term safety data are limited and it is unapproved; sustained GH/IGF-1 elevation carries theoretical tissue-overgrowth concerns, so it should be regarded as an experimental peptide.
History
Hexarelin, also called examorelin and originally designated EP-23905, is a synthetic hexapeptide developed in the early 1990s as an analogue of the growth hormone-releasing peptide GHRP-6, engineered to be a more potent and metabolically stable growth hormone secretagogue. It was characterized extensively by European endocrinology groups, including work associated with Romano Deghenghi and Ezio Ghigo, who studied it both as a diagnostic provocative agent for pituitary growth hormone reserve and as an experimental therapeutic. Over subsequent decades research broadened to its growth-hormone-independent cardiovascular actions, mediated in part through the cardiac scavenger receptor CD36. Although never brought to broad market approval, it became one of the most thoroughly investigated peptides in its class.
Reputation
Hexarelin is well regarded as one of the most fully characterized growth hormone secretagogues, prized for triggering a potent, reproducible, and largely somatostatin-resistant pulse of the body's own growth hormone while remaining subject to normal feedback control. What most distinguishes it, and fuels continued research interest, is a genuine second identity as a cardiovascular peptide: through CD36 it exerts direct, growth-hormone-independent protection in models of ischemia-reperfusion injury and post-infarction heart failure. This dual profile has made it a favored tool compound in both endocrine and cardioprotection studies. Balanced discussion recognizes that its growth-hormone-releasing effect is age-dependent, robust in young adults and blunted in the very young and elderly, and that most cardiovascular findings remain at the experimental stage.
Subjective profileweighing the evidence above
Ipamorelin is the cleaner choice for most goals. Hexarelin gives the stronger growth-hormone pulse and a genuinely interesting direct cardiac signal through CD36, but it also raises cortisol and prolactin, dents insulin sensitivity, and desensitises the receptor with continued use.
Where to buy
Suppliers
Vendors carrying Hexarelin, with live product details and codes. Links are affiliate links that support the wiki at no cost to you.
| supplier | size | price | $/mg |
|---|---|---|---|
| RUOlowest | 5mg | $34.00 | $6.80/mg |
| Moglabs | 5mg | $38.00 | $7.60/mg |
RUO
Hexarelin
Moglabs
Hexarelin
Kimera Chems
Hexarelin
Research
- 1997first citedAge-related growth hormone-releasing activity of growth hormone secretagogues in humans.
- 2025most recentIdentification of alexamorelin consumption biomarkers using human hepatocyte incubations and hi…
- 1.The Safety and Efficacy of Growth Hormone Secretagogues.
- 2.Implications of ghrelin and hexarelin in diabetes and diabetes-associated heart diseases.
- 3.Ghrelin plays a minor role in the physiological control of cardiac function in the rat.
- 4.The growth hormone secretagogue hexarelin improves cardiac function in rats after experimental myocardial infarction.
- 5.Hexarelin, a synthetic GH-releasing peptide, is a powerful stimulus of GH secretion in pubertal children and in adults but not in prepubertal children and in elderly subjects.
- 6.The diagnosis of growth hormone deficiency (GHD) in successfully treated acromegalic patients.
- 7.Age-related growth hormone-releasing activity of growth hormone secretagogues in humans.
- 8.The Growth Hormone Secretagogue Hexarelin Protects Rat Cardiomyocytes From in vivo Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury Through Interleukin-1 Signaling Pathway.
- 9.The cardiovascular action of hexarelin.
- 10.Modulation of PTEN by hexarelin attenuates coronary artery ligation-induced heart failure in rats.
- 11.The CD36-PPARγ Pathway in Metabolic Disorders.
- 12.Novel domain-selective ACE-inhibiting activity of synthetic growth hormone secretagogues.
17 listed here; entry last updated August 2026
Reviews
My notesprivate to this device
FAQ
How is hexarelin different from ipamorelin?
Both hit the ghrelin receptor, but hexarelin is more potent and also engages the heart receptor CD36; ipamorelin is more selective and gentler on prolactin and cortisol.
Why does it seem to stop working?
The pituitary receptors desensitize with steady exposure, so the GH pulse shrinks over time. This is a well-known limitation of strong secretagogues.
Is the heart benefit from growth hormone?
Studies suggest not; the cardiac effect appears to work through CD36 directly, since GHRH and recombinant GH did not reproduce it.
Limitations of the evidence
- Not an approved medicine, and human safety data are limited
Adverse effects
- May reduce insulin sensitivity and nudge blood glucose upward
- Some water retention is possible as GH rises
Notes and cautions
- Can transiently raise prolactin and cortisol
- The GH response can diminish with continued use as receptors desensitize