This is the category for growth hormone secretagogues in Canada, alongside GHRH analogs and hGH fragments, all shipped as freeze-dried powder, strictly for laboratory research use only. Every compound here relates to the somatotropic axis, but they fall into two mechanistically separate families that are often lumped together — worth sorting out before ordering.
GHRH-receptor compounds
These bind the receptor for growth hormone releasing hormone.
- Sermorelin — GRF(1-29) amide, meaning residues 1–29 of the 44-residue native hormone; CAS 86168-78-7, C149H246N44O42S, around 3,357.9 g/mol. The sermorelin Canada page covers volume ordering.
- CJC-1295 without DAC (Mod GRF(1-29)) — that same 29-residue fragment carrying the substitutions D-Ala2, Gln8, Ala15 and Leu27, each selected to block a particular degradation pathway.
- Tesamorelin — the complete 44-residue sequence, capped at the N-terminus with a trans-3-hexenoyl group.
GHSR-1a compounds
Secretagogues bind a separate target, the growth hormone secretagogue receptor GHSR-1a, which signals through its own pathway. Ipamorelin is the example here: a five-residue peptide, C38H49N9O5, approximately 711.9 g/mol, CAS 170851-70-4, in which three residues are non-standard.
Since the families act at different receptors, results obtained with one cannot stand in for the other, and a design using both together is its own experiment rather than an amplified form of either. Background reading: how GHRH analogs and secretagogues differ and Ipamorelin's selectivity for GHSR-1a.
Growth hormone secretagogues in Canada: avoiding the DAC mix-up
The commonest sourcing error here is receiving the wrong CJC-1295. The two versions compare as follows:
- No DAC: CAS 863288-34-0, about 3,367.9 g/mol, C152H252N44O42.
- With DAC (drug affinity complex): CAS 446262-90-4, about 3,647.2 g/mol, C165H269N47O46.
That is a gap of roughly 280 Da, and the half-life profiles are entirely unlike each other. On a multi-vial order, check the mass stated on the certificate — it is what identifies which form arrived. Our explainer on the DAC modification has the detail.
hGH fragments
AOD-9604 takes the hGH(177-191) fragment and adds one tyrosine at the N-terminus: CAS 221231-10-3, around 1,815.1 g/mol, C78H123N23O23S2. A piece of a hormone should not be read as a scaled-down version of that hormone; it is a separate molecule with a binding profile of its own. More in our AOD-9604 fragment note.
Identity testing and certificates
Several of these peptides include non-standard or D-configured residues, so hydrolysis followed by amino-acid analysis cannot verify their sequence; identity depends on the measured mass and the synthesis route. Products are third-party tested, published certificates appear on the COAs page as the lab issued them, and cap and crimp colour ties each vial to its certificate. Mixed orders across this category count toward the quantity tiers. Further reading: verifying purity with HPLC and mass spectrometry and the modifications that change a peptide's half-life.
For laboratory research only — not for human or veterinary use. These materials hold no Health Canada or FDA authorisation, carry neither a DIN nor an NPN, and are not produced under pharmaceutical GMP.