SKIN & AESTHETICS RESEARCH / REFS

References

Every source cited across the GLOW and Melanotan II pages and the comparison, gathered in one place.

References

The list below aggregates the cited literature for both peptides on this desk — GLOW's three constituents (GHK-Cu, BPC-157, TB-500) and Melanotan II. Each entry gives authors, title, journal and year, with a DOI and a PubMed link where available. A citation is listed once and referred to by its number throughout the site. Case reports and narrative reviews are cited as such, distinct from controlled trials.

  1. Mendias CL, Awan TM. Safety and Efficacy of Approved and Unapproved Peptide Therapies for Musculoskeletal Injuries and Athletic Performance. Sports Medicine. 2026.
  2. McGuire FP, Martinez R, Lenz A, Skinner L, Cushman DM. Regeneration or Risk? A Narrative Review of BPC-157 for Musculoskeletal Healing. Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine. 2025.
  3. Hsieh MJ, et al. Therapeutic potential of pro-angiogenic BPC157 is associated with VEGFR2 activation and up-regulation. Journal of Molecular Medicine (Berlin). 2017;95:323-333.
  4. Pickart L, Vasquez-Soltero JM, Margolina A. GHK Peptide as a Natural Modulator of Multiple Cellular Pathways in Skin Regeneration. BioMed Research International. 2015;2015:648108.
  5. Pickart L. The human tri-peptide GHK and tissue remodeling. Journal of Biomaterials Science, Polymer Edition. 2008;19(8):969-988.
  6. Staresinic M, et al. Gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 accelerates healing of transected rat Achilles tendon and in vitro stimulates tendocytes growth. Journal of Orthopaedic Research. 2003;21:976-983.
  7. Malinda KM, et al. Thymosin beta4 accelerates wound healing. Journal of Investigative Dermatology. 1999;113(3):364-368.
  8. Bonchev A. Changes in Oral Mucosa Associated with Melanotan II Injections: A Case Report. Life (Basel). 2026;16(2):265.
  9. Eliason NL, Martin L, Low MJ, Sharpe AL. Melanocortin receptor agonist melanotan-II microinjected in the nucleus accumbens decreases appetitive and consumptive responding for food. Neuropeptides. 2022;96:102289.
  10. Peters B, Hadimeri H, Wahlberg R, Afghahi H. Melanotan II: a possible cause of renal infarction: review of the literature and case report. CEN Case Rep. 2020;9(2):159-161.
  11. Hadley ME, Dorr RT. Melanocortin peptide therapeutics: historical milestones, clinical studies and commercialization. Peptides. 2006;27(4):921-930.
  12. Wessells H, Fuciarelli K, Hansen J, Hadley ME, Hruby VJ, Dorr R, Levine N. Synthetic melanotropic peptide initiates erections in men with psychogenic erectile dysfunction: double-blind, placebo controlled crossover study. J Urol. 1998;160(2):389-393.