Lenomorelin (ghrelin)

Also called ghrelin, human ghrelin, acyl-ghrelin, lenomorelin acetate and OXE103^{1, 2, 10, 17}

Lenomorelin is not a new drug. It is the official drug name for ghrelin, the body's own hunger hormone. When ghrelin is made as a medicine, the World Health Organization's naming system calls it lenomorelin, and FDA's substance register lists "ghrelin" and "human ghrelin" as the same thing.¹ Ghrelin is a 28-amino-acid peptide made mainly in the stomach. A fatty octanoyl group on its third amino acid is needed for it to work.² Given into a vein, it raises appetite and growth hormone within minutes.^{3, 4} Small trials tested it for wasting in cancer, lung and heart disease, with mixed results.^{6, 7, 8} It is not approved anywhere, and there is no legal US source.

Drugs that copy ghrelin: anamorelin, macimorelin, MK-677 and ipamorelin. See every peptide's status in the regulatory tracker.

At a glance

Where to get it

MoveWell sells nothing and earns nothing from this page. There is no legal way to buy ghrelin for personal use in the US. Why

Molecular structure

A chain of 28 amino acids. The serine at position 3 carries an 8-carbon fatty acid, an octanoyl group, attached as an ester. This schematic shows one bead per amino acid, because an all-atom drawing of 28 residues is too small to read.

Serine 3 and its octanoyl group, needed for activity

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GGlySSerSSer*FPheLLeuSSerPProEGluHHisQGlnRArgVValQGlnQGlnRArgKLysEGluSSerKLysKLysPProPProAAlaKLysLLeuQGlnPProRArg

Sequence

GSSFLSPEHQRVQQRKESKKPPAKLQPR (*Ser3 octanoylated)

Length

28 amino acids

Formula

C149H249N47O42

Weight

3370.9 g/mol

CAS

258279-04-8

FDA UNII

UXG268Q86R (acetate: 4492AYV7VO)

Formula and weight are for the octanoylated free peptide, calculated with RDKit from the sequence plus the octanoyl ester. Identifiers from FDA's substance register.^{1, 2, 17}

What it is

Lenomorelin and ghrelin are the same molecule. Ghrelin is the name scientists gave the hormone. Lenomorelin is its International Nonproprietary Name, the official generic name used when a substance is treated as a drug. FDA's substance register lists lenomorelin as the preferred name, with ghrelin, human ghrelin and acyl-ghrelin as synonyms.¹ The "‑morelin" ending is shared by man-made drugs that act on the same receptor, such as anamorelin, macimorelin and ipamorelin.¹⁴

Japanese researchers found ghrelin in 1999 while searching for the natural partner of the "growth hormone secretagogue receptor," a receptor that synthetic growth hormone boosters were already known to hit. They purified a 28-amino-acid peptide from rat stomach and showed that its octanoyl group on serine 3 was essential for activity.²

Ghrelin is often called the hunger hormone, because giving it to people makes them eat more.³ Companies have tried to turn it into a medicine. Asubio tested a ghrelin drug, SUN11031, for wasting in lung disease, and Oxeia has tested OXE103, a synthetic version of human ghrelin, for concussion. Neither has reached approval.^{8, 9, 10}

How it works

• Growth hormone. It switches on the growth hormone secretagogue receptor. In healthy men, a single IV dose raised growth hormone sharply within minutes.^{2, 4}
• Appetite. During an infusion, healthy people ate 28% more at a buffet and rated themselves hungrier. Stomach emptying didn't change.³
• Short-lived. Active ghrelin has a half-life of about 9 to 13 minutes, which is why studies use infusions or repeated injections.⁴
• The octanoyl group matters. Without it, the peptide loses its activity at the receptor.²

Evidence map

Each claimed use is graded separately. A grade measures how much evidence exists, not whether the result was good news.

Scale: 5 FDA-approved, 4 strong human, 3 limited human, 2 animal or lab only, 1 anecdotal. Concussion is graded 3, the lowest human grade, because the only study was small, open and not randomized.

Key studies

Almost all of these studies lasted from a few hours to 12 weeks. None tested ghrelin in healthy people for muscle, fat loss or aging.

By goal

Pick your goal to see what the evidence supports.

Sources: Wren 2001,³ Neary 2004,⁵ SUN11031 trial.⁸

How it's used

Ghrelin has no approved dose for any use, and we don't give one.

In most studies it was given into a vein, as a short infusion or injection, by research teams who tracked blood levels and side effects. The COPD trial used injections under the skin twice a day.^{3, 4, 6, 9} Because active ghrelin clears from the blood within minutes, it has never been a practical daily treatment.⁴ That short life is one reason drug makers developed longer-lasting pills such as anamorelin. We report this as information, not instruction.

Side effects and who should avoid it

• Short studies looked safe. In 18 healthy men, side effects were brief and no more common than on placebo. Seven people with cancer had no side effects.^{4, 5}
• Hormone changes. It sharply raises growth hormone and slightly changes blood sugar and insulin.⁴
• No long-term data. The longest trials we found lasted 12 weeks.⁸
• Research vials. Online products aren't checked for purity, dose or whether the octanoyl group is intact, which the hormone needs to work.^{2, 15}
• Who should avoid it. Anyone outside a supervised study. There are no safety data for pregnancy, breastfeeding, children, diabetes or cancer outside trials.

Compared with

Sources: Ono,¹⁸ Macrilen label,¹⁹ WADA 2026 list.¹⁴ See our guides to anamorelin, macimorelin, MK-677 and ipamorelin.

Stacks

We found no study combining ghrelin with other growth hormone peptides or ghrelin-receptor drugs such as ipamorelin or MK-677. They act on the same receptor, so a stack adds risk without known benefit.

Myths vs evidence

All options

MoveWell sells nothing and has no commercial link on this page. Checked November 1, 2026

Research use only vials

We don't list sellers. "Research use only" ghrelin is sold outside FDA's drug rules, with no check on purity, dose or acylation. In August 2026 FDA warned five peptide sellers that the label doesn't excuse products clearly meant for people.¹⁵

Legal status history

Newest first.

1. Current statusNov 1, 2026Not approved anywhere. Can't be compounded in the US. Not covered by the HHS peptide policy. Banned in sport.^{11, 12, 13, 14}
2. Next · no dateNo late-stage trial found. The concussion study's authors call for a larger randomized, placebo-controlled trial.¹⁰
3. Oct 28, 2026HHS enforcement discretion policy covers six peptides. Ghrelin is not one of them.¹³
4. May 14, 2026FDA's list of substances nominated for 503A compounding still doesn't include ghrelin or lenomorelin.¹¹
5. 2025Open, non-randomized concussion study of OXE103 (synthetic ghrelin) published, after a Nov 2023 press release.¹⁰
6. 2012Randomized trial of ghrelin during chemotherapy published.⁷
7. Mar 2011SUN11031 phase 2 results in COPD wasting presented: weight up, function not.⁸
8. Dec 9, 1999Ghrelin discovered and published in Nature.²

FAQ

Related guides

References