Is GHK-Cu an approved medicine?

No. GHK-Cu is used as a topical cosmetic ingredient and is not an approved drug. The material we supply is for laboratory research only.

What has GHK-Cu research looked at?

Mostly cell and animal studies of skin fibroblasts, collagen-related genes and growth factors, plus reviews; one controlled animal flap study found no benefit. Human interest is largely topical. The cited studies are above.

The tripeptide glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine bound to copper (copper tripeptide-1), an endogenous molecule whose level falls with age.

GHK-Cu research: what the studies have looked at

This page summarises the published research on GHK-Cu, for reference. It sets out what each study investigated and in what model, not an effect in people, and it is not medical advice. GHK-Cu is not an approved medicine; the material we supply is a research chemical for laboratory use only.

What GHK-Cu is

GHK-Cu is the tripeptide glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine bound to a copper ion, sometimes called copper peptide or copper tripeptide-1. GHK occurs naturally in blood and its level is reported to fall with age. It is used as an ingredient in topical cosmetics; it is not an approved drug. Most of the published work is in cell culture and in animals, and much of the human interest is dermatological and topical rather than injected. That context matters when reading the studies below.

What the studies investigated

Pollard, Quan, Kang and Voorhees (2005), Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery 7(1):27-31. In vitro, human fibroblasts. Investigated fibroblast proliferation and reported changes in growth-factor expression (bFGF, VEGF) Source.

Pickart and Margolina (2018), International Journal of Molecular Sciences 19(7):1987. Review. Reviewed the reported biology of GHK and GHK-Cu, including gene-expression modulation and wound-related pathways Source.

Parker, Rautemaa, Cunningham et al. (2013), Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery 149(3):384-390. Rat, irradiated skin flap. Investigated GHK-Cu on flap survival and reported no significant benefit (a negative result) Source.

Mechanism, as described in the literature

The literature describes GHK as a carrier of copper, a metal several enzymes need, and reports associated effects on skin fibroblasts, collagen-related genes and growth-factor signalling, mainly in cells and in topical or animal models. These are laboratory findings, not established human outcomes, and at least one controlled animal study found no effect. Whether injected GHK-Cu does anything the topical and in-vitro work suggests has not been shown in people.

The material we supply

We supply GHK-Cu as a research chemical, released against a written specification with a batch certificate of analysis. It is not a medicine or a cosmetic product, and it is not for human or animal use. For the vial sizes, the price per mg and how to order, see where to buy GHK-Cu wholesale; the COA lookup pulls the certificate for any batch. The references above link to each study’s record; this summary is for research and educational reference only.