GH IGF Reference Cluster
What do these badges mean?
Evidence tier
- AHuman-validated — Human trials showing positive results and good safety.
- BAnimal-grade — No human trials yet, but solid animal/preclinical evidence of effect and safety.
- CAnecdotal — No human or animal trials — only anecdotal/observational reports.
- DInsufficient evidence — No or insufficient evidence (encyclopedia only — never recommended by the builder).
Safety light
- 🟢 Green — Only mild, manageable side effects; reasonable safety data.
- 🟡 Yellow — Needs active management, has a meaningful contraindication/interaction, or has thin long-term data.
- 🔴 Red — Risk of a hospital-level event — treat with serious caution.
Browse-only — not on the protocol builder's curated shortlist, so the builder won't recommend it.
How can it help me?
This is a reference comparing the growth-hormone and IGF-1 molecules at the powerful — and more clinical — end of the spectrum: recombinant HGH itself (Somatropin), and directly-administered IGF-1 analogs (IGF-1 DES, PEG-MGF). HGH is FDA-approved and prescription-only; the IGF-1 analogs are research chemicals with mostly preclinical data.
Honest read: most readers are better served by the gentler GH-signaling peptides OHM covers elsewhere — these are the heavier, prescription-or-research-grade tools, included so you understand the full landscape.
The full evidence — every human, animal, and lab study, graded — is one tap away: use the See the deeper science → toggle at the top.
Is it dangerous? What are the side effects?
- Somatropin — at supraphysiologic dose: insulin resistance / glucose rise (monitor fasting glucose + HbA1c), edema, carpal tunnel, joint pain, acromegaly-type overgrowth with chronic excess, theoretical cancer-signaling concern. Benign at physiologic GHD replacement.
- IGF-1 DES — IGF-axis class: hypoglycemia (keep fast-acting carbs on hand, the LR3 rule in IGF-1 LR3 and MGF — the IGF-1 axis muscle cluster), theoretical tumor-signaling at chronic supraphysiologic exposure. No human safety record.
- PEG-MGF — lighter surface: injection-site reactions, mild localized effects; IGF-axis class cautions at theoretical level. No human safety record.
Contraindications across the class: active cancer or cancer history (IGF-axis mitogenic concern), pregnancy/breastfeeding, uncontrolled diabetes. For the directly-injected IGF analogs, the hypoglycemia-management discipline detailed in IGF-1 LR3 and MGF — the IGF-1 axis muscle cluster applies.
Regulatory status:
- Somatropin: FDA-approved (Genotropin, Humatrope, Norditropin, Zorbtive, biosimilars); prescription-only; WADA-prohibited at all times.
- IGF-1 DES: not FDA-approved; research-chemical; not eligible for compounding; WADA-banned.
- PEG-MGF: not FDA-approved; research-chemical; WADA-banned.
No editorializing — these are the factual statuses [peptidelist; 0035].
Typical dosing
The doses and schedules here are for educational and informational purposes only. These peptides are sold for research use only and are not FDA-approved drugs. This is not medical advice. Consult a qualified physician before beginning any protocol.
What should I avoid combining — and what's synergistic?
The honest headline: these are not casual DIY compounds. HGH is prescription-only and WADA-banned; the IGF-1 analogs have thin human safety data and raise IGF-1 (a general cancer-caution flag). If you're exploring this end of the spectrum, do it with a clinician — that's a genuine recommendation, not fear-mongering.
How can I buy this?
None of the three is in Alyve’s launch catalog — and for this article that’s the point, not a gap. The in-catalog answer for the goal these compounds chase (more GH / IGF-1, better recovery and body composition) is the GH-secretagogue line, which is exactly the cleaner-physiology path the contrast above argues for:
- CJC-1295, Ipamorelin, and the CJC-1295 / Ipamorelin blend (in stock, 99.90% Freedom Diagnostics COA, lot CJI583)
- Sermorelin and Tesamorelin (99.46% COA)
Same IGF-1 elevation a reader is reaching for when they look up somatropin or the IGF analogs — delivered through their own pulsatile, feedback-regulated physiology, with no prescription and a lighter safety surface. Somatropin itself is a prescription drug (OHM isn’t a pharmacy and Alyve doesn’t sell it); IGF-1 DES and PEG-MGF are roadmap candidates carrying the same IGF-axis-class friction discussed under IGF-1 LR3 and MGF — the IGF-1 axis muscle cluster.
