⚖️ Category
Weight Loss & Metabolic Peptides
Peptides researched for appetite regulation, fat metabolism, and blood-glucose control. This category includes some of the only peptides with large, completed human clinical trials and FDA approval.
Peptides researched for appetite regulation, fat metabolism, and blood-glucose control. This category includes some of the only peptides with large, completed human clinical trials and FDA approval.
Weight-loss and metabolic peptides are the most clinically validated group in this encyclopedia. The headline compounds are incretin mimetics — peptides that copy gut hormones (GLP-1, GIP, glucagon, and amylin) the body releases after eating. By acting on appetite centres in the brain, slowing stomach emptying, and improving glucose-dependent insulin release, they reduce hunger and food intake.
This category spans the full arc of the field: from first-generation agents like exenatide and daily liraglutide, through today's once-weekly semaglutide and dual-agonist tirzepatide, to investigational triple agonists like retatrutide. Several are FDA-approved prescription medicines with large randomized trials behind them. Others sold for "fat loss" — such as AOD-9604 and MOTS-c — are unapproved and not supported by convincing human evidence. We flag which is which on every page.
A GLP-1 receptor agonist and one of the most clinically validated peptides in this encyclopedia — FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes and chronic weight management.
Read the guide →A first-in-class dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist that produced some of the largest weight-loss results recorded in obesity trials.
Read the guide →A growth-hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) analog and FDA-approved drug (Egrifta) for reducing excess abdominal fat in people with HIV-associated lipodystrophy.
Read the guide →A modified fragment of human growth hormone (residues 176–191) developed as an anti-obesity drug — but human trials did not show meaningful weight loss.
Read the guide →A mitochondrial-derived peptide studied as a metabolic regulator and “exercise mimetic,” with effects on insulin sensitivity in animal models.
Read the guide →An investigational “triple agonist” (GIP, GLP-1, and glucagon receptors) that produced some of the largest weight reductions yet seen in early obesity trials.
Read the guide →A once-daily GLP-1 receptor agonist, FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes (Victoza) and weight management (Saxenda) — an important predecessor to semaglutide.
Read the guide →A long-acting amylin analog studied for weight management, notably in combination with semaglutide (“CagriSema”) — an investigational, non-incretin approach to appetite control.
Read the guide →An investigational dual glucagon and GLP-1 receptor agonist studied for obesity and for metabolic liver disease (MASH/NASH).
Read the guide →An investigational GLP-1 and glucagon receptor dual agonist (an oxyntomodulin analog) studied for obesity and diabetes, with late-stage trials concentrated in China.
Read the guide →An experimental “fat-targeted proapoptotic peptide” designed to kill the blood supply of white fat tissue — dramatic in animal studies but flagged for kidney toxicity.
Read the guide →An MC4-receptor agonist and FDA-approved drug (Imcivree) for chronic weight management in specific rare genetic obesity disorders.
Read the guide →A GLP-1 receptor agonist derived from exendin-4 (originally from Gila monster venom) — one of the first incretin drugs, FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes.
Read the guide →A once-weekly GLP-1 receptor agonist, FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes and shown to reduce cardiovascular events.
Read the guide →A synthetic analog of the hormone amylin, FDA-approved (as Symlin) as a mealtime add-on to insulin for diabetes, with modest appetite and weight effects.
Read the guide →A once-daily, exendin-based GLP-1 receptor agonist, FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes, with a strong focus on lowering post-meal glucose.
Read the guide →A long-acting, exendin-based GLP-1 receptor agonist that reduced cardiovascular and kidney events in a major trial; approved in some countries but not by the FDA.
Read the guide →The body's main counter-regulatory peptide hormone — it raises blood sugar, is FDA-approved as an emergency treatment for severe hypoglycemia, and its receptor is now a deliberate target of newer weight-loss drugs.
Read the guide →An investigational unimolecular GLP-1 and amylin receptor dual agonist studied for obesity, notable for early trials in both oral and injectable forms.
Read the guide →An investigational dual GLP-1 and glucagon receptor agonist studied for obesity and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).
Read the guide →An investigational long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist studied for obesity and type 2 diabetes, with development advancing notably in China.
Read the guide →The body's essential blood-sugar-lowering peptide hormone and the original life-saving peptide medicine — produced today as recombinant human insulin and many engineered analogs for diabetes.
Read the guide →In trials, the dual and triple agonists (tirzepatide and investigational retatrutide) have generally produced the largest average weight loss, followed by semaglutide, with older GLP-1 agonists like liraglutide producing less. Results are highly individual and depend on dose, diet, and activity.
The effective, evidence-backed ones (semaglutide, tirzepatide, liraglutide and similar) are prescription-only medicines used under medical supervision. 'Research chemical' or compounded versions sold outside the pharmacy supply chain are not quality-assured and carry real risks.
They mimic different gut/pancreatic hormones. GLP-1 mainly curbs appetite and improves insulin response; GIP is a second incretin combined with GLP-1 in tirzepatide; glucagon activity (in dual/triple agonists) can raise energy expenditure; and amylin analogs (like cagrilintide) promote fullness through a separate pathway.
The approved incretin drugs have well-characterized safety profiles dominated by gastrointestinal side effects, with specific warnings (e.g. thyroid C-cell tumors in rodents) — which is why they need medical oversight. Unapproved compounds lack this safety data entirely.