CJC-1295.
It is a synthetic copy of the hormone that tells the pituitary to release growth hormone, so it raises your own output rather than replacing the hormone from outside.
Reviewed March 2026
- Category
- Peptide
What CJC-1295 is, and what it does.
- Does it work
- This is an injectable research peptide, handled under clinical supervision rather than taken as a daily supplement. It suits research and supervised clinical settings.
- How much to take
- The recorded maintenance band is 100 to 300mcg a day, and 600mcg is a research condition. It is injected rather than swallowed, and it belongs under clinical supervision.
- Time to feel it
- Growth hormone rises within hours of a dose, and the albumin-bound version holds it up for days. That shows on a blood panel; tissue change runs through IGF-1 over months.
- The first dose
- Growth hormone output rises within hours of a dose. Some people report flushing or tingling near the injection site, and the signal itself reads on a blood panel.
- With regular use
- Weeks of use hold growth hormone and IGF-1 above baseline. What that does to muscle, fat and connective tissue over months has not been measured in long human trials.
- How well tolerated
- This manipulates a hormone axis and needs clinical supervision. Fluid retention, joint aches and raised fasting glucose are reported, and material sold outside pharmacy channels varies.
- How it feels
- Reported effects track the growth hormone axis: fluid retention, tingling hands, heavier sleep. Most of what changes shows on a blood panel rather than as a sensation.
- The overlooked benefit
- Because it acts on the pituitary rather than replacing the hormone, your own feedback controls still apply, so what comes out is a pulse rather than a flat level.
100 to 300mcg a day is where CJC-1295 works.
Source: J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2006;91(3):799-805. CJC-1295 GH secretagogue.
The proof, claim by claim.
These words describe the research, not the molecule's worth. Research strength is how much work stands behind one claim, and it is never a product score.
CJC-1295 has emerging evidence. Based on 54+ studies.
- Circulating growth hormone and IGF-1 levels, which are markers rather than outcomesRandomised trial
- Pituitary growth hormone release through the GHRH receptorIn vitro study
- Body composition change in humansNarrative review
- Sleep architectureNarrative review
Questions people ask about CJC-1295.
- When should I take it?
- Timing matters less than consistency. Pick a time that works for you and take it daily.
- Can I take it with other supplements?
- Usually fine. The main thing to watch is not doubling up on the same ingredient from different products. If you're on prescription meds, check with your pharmacist first.
- Any side effects to watch for?
- Most people tolerate it well at recommended doses. GI upset is the most common complaint with any supplement. Start with a lower dose and work up. If something feels off, stop and reassess.
- Who benefits most from this?
- Honestly, most people would benefit more from the basics. But if you've got a specific reason to try it, the risk is generally low.
Why these belong in the same formula. Each row says what the basis is, from settled biochemistry through to a trial that measured the pair.
CJC-1295 acts at the growth hormone releasing hormone receptor while ipamorelin acts at the separate ghrelin receptor, which also lowers somatostatin tone. Pushing both receptors at once produces a larger pulse than either alone.
Hexarelin is a growth hormone secretagogue at the ghrelin receptor, a different site from the GHRH receptor CJC-1295 occupies. The two arms of the axis combine, though hexarelin also raises cortisol and prolactin more than the selective secretagogues.
Tesamorelin is also a GHRH analogue acting at the same receptor as CJC-1295. Combining them competes for one site rather than recruiting the second, ghrelin-receptor arm of the axis.
Arginine reduces somatostatin tone at the pituitary, the brake that limits how much a GHRH signal can release. This is why arginine is used alongside GHRH in classic pituitary stimulation testing.
A carbohydrate load raises circulating glucose and insulin, which increases somatostatin release and suppresses the pituitary response to a GHRH signal. Dosing near a sugar load reduces the pulse the peptide is meant to produce.
Glycine is one of the classic amino acid growth hormone secretagogues, working through a route separate from growth hormone releasing hormone receptor agonism. Stacking two different entry points onto the same pituitary cell tends to produce a larger measured hormone pulse than either alone. Growth hormone concentration is a marker, and a larger pulse is not by itself a clinical outcome.