The supply-chain trust angle is sharpest exactly here. Roughly a quarter of the gray-market peptide supply tests fake or underdosed, and TFA-salt contamination is invisible to standard HPLC. For the IGF family — where dose accuracy ties directly to hypoglycemia risk — verified purity isn’t a luxury, it’s the floor. Alyve’s secretagogue SKUs are US-manufactured with third-party Freedom Diagnostics COAs and >99% verified purity across the board: the verified-clean path to the same hormonal endpoint, without the exogenous flood.
Offer: Use coupon OHM-15 for 15% off — Alyve’s pricing is very competitive, and buying 3 vials of any given peptide in one purchase gets you over 30% off retail. (Full disclosure: OHM-15 attributes the sale to me — said plainly, as always.) A 3-vial block of the secretagogue line gives you a real protocol run at the deepest discount tier.
When you use my coupon code to buy peptides with these sellers, you enjoy a discount off retail price, and I make a small commission which helps me to continue to offer this peptide educational site to you for free. I only have affiliate relationships with peptide manufacturers that show evidence that their peptides are 100% manufactured in the US, 3rd party lab tested for purity, transparent COAs posted on their websites, and that have good customer service.
This is the reference article for the actual hormones that the GH-secretagogue peptides signal the body to make more of. CJC-1295, Ipamorelin, Sermorelin, Tesamorelin, and the CJC-1295 / Ipamorelin blend all work upstream — they nudge your own pituitary to release more growth hormone, which tells your liver to make more IGF-1, on your body’s own pulsatile, feedback-regulated schedule. The three compounds here are the downstream signal delivered directly. Somatropin is recombinant human growth hormone itself — the GH molecule, injected, FDA-approved, the “exogenous flood” that secretagogues are deliberately positioned against. IGF-1 DES and PEG-MGF are IGF/MGF variants that sit alongside IGF-1 LR3 and MGF — the IGF-1 axis muscle cluster in the directly-administered IGF-axis family. The honest contrast — physiologic pulse vs. exogenous flood — is the whole reason this article exists, and it’s the contrast that makes the secretagogue SKUs the recommendation for most people.
| Field | Somatropin (rHGH) | IGF-1 DES | PEG-MGF |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Recombinant human growth hormone — the GH molecule itself, made in the lab, identical to pituitary GH | Des(1-3)IGF-1: native IGF-1 truncated by its first 3 N-terminal amino acids | MGF (IGF-1Ec splice variant) with polyethylene glycol attached for extended half-life |
| Where it sits | The hormone secretagogues make you release more of | Directly-administered IGF-1 analog (sister to IGF-1 LR3 and MGF — the IGF-1 axis muscle cluster’s LR3) | Directly-administered MGF (the PEGylated form of IGF-1 LR3 and MGF — the IGF-1 axis muscle cluster’s MGF) |
| Mechanism | Binds GH receptors → drives liver IGF-1 production + direct lipolytic/anabolic effects | Binds IGF-1R at full affinity, but ~10× more potent because it barely binds IGFBPs → more free signal at tissue | Pegylation extends half-life from minutes → hours; activates muscle satellite cells via the IGF-1 splice-variant pathway |
| Evidence tier | **** — FDA-approved; 30 studies / 17 human / Phase 3 | **** — 6 preclinical studies, 0 human trials | **** — 0 published studies, preclinical/community only |
| OHM grade | Tier A / Safety Yellow — PRIMARY muscle + SECONDARY heal-recover + longevity | Tier C / Safety Yellow — PRIMARY muscle | Tier D / kept provisional — no published human trials |
| Regulatory | FDA-approved (Genotropin, Humatrope, Norditropin, Zorbtive, etc.); prescription-only; WADA-banned | Not FDA-approved; research-chemical; WADA-banned | Not FDA-approved; research-chemical; WADA-banned |
| Alyve product | Not in launch catalog — the in-catalog answer is the secretagogues (the whole point of the contrast) | Not in launch catalog — roadmap candidate | Not in launch catalog — roadmap candidate |
Somatropin (recombinant human growth hormone)
What it is
Somatropin is recombinant human growth hormone (rHGH) — growth hormone manufactured via recombinant DNA technology, chemically identical to the GH your pituitary makes. It is the direct hormone, not a secretagogue. Where Sermorelin, CJC-1295, Ipamorelin, and Tesamorelin coax your own pituitary into releasing more GH on its own pulsatile schedule, somatropin bypasses the pituitary entirely and floods the system with GH directly. It’s sold under multiple brand names — Genotropin, Humatrope, Norditropin, Zorbtive — and is prescription-only.
