GHRP - GHRPs (growth hormone-releasing peptides)
GHRPs are short-chain synthetic peptides consisting of between 4 and 7 amino acids. GHRPs cause an increased release of growth hormone from the pituitary gland, which is why they can be misused by athletes for doping purposes. They were first specifically listed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as of January 1, 2015, under S2 Peptide Hormones ... / Section 5. Growth Hormone and Its Releasing Factors. Prior to that, their use was also prohibited, as GHRPs could be classified as related compounds.
Doping Cases
The first findings involving GHRP were reported during doping controls in 2014 (see Table 1).
On January 12, 2017, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that, following retesting of samples from the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, three Chinese female weightlifters had tested positive for the substance GHRP-2. All three weightlifters had placed first in their discipline and won the gold medal.
The results were subsequently revoked.
See IOC news
Table 1: Positive test results for GHRP (statistics from WADA-accredited testing laboratories)
* Data provided by WADA in the 2014 statistics, in which only the substance class GHRP is mentioned and no specific substance is identified
On December 20, 2017, the IOC further announced that during retroactive testing of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, one athlete (biathlon) tested positive for the substance GHRP-2.
See IOC news
Chemical Structure of GHRP
The WADA Prohibited List (as of January 1, 2026) includes the following GH-releasing peptides (GHRPs): Alexamorelin, GHRP-1, GHRP-2 (Pralmorelin), GHRP-3, GHRP-4, GHRP-5, GHRP-6, and Examorelin (Hexarelin).
Detailed list of growth hormones 2.3
The following amino acid sequences are present in these listed GHRPs:
| Alexamorelin | Ala-His-(D-Mrp)-Ala-Trp-(D-Phe)-Lys-NH2 |
| GHRP-1 | Ala-His-(D-ß-Nal)-Ala-Trp-(D-Phe)-Lys-NH2 |
| GHRP-2 (pralmorelin) | (D-Ala)-(D-β-Nal)-Ala-Trp-(D-Phe)-Lys-NH2 |
| GHRP-3 | Aib-(D-Trp)-(D-Pro)-(D-Ile)-Arg-NH2 |
| GHRP-4 | (D-Trp)-Ala-Trp-(D-Phe)-NH2 |
| GHRP-5 | Tyr-(D-Trp)-Ala-Trp-(D-Phe)-NH2 |
| GHRP-6 | His-(D-Trp)-Ala-Trp-(D-Phe)-Lys-NH2 |
| Hexarelin | His-(D-Mrp)-Ala-Trp-(D-Phe)-Lys-NH2 |
Nal = Naphthylalanine, Mrp = 2-Methyltryptophan, Aib = Aminoisobutyric acid
D- denotes the D-form of the amino acid. In natural peptides, all amino acids have an L-configuration. A corresponding prefix with L- is not included for the naturally occurring amino acids listed above.
Information on amino acids (basics, abbreviations, symbols, etc.)
References
Thomas A, Görgens C, Guddat S, Thieme D, Delanna F, Schänzer W, Thevis M. Simplifying and expanding the screening for peptides < 2 kDa by direct urine injection, liquid chromatography, and ion mobility mass spectrometry. J Sep Sci. 2016 Jan;39(2):333-41
see Abstract
Thomas A, Delahaut P, Krug O, Schänzer W, Thevis M. Metabolism of Growth Hormone Releasing Peptides. Anal Chem. 2012 Dec 4;84(23):10252-9
see abstract
Thomas A, Höppner S, Geyer H, Schänzer W, Petrou M, Kwiatkowska D, Pokrywka A, Thevis M Determination of growth hormone-releasing peptides (GHRP) and their major metabolites in human urine for doping controls by means of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Anal Bioanal Chem., 2011, 401, 507-516
see Abstract
Okano, M., Sato, M., Ikekita, A., Kageyama, S.: Determination of growth hormone secretagogue pralmorelin (GHRP-2) and its metabolite in human urine by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom (2010) 24: 2046-56.
See abstract