Ornithine is arginine's downstream partner in the urea cycle and shows a similar, modest effect on measured growth hormone after oral loading. Because it enters through the same transporter family as arginine, high combined doses compete for uptake rather than adding cleanly. The endpoint in this literature is a hormone concentration, not a physical result.
Glutamine is another oral amino acid associated with a short-lived growth hormone rise, and it is commonly stacked into peptide protocols for that reason. The effect size in the published work is small relative to a pharmacological secretagogue. Nothing in this literature establishes an additive effect with a growth hormone releasing hormone analogue specifically.
Growth hormone secretion is tightly coupled to slow-wave sleep, so anything that changes sleep architecture changes the endogenous pulse pattern a secretagogue is added on top of. This is why such protocols are conventionally timed to the night. The coupling is established; the interaction with a specific analogue has not been measured.
The growth hormone releasing hormone receptor signals through cyclic AMP, which is magnesium-dependent chemistry, and the nocturnal pulse depends on deep sleep that magnesium status is associated with. Both links are indirect. The sleep relationship is association rather than demonstrated cause.
Growth hormone acts largely by driving hepatic insulin-like growth factor 1 production, and that output tracks zinc and protein status. Raising the hormone signal does little if the downstream synthetic capacity is limited. The zinc relationship comes from nutritional and observational work, so it is an association plus a cofactor mechanism, not a trial of the combination.
Oral GABA has been reported to raise immunoreactive growth hormone briefly in small trials, probably through a peripheral rather than a central route given its poor blood-brain penetration. The measurement is a hormone concentration in a handful of participants. Stacking it with a receptor analogue is common practice rather than a studied combination.
The lysine and arginine pairing appears in early growth hormone secretagogue studies with small samples and inconsistent replication. Lysine also competes with arginine for the same cationic amino acid transporter, so the two do not simply add. This sits at the weak end of the evidence and belongs on the page rather than on a product claim.
Alpha-GPC supplies choline for acetylcholine synthesis, and cholinergic tone is one of the inputs that gates growth hormone release. Small trials report a transient rise in growth hormone after dosing. No study has combined it with a GHRH receptor agonist, and the endpoint remains a marker.
Vitamin D status and circulating IGF-1 track together in observational cohorts, which is an association and not a demonstrated causal link. Any relevance here is that the readout used to follow a GHRH analogue is itself nutrition sensitive. Nothing tested the pair.
Growth hormone and IGF-1 signalling can only build tissue when dietary amino acids are available, and net protein accretion requires intake above turnover. A rapidly absorbed protein supplies that substrate around training. The enabling relationship is standard protein biochemistry rather than a study of the two together.
Nothing specific on file for CJC-1295. Match the label to the daily amount above, and tell your doctor what you take.
Not medical advice. Show the label to your pharmacist.What CJC-1295 actually does.
CJC-1295 is a synthetic analogue of the first 29 amino acids of human growth hormone releasing hormone, modified at four positions to resist degradation by dipeptidyl peptidase 4 and other plasma peptidases.
It acts as an agonist at the growth hormone releasing hormone receptor on pituitary somatotroph cells, a G-protein coupled receptor whose activation raises intracellular cyclic AMP and triggers release of stored growth hormone.
The drug affinity complex version carries a maleimidoproprionic acid group that forms a covalent bond with cysteine 34 of circulating serum albumin, which extends its plasma residence from minutes to days; the version without that group has a short half-life and produces a brief pulse instead.
Because it works through the pituitary rather than replacing growth hormone, its effect remains subject to hypothalamic somatostatin restraint and to negative feedback from insulin-like growth factor 1, so the output is a modulated endogenous pulse rather than a fixed exogenous dose.
The forms it comes in.
The essence, in one line each.
- A netnographic analysis of public online forum accounts describing female use of the synthetic growth hormone releasing peptide, documenting self-reported dosing patterns, sourcing and perceived effects; the authors describe user narratives and do not measure any physiological outcome.Case series. Van Hout MC et al., 2016 (Substance Use and Misuse). PMID 26771670 ↗
These are the studies our verdict leans on, chosen from the 1 we read for CJC-1295. The full linked list is below.
FDA Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Consult your healthcare provider before starting any supplement regimen.