That distinction — make your own vs. inject the finished hormone — is the central frame of this whole article. It’s not a value judgment; both are real tools. But it changes the physiology, the regulatory status, the safety surface, and (for OHM’s purposes) which product the encyclopedia points a reader toward.
How it works
Somatropin binds GH receptors throughout the body and produces effects through two channels:
- Indirectly — it drives the liver to produce IGF-1, the downstream mediator of most of GH’s growth, repair, and anabolic effects. This is the same IGF-1 elevation the secretagogues achieve, just reached by a different route.
- Directly — GH receptors on fat and other tissues mediate lipolysis (fat breakdown) and other metabolic effects independent of IGF-1.
The key physiological difference vs. secretagogues: somatropin is a non-pulsatile flood. Your natural GH is released in pulses, with somatostatin damping it when levels rise — a built-in feedback brake. Injected somatropin overrides that rhythm, holding GH elevated in a pattern your body never produces on its own. The secretagogues, by contrast, work through your pituitary, so the pulsatility and the somatostatin brake stay intact. That’s the mechanistic root of why supraphysiologic somatropin carries a heavier side-effect profile than the secretagogue path.
What the research shows
The evidence base here is genuinely strong — the strongest in this article by a wide margin. Per peptidelist, somatropin carries 30 studies cited, 17 human trials, Phase 3 reached.
The site’s evidence summary: “Thirty human studies, including 10 randomized controlled trials, demonstrate that somatropin is safe and effective for promoting height gain in growth hormone deficiency and other growth disorders,” with newer once-weekly formulations (somatrogon, lonapegsomatropin) showing noninferior-to-superior efficacy vs. daily dosing in children, and biosimilars matching reference products.
Named anchors (all — third-party-sourced citations pending the citation-verification pass):
- Biller BMK et al. 2025 J Clin Endocrinol Metab — foresiGHt Trial: once-weekly lonapegsomatropin reduced trunk fat and increased lean mass vs. placebo in adults with GH deficiency. 41420532
- Deal CL et al. 2022 J Clin Endocrinol Metab — weekly somatrogon noninferior to daily somatropin for height velocity in GHD children. 35405011
- Thornton PS et al. 2021 J Clin Endocrinol Metab — heiGHt Trial: weekly lonapegsomatropin superior to daily somatropin for height velocity. 34272849
- Keating GM, Wellington K 2004 Drugs — somatropin (Zorbtive) reduced parenteral-nutrition dependence in short bowel syndrome. 15200350
- Sleman N, Khalil A 2023 Ann Med Surg — somatropin reduced alveolar bone resorption and improved healing after tooth extraction. 37113816
On the muscle-growth claim specifically, peptidelist grades it strong (13 studies, 4 RCTs, n=483) — though note most of the human RCT base concerns GH-deficient populations (height gain, body composition in GHD adults), not healthy-adult performance enhancement. That’s the honest read: the approval-grade data is for deficiency states; off-label use in non-deficient adults rides on mechanism + the deficiency data, not on dedicated RCTs in that population.
