KPV

Repair & healing

Also known as Lys-Pro-Val, alpha-MSH 11-13

The three-amino-acid tail of alpha-MSH. Anti-inflammatory, and it works in the gut.

Read this first

Oral is the mechanistically correct route, because PepT1 is a gut transporter. Injecting KPV bypasses the gut lumen entirely. Topical creams are contradicted by the only permeation study, which found passive skin flux below the limit of detection.

How it works

Taken up through PepT1, a di- and tripeptide transporter that is normally scarce in the colon but is upregulated in inflamed epithelium, so it concentrates in diseased tissue. Once inside it inhibits NF-kB and MAP kinase signalling. The action is transporter-mediated, not melanocortin-receptor mediated.

OralSubcutaneousTopical

In the body

No plasma curve is shown for this compound.

Unknown. No pharmacokinetic study exists in any species.

Doses

250 mcg, 500 mcgonce or twice dailyCommunity practice

No human study of KPV exists by any route. The only published efficacy dose is 205 mcg per day given orally to mice.

Vial sizes

5 mg10 mg

Commonly treated as good for 28 days refrigerated once reconstituted.

Side effects

No human safety data exists, because no human study exists.

Cautions

Active infection or concurrent immunosuppressants, inhibiting NF-kB implies immunosuppression, though this has not been documented in people.

Status

Not approved. An FDA advisory committee voted 8 to 6 in favour of the 503A compounding list in July 2026 for wound healing and inflammatory conditions. Not listed by WADA.

Sources

Reference information for personal record-keeping. Not medical advice, and not a recommendation to use any of these compounds.