All living things, from a simple virus to a human, have complex protein structures that are made up of the same 20 amino acids. During the study of proteins, biologists found a substance which consists of amino acids but are different to proteins. A substance with a protein property are known as peptides. In comparison to proteins, peptides are a class of compounds that are simple and have low molecular weight. A peptide is linked by an amino acid via peptides bonds. Peptides have seen many benefits during research trials. Peptides provide nutrition to the body and can help regulate the body’s physiological function. Read on to learn more about research peptide’s history.
What are Peptides?
Contents
Peptides are short amino acids strings that typically consist of 2-50 amino acids. Amino acids are the protein building blocks, but proteins do contain more. Peptides are smaller and break down more compared to proteins. Peptides are in every cell and tissue in the body. The effectiveness and safety evidence of peptides is limited and not entirely clear. Combined with good nutrition, they are shown to be effective from some studies. They are also used in many modern cosmetics which is a fast-growing industry. The simplest peptides are dipeptides, tripeptides, tetrapeptides, pentapeptides, and so on. As a result of being effective and selective in therapeutic applications, there has been a big uptake in the interests of peptides for pharmaceutical research and development. Peptides should be stored and handled correctly as they are a very delicate product.
The History of Peptides
- Emil Fisher is considered to be the originator of the term peptide and the founder of peptide chemistry. At the beginning of the 20th century, Emil had the vision to foresee the day when a protein would be synthesized. The process was very slow, however, in 1901, he shared a report of his preparation for the 1st dipeptide, Glycylglycine.
- In 1902, Bayliss and Starling discovered secretin. Secretin is a peptide hormone which composes of 27 amino acids. The study showed that when acid arrived from the stomach it delivered a chemical messenger from the jejunal mucosa. This chemical messenger travelled through the blood stimulating the pancreas to slowly release pancreatic juice. Peptides were then discovered.
- In 1906, successfully succeeded in synthesizing octadecapeptide.
- In 1931, John H and Ulf von Euler discovered Substance P. Substance P is seen as a tissue extract that would cause an intestinal to contract in-vitro study. Scientists watched very closely for the effects that peptides had on the nervous system. These peptides were then called neuropeptides.
- In 1953, Vincent du Vigneaud studied Oxytocin. Vincent isolated the substance successfully which then determined its synthesized composition. Oxytocin was the 1st peptide hormone to have its amino acids sequence solved.
The demand for peptides has increased in popularity especially for research purposes. There are many promising benefits for health and wellness.
Medicines Vs Research Peptides
Research peptides are only made available for experimentation and in-vitro study. In-vitro comes from the Latin word in glass. It refers to a study performed outside of the body. During clinical trials, Hundreds of peptide therapeutics have been evaluated. Researchers and scientists around the world are using research peptides in the laboratory to explore the traditional peptides and push the boundary to discover a new peptide variant that can be used as future pharmaceuticals.
There are over 60 peptide-based medicines on the market that have been given FDA approval. It is important to recognise that these drugs are approved by FDA, so these medications can be prescribed by healthcare professionals for specific conditions and ailments. Research peptides are for research purposes and in-vitro study only. They are not approved by FDA for the prevention, to cure, or treat any ailment or health condition. Research peptides are synthesized and manufactured in a lab where these studies can lead to new and future breakthroughs.
Modern Research Peptides
CJC1295 with DAC
CJC 1295 is a tetrasubstituted peptide hormone that contains 30 amino acids. Trusted online sources such as peptidesuk.com/CJC1295-with-DAC sell this product for researchers. During the mid-2000s, the first clinical research was conducted on CJC 1295 peptide product. CJC is an improved version of GRF. According to clinical studies, CJC 1295 has shown many promising benefits. Research studies have shown that CJC peptide will stimulate IGF-1 and GH secretion and will increase IGF-1 and HGH steadily with no increase in prolactin. This peptide has customised further by replacing 4 amino acids to boost its stability and is also stronger compared to the previous CJC without DAC. The research has suggested using extra amino acids will boost the binding affinity to the GHRH receptor to raise effectiveness. With all the research and clinical trials in relation to its benefits and functions, this product is still intended for scientific studies only.
BPC-157
BPC is a synthetic peptide and refers to as Body Protective Compound. BPC-157 is a term that refers to as a pentadecapeptide which is a protein with 15 amino acids. According to a patent for BPC-157, a study claims that BPC refers to a gastroprotective protein used to isolate BPC-157. During experiments, it has been shown to accelerate the healing of wounds. This study and trial were completed on rats. The molecular formula for BPC-157 peptide is as follows 22 Oxygen, 98 Hydrogen, 62 Carbon, and 16 Nitrogen atoms. The peptide is a partial sequence of body protective compounds that is derived from human gastric juice. The pentadecapeptide sequence is Gly-Glu-Pro-Pro-Pro-Gly-Lys-Pro-Ala-Asp-Asp-Ala-Gly-Leu-Val and is stated to be quite stable relative to other peptides on the market.
Research Peptides as Future Therapeutics
Over 7,000 naturally occurring peptides have been discovered. These peptides can often play many different roles in the human body. Peptides are selective and effective molecules that signal and bind to specific cell surface receptors which trigger intracellular effects. In clinical studies and experiments, they have seen how peptides show a unique tolerability and safety in study subjects, while continuing to maintain high potency and selectivity as well as predictable metabolism. Peptides are showing greater opportunity for future therapeutic developments.