Real-world use
The information here is educational only. Somatropin is an FDA-approved prescription drug; obtaining or using it without a prescription is illegal in the US. This is not medical advice.
Somatropin’s legitimate path is a prescription — it’s approved for GH deficiency (pediatric and adult), AIDS/HIV wasting, Turner syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, idiopathic short stature, and short bowel syndrome [0035; peptidelist]. Physiologic replacement dosing in a genuinely GH-deficient adult is a well-characterized clinical protocol with a benign safety profile (see below). The gray-market, non-prescription, supraphysiologic-dose use for body composition is where the risk profile changes — and where it stops being the FDA-approved use case.
This is exactly the contrast OHM content can make honestly: most people reaching for “more GH” do not need the exogenous hormone. They’re chasing the IGF-1 elevation and the recovery/body-composition benefits — and the secretagogue peptides deliver that elevation through their own physiology, with the pulsatility and feedback brake intact, no prescription required, and a much lighter side-effect surface.
Side effects, safety & status
OHM grades somatropin Tier A / Safety Yellow. The yellow specifically captures the supraphysiologic-dose concern; at physiologic GHD-replacement dosing the profile is benign.
At supraphysiologic doses: insulin resistance, edema, carpal tunnel syndrome, joint pain. The two that matter most for honest content:
- Insulin resistance / glucose dysregulation — GH is counter-regulatory to insulin; chronic supraphysiologic GH pushes blood glucose up and can unmask or worsen insulin resistance. This is the routine monitoring concern (fasting glucose, HbA1c) in anyone using GH above replacement.
- Acromegaly-type effects with chronic excess — sustained supraphysiologic GH produces the soft-tissue and skeletal overgrowth pattern seen in acromegaly (the disease of GH excess): enlarged hands/feet/jaw, organ enlargement.
- Theoretical cancer-signaling concern with chronic supraphysiologic use — GH drives IGF-1, and elevated IGF-1 is the central oncology concern across this whole hormone class (the prostate/breast/colorectal epidemiology covered in depth under IGF-1 LR3 and MGF — the IGF-1 axis muscle cluster). Standard clinical practice screens for and avoids active malignancy. This is information, not a scare line: at physiologic replacement levels the concern is far smaller than at the supraphysiologic doses used for body composition.
Regulatory status: FDA-approved, multiple brands, prescription-only. WADA-prohibited at all times. This is the one compound in this article with a full approval dossier behind it.
IGF-1 DES (Des(1-3)IGF-1)
What it is
IGF-1 DES is native IGF-1 with its first three N-terminal amino acids removed (“Des(1-3)” = deletion of residues 1–3). That tiny truncation does one big thing: it slashes the molecule’s affinity for the IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs) that normally sequester ~99% of circulating IGF-1. The result is a variant that binds the IGF-1 receptor at full affinity but stays free and active far more than native IGF-1 — peptidelist and the FAQ describe it as roughly 10× more potent than intact IGF-1 for this reason.
It belongs to the same directly-administered IGF-axis family as IGF-1 LR3 (see IGF-1 LR3 and MGF — the IGF-1 axis muscle cluster). The two solve the same problem — escaping the IGFBP brake — by different edits: LR3 uses an arginine substitution plus a 13-aa N-terminal extension; DES uses an N-terminal truncation. Both end up as high-free-fraction IGF-1 signals. This article cross-links rather than re-deriving the shared IGF-1-axis biology, which IGF-1 LR3 and MGF — the IGF-1 axis muscle cluster covers in full (PI3K/Akt/mTOR for synthesis, MAPK/ERK for proliferation, and the cancer epidemiology that is the class’s central safety story).
How it works
The N-terminal pentapeptide of IGF-1 is functionally important for IGFBP binding — remove the first three residues and you knock out most of that binding while preserving receptor activity. Bagley CJ et al. 1989 (Biochem J, 2730580,) characterized exactly this “key functional role for the IGF-1 N-terminal pentapeptide,” and Ballard FJ et al. 1989 (Biochem Soc Symp, 2559737,) examined why some IGF molecular variants are more potent — the mechanistic basis for DES’s enhanced activity.
