GHK-Cu Capsule
Also known as: Copper tripeptide oral, GHK oral
Evidence: Anecdotal
Overview
Oral capsule formulation of the copper tripeptide GHK-Cu; oral absorption and systemic efficacy are unestablished, with human evidence limited to topical GHK-Cu.
GHK-Cu Capsule is an oral formulation of the copper-binding tripeptide GHK. The published human evidence for GHK-Cu is topical and mixed; no study in any species has shown that oral GHK-Cu survives digestion intact or reaches skin, hair follicles or connective tissue at active concentrations. Reported benefits are extrapolated from topical, rodent and cell-culture work. Same molecule as the GHK-Cu entry (id 44), which covers the injectable and topical literature.
Benefits
Reported skin, hair and anti-aging support; oral efficacy unproven
Dosing reference
- Research dose
- 1 to 10 mg daily orally: vendor/community range, no published oral dose in any species
- Range
- 1000 to 10000 mcg, 1x daily
Oral capsule. No oral study of GHK-Cu exists in any species; topical is the researched route. GHK-Cu is about 16% copper by mass, so 1 to 10 mg carries about 0.16 to 1.6 mg copper, against a US adult upper intake level of 10 mg/day for copper from food and supplements.
Mechanism
Same molecule as injectable and topical GHK-Cu. GHK binds Cu2+ with high affinity, and GHK-Cu raised collagen synthesis in fibroblast culture at 10^-12 to 10^-9 M (Maquart et al., 1988). Whether any intact GHK-Cu is absorbed after oral dosing is unknown; no oral absorption study of GHK-Cu exists in any species.
Evidence
Anecdotal: no peer-reviewed data
- Collagen synthesis in fibroblast culture rose from 10^-12 M GHK-Cu and peaked at 10^-9 M (Maquart et al., 1988)
- Topical GHK-Cu gel improved closure of diabetic neuropathic plantar ulcers vs vehicle (median 98.5% vs 60.8%) in a multicenter RCT (Mulder et al., 1994)
- Topical 0.4% GHK-Cu cream was no better than placebo in venous stasis ulcers (n=86) (Bishop et al., 1992)
- Copper from topical GHK-Cu permeated human skin in vitro at 2.43 x 10^-4 cm/h (Hostynek et al., 2011)
- Human-trial status: no oral study of GHK-Cu in any species; all human data are topical, and a 2026 independent review rates the clinical evidence as sparse (Mateescu et al., 2026)
References
- Stimulation of collagen synthesis in fibroblast cultures by the tripeptide-copper complex glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine-Cu2+. Maquart FX, Pickart L, Laurent M, et al., FEBS Letters, 1988
- Enhanced healing of ulcers in patients with diabetes by topical treatment with glycyl-l-histidyl-l-lysine copper. Mulder GD, Patt LM, Sanders L, et al., Wound Repair and Regeneration, 1994
- A prospective randomized evaluator-blinded trial of two potential wound healing agents for the treatment of venous stasis ulcers. Bishop JB, Phillips LG, Mustoe TA, et al., Journal of Vascular Surgery, 1992
- Human skin penetration of a copper tripeptide in vitro as a function of skin layer. Hostynek JJ, Dreher F, Maibach HI, Inflammation Research, 2011
- GHK-Cu as a Bioactive Metallopeptide and Drug-Delivery Cargo: Coordination Chemistry, Formulation Science, Therapeutic Evidence, and a Translational Roadmap. Mateescu DM, Gavrilescu DM, Mincioaga RI, et al., Pharmaceutics, 2026
Side effects
No human safety data exist for oral GHK-Cu. At 1 to 10 mg the copper content (about 0.16 to 1.6 mg) is below the US adult upper intake level of 10 mg/day, which is set from liver damage seen with long-term excess intake; disorders of copper excretion such as Wilson's disease are a theoretical concern. Commonly reported (anecdotal): nausea, stomach upset.
Storage
- Storage
- Room temperature
- Lyophilized
- 12+ months
Pharmacology
- Half-life
- Not measured: no pharmacokinetic study of oral GHK-Cu in any species
- Bioavailability
- Oral: not measured; no oral absorption study of GHK-Cu in any species
- Molecular weight
- 402.92 Da
- Sequence
- GHK [Cu2+ complex]