What the research shows
Peptidelist grades IGF-1 DES Emerging: 6 studies, 0 human trials. Its own summary is blunt: “No human studies or randomized controlled trials have been conducted on IGF-1 DES; the 6 available studies are limited to in vitro and animal models… Clinical evidence for IGF-1 DES in humans does not currently exist.” OHM grades it Tier C / Safety Yellow, PRIMARY muscle — preclinical hypertrophy + small PK studies, no human efficacy trials.
The preclinical anchors (all):
- Kaplan-Lefko PJ et al. 2008 Oncogene — epithelial IGF-1 expression promotes prostate hyperplasia. 18026134
- Guan J et al. 1996 Endocrinology — IGF-1, IGF-2, and des-IGF-1 reduce neuronal loss after hypoxic-ischemic brain injury in rats. 8603600
- Hill DJ et al. 1997 J Endocrinol — IGF-1’s dual effect on insulin release from isolated rat islets. 9135565
- McGrath MF et al. 1991 Endocrinology — IGFs stimulate bovine mammary-cell proliferation. 1713160
Two of those four are worth naming honestly: the prostate-hyperplasia (Kaplan-Lefko) and mammary-cell-proliferation (McGrath) findings are exactly the tissue-proliferation signals that make IGF-axis exposure an oncology-watch class. Same story as LR3 — see IGF-1 LR3 and MGF — the IGF-1 axis muscle cluster for the full epidemiology.
Real-world use & status
Animal-model dosing in the literature is in the low-microgram range, but there is no validated human protocol — DES has no human trials at all. The community frames it the way LR3 is framed (a directly-injected, high-potency IGF-1 signal, post-workout, with the same hypoglycemia and IGF-axis cautions), but anyone treating DES dosing as established is extrapolating from animal data and from the LR3 community playbook, not from human evidence.
Safety: the IGF-1-axis class concerns apply — hypoglycemia from the insulin-crossover effect, and the theoretical tumor-signaling concern at chronic supraphysiologic exposure. Regulatory: not FDA-approved; research-chemical; not eligible for compounding; WADA-banned.
PEG-MGF (PEGylated Mechano Growth Factor)
What it is
PEG-MGF is Mechano Growth Factor with a polyethylene glycol (PEG) chain attached. MGF itself is the IGF-1Ec splice variant — the C-terminal peptide your own muscle produces locally in response to mechanical loading, the signal that wakes dormant satellite cells (the full MGF mechanism story lives in IGF-1 LR3 and MGF — the IGF-1 axis muscle cluster). The problem with raw MGF is that its circulating half-life is measured in minutes, making it practically unusable for anything but an immediate-post-workout local injection. Pegylation extends that half-life from minutes to hours, allowing systemic distribution. In practice, essentially all research-peptide “MGF” use is PEG-MGF for exactly this reason.
This article treats PEG-MGF as the delivery-form sibling of the MGF covered in IGF-1 LR3 and MGF — the IGF-1 axis muscle cluster — same molecule, same satellite-cell mechanism, the PEG group is purely a pharmacokinetic modification. The dosing and protocol detail (PEG-MGF 200–400 mcg IM, 2–3×/week, trained muscle, post-workout window) is documented there; this entry captures PEG-MGF’s identity, mechanism, and evidence status rather than re-deriving the protocol.
How it works
PEG-MGF “activates satellite cells and promotes muscle growth through IGF-1 splice variant pathways,” with pegylation enabling systemic rather than purely local action. Mechanistically: muscle satellite cells sit dormant in G0; mechanical damage releases MGF; MGF drives those cells into the cell cycle (proliferation without premature differentiation), expanding the satellite-cell pool that then fuses with damaged fibers and adds new myonuclei. The PEG group doesn’t change that biology — it just keeps the molecule in circulation long enough to reach muscle systemically instead of being cleared within minutes. Full mechanism in IGF-1 LR3 and MGF — the IGF-1 axis muscle cluster.
What the research shows
This is the thinnest evidence base in the article, stated plainly. Peptidelist grades PEG-MGF Anecdotal: 0 studies cited, 0 human trials — “No published clinical studies were found on PubMed for PEG-MGF. Evidence is limited to preclinical research or community reports.” 0035 kept PEG-MGF at Tier D / provisional — no published human trials.
The supporting science is the broader MGF preclinical literature (the Goldspink-group satellite-cell work) covered under IGF-1 LR3 and MGF — the IGF-1 axis muscle cluster — but note that body of work is on MGF generally, not on the PEGylated form specifically. There are no PEG-MGF-specific human studies. Anyone citing “studies on PEG-MGF” is borrowing from the general MGF literature.
Real-world use & status
Community protocol (documented in IGF-1 LR3 and MGF — the IGF-1 axis muscle cluster): PEG-MGF 200–400 mcg IM into trained muscle, 2–3×/week, within 1–2 hours post-workout, training days only — the satellite-cell mechanism requires the mechanical-damage trigger, so “inject without training” misses the point entirely. Safety: lighter surface than the IGF-1 analogs (local action, smaller potency), with the IGF-axis class cautions at theoretical level. Regulatory: not FDA-approved; research-chemical; WADA-banned.
The honest contrast — physiologic pulse vs. exogenous flood
The reason all three of these live in one reference article: they’re the direct version of what OHM’s in-catalog GH-axis peptides do indirectly, and the comparison is the most useful thing a reader can take away.
| Path | Compounds | How IGF-1 rises | Feedback brake | Prescription? | Safety surface |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secretagogue (upstream) | Sermorelin, CJC-1295, Ipamorelin, Tesamorelin, CJC-1295 / Ipamorelin | Your pituitary releases more GH → liver makes more IGF-1 | Intact — pulsatile, somatostatin-damped | No (research peptides) | Lighter — works through your own physiology |
| Exogenous GH (the hormone) | Somatropin | Injected GH floods the system → liver makes more IGF-1 | Overridden — non-pulsatile | Yes (FDA Rx) | Heavier at supraphysiologic dose; benign at replacement |
| Direct IGF/MGF (most downstream) | IGF-1 DES, PEG-MGF, IGF-1 LR3 / MGF (IGF-1 LR3 and MGF — the IGF-1 axis muscle cluster) | The IGF-axis signal injected directly | None — bypasses the GH axis entirely | No (research chemicals) | IGF-axis class concerns (hypoglycemia, cancer epi for the potent analogs) |
For most people chasing recovery, body composition, and the anti-aging GH story, the secretagogue path is the cleaner tool — it lifts IGF-1 through the body’s own regulated machinery, no prescription, no exogenous flood. That’s not a knock on somatropin (it’s the gold-standard treatment for genuine GH deficiency); it’s the honest reason OHM’s catalog answer for “I want the GH benefits” is the secretagogue SKUs, not the exogenous hormone.
Side effects & management (summary)
- Somatropin — at supraphysiologic dose: insulin resistance / glucose rise (monitor fasting glucose + HbA1c), edema, carpal tunnel, joint pain, acromegaly-type overgrowth with chronic excess, theoretical cancer-signaling concern. Benign at physiologic GHD replacement.
- IGF-1 DES — IGF-axis class: hypoglycemia (keep fast-acting carbs on hand, the LR3 rule in IGF-1 LR3 and MGF — the IGF-1 axis muscle cluster), theoretical tumor-signaling at chronic supraphysiologic exposure. No human safety record.
- PEG-MGF — lighter surface: injection-site reactions, mild localized effects; IGF-axis class cautions at theoretical level. No human safety record.
Contraindications across the class: active cancer or cancer history (IGF-axis mitogenic concern), pregnancy/breastfeeding, uncontrolled diabetes. For the directly-injected IGF analogs, the hypoglycemia-management discipline detailed in IGF-1 LR3 and MGF — the IGF-1 axis muscle cluster applies.
Regulatory status
- Somatropin: FDA-approved (Genotropin, Humatrope, Norditropin, Zorbtive, biosimilars); prescription-only; WADA-prohibited at all times.
- IGF-1 DES: not FDA-approved; research-chemical; not eligible for compounding; WADA-banned.
- PEG-MGF: not FDA-approved; research-chemical; WADA-banned.
No editorializing — these are the factual statuses [peptidelist; 0035].
The Alyve product
None of the three is in Alyve’s launch catalog — and for this article that’s the point, not a gap. The in-catalog answer for the goal these compounds chase (more GH / IGF-1, better recovery and body composition) is the GH-secretagogue line, which is exactly the cleaner-physiology path the contrast above argues for:
- CJC-1295, Ipamorelin, and the CJC-1295 / Ipamorelin blend (in stock, 99.90% Freedom Diagnostics COA, lot CJI583)
- Sermorelin and Tesamorelin (99.46% COA)
Same IGF-1 elevation a reader is reaching for when they look up somatropin or the IGF analogs — delivered through their own pulsatile, feedback-regulated physiology, with no prescription and a lighter safety surface. Somatropin itself is a prescription drug (OHM isn’t a pharmacy and Alyve doesn’t sell it); IGF-1 DES and PEG-MGF are roadmap candidates carrying the same IGF-axis-class friction discussed under IGF-1 LR3 and MGF — the IGF-1 axis muscle cluster.
The supply-chain trust angle is sharpest exactly here. Roughly a quarter of the gray-market peptide supply tests fake or underdosed, and TFA-salt contamination is invisible to standard HPLC. For the IGF family — where dose accuracy ties directly to hypoglycemia risk — verified purity isn’t a luxury, it’s the floor. Alyve’s secretagogue SKUs are US-manufactured with third-party Freedom Diagnostics COAs and >99% verified purity across the board: the verified-clean path to the same hormonal endpoint, without the exogenous flood.
Offer: Use coupon OHM-15 for 15% off — Alyve’s pricing is very competitive, and buying 3 vials of any given peptide in one purchase gets you over 30% off retail. (Full disclosure: OHM-15 attributes the sale to me — said plainly, as always.) A 3-vial block of the secretagogue line gives you a real protocol run at the deepest discount tier.
Sources
- — thepeptidelist.com somatropin profile: FDA-approved status, brands, 30 studies / 17 human / Phase 3, named RCTs (all), mechanism, prescription availability.
- — thepeptidelist.com IGF-1 DES profile: Des(1-3) structure, ~10× potency, 6 preclinical studies / 0 human, named animal/in-vitro PMIDs (all), research-only status.
- — thepeptidelist.com PEG-MGF profile: pegylation half-life extension, satellite-cell mechanism, 0 studies / anecdotal tier, research-only status.
- — grading: Somatropin Tier A/Yellow (lines 266–274), IGF-1 DES Tier C/Yellow (232–240), PEG-MGF Tier D/provisional (262–264); the supraphysiologic-dose + cancer-signaling safety framing.
- Somatropin named anchors (all): Biller 2025 41420532; Deal 2022 35405011; Thornton 2021 34272849; Keating & Wellington 2004 15200350; Sleman & Khalil 2023 37113816.
- IGF-1 DES named anchors (all): Kaplan-Lefko 2008 18026134; Guan 1996 8603600; Hill 1997 9135565; McGrath 1991 1713160; Bagley 1989 2730580; Ballard 1989 2559737.
See also: IGF-1 LR3 and MGF — the IGF-1 axis muscle cluster, CJC-1295, Ipamorelin, CJC-1295 / Ipamorelin, Sermorelin, Tesamorelin, MK-677 (Ibutamoren), GHRP-2, GHRP-6, and Hexarelin — the injectable ghrelin-receptor GH peptides, Follistatin 344.