Goal page
Peptides studied for wounds, burns and ulcers
TB-500 has the strongest evidence here, and it is one 73 person trial of the whole thymosin beta-4 protein in leg ulcers where the benefit over placebo was modest. GHK-Cu has mouse burn work and reviews. Nothing here has been tested in people in the form that research chemical sellers actually ship.
Byline: PeptideGauge Editors. Sources checked 2026-08-24. Every study below links to its PubMed record. We do not publish amounts or schedules.
None of these is an approved medicine. Every peptide on this page is sold as a research chemical, none is approved by the FDA for any use, and for most of them the human safety record is a handful of people or nobody at all. This page tells you what has been studied. It does not tell you to use anything, how much, or how often. That belongs with a licensed doctor. Why we draw that line.
How we ranked these, before you see the ranking
The order below is arithmetic, not opinion. Each peptide gets four scores out of 100, and they are added up with fixed weights. Every score on this page is shown, so you can check the sum yourself or decide the weights are wrong.
- Evidence strength, 40 percent. The strongest single study we found for this goal. A randomised trial in people scores 100, a systematic review 75, a small human study 50, a review article 30, an animal study 25, cells in a dish 10.
- Human data, 25 percent. How many of the studies for this goal were done in people. None scores 0, one scores 40, two 60, three 80, four or more 100.
- Safety record, 20 percent. Some human safety reporting scores 70. Animal safety data only scores 35. No human safety data found scores 10. Nothing scores above 70, because nothing here has long term safety data in people.
- Regulatory clarity, 15 percent. An FDA approved drug scores 100. A substance on the FDA list of compounding nominations that were withdrawn scores 25. If the FDA also says it found no human exposure data, it scores 10.
Read the evidence score carefully. It measures how strong the study was, not how well the peptide worked. A well run trial that found nothing scores 100 here. The finding column tells you what it actually found, and on this site a well run trial that found nothing is the most useful kind of result there is.
Full rules and any changes to them: How we check.
The ranking
Sorted by total score. Every number that went into the total is in the row.
| Score | Peptide | Evidence 40% | Human data 25% | Safety 20% | Regulatory 15% | Strongest study we found |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 68#1 | TB-500 The one mid stage trial in people with leg ulcers is the strongest single study on this page. | 100evidence | 40human data | 70safety | 25regulatory | Human trial In people with leg ulcers, thymosin beta-4 was as safe as placebo and a minority of treated patients healed fully. (n = 73) |
| 30#2 | GHK-Cu Mouse burn work plus lab evidence on collagen. No wound trial in people. | 30evidence | 0human data | 70safety | 25regulatory | Review Summarizes lab evidence that GHK can raise collagen and other skin-structure molecules. |
What counts as this goal: Studies about closing skin wounds, burns, and ulcers that will not heal.
How to read the study tags
Cells in a dish means it never touched a living animal. Animals means mice or rats, usually. Small human study means a handful of people with no comparison group. Human trial means people were randomly split into treated and untreated groups, which is the only kind that can show an effect is real. Review and Systematic review sum up other studies. The full rule is on How we check.
TB-500
Sellers use this name for a lab made piece of thymosin beta-4, a natural protein that helps cells move and rebuild. Most studies used the whole protein, not the piece that is sold.
Score for this goal: 68 out of 100. The math: (100 x 40 + 40 x 25 + 70 x 20 + 25 x 15) divided by 100 = 68.
Safety, before the studies
Some human safety reporting exists. Safety was comparable to placebo in a 73 person trial, but that trial used the whole thymosin beta-4 protein, not the fragment sellers offer.
On the FDA list of substances nominated for compounding and then withdrawn. Nothing on this page is an approved drug. We do not publish amounts or schedules for any of it.
What has been studied for wound healing
| Who or what was studied | What was found, and the catch | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Human trial n = 73 people | In people with leg ulcers, thymosin beta-4 was as safe as placebo and a minority of treated patients healed fully. Limit: One mid-stage trial; benefit over placebo was modest. | Guarnera 2010 PMID 20536470 |
| Review | Says phase 2 wound trials found faster repair and good tolerability. Limit: Cites the authors' own work; trial reports not separately checked here. | Kleinman 2016 PMID 27450738 |
GHK-Cu
A three amino acid peptide that binds copper. It is in human blood and the amount falls with age.
Score for this goal: 30 out of 100. The math: (30 x 40 + 0 x 25 + 70 x 20 + 25 x 15) divided by 100 = 30.
Safety, before the studies
Some human safety reporting exists. No skin reactions were flagged in the one small human trial, which used a cream rather than an injection. We found no published human safety data for injected GHK-Cu.
On the FDA list of substances nominated for compounding and then withdrawn. Nothing on this page is an approved drug. We do not publish amounts or schedules for any of it.
What has been studied for wound healing
| Who or what was studied | What was found, and the catch | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Review | Summarizes lab evidence that GHK can raise collagen and other skin-structure molecules. Limit: Same author group; no controlled human trial evaluated. | Pickart 2015 PMID 26236730 |
| Animals | GHK-Cu packed into liposomes sped healing of scald burns in mice. Limit: Burn model, and a special delivery form rather than plain GHK-Cu. | Wang 2017 PMID 28370978 |
What is missing
- The 73 person leg ulcer trial used thymosin beta-4, the whole protein. TB-500 is a fragment of it. We found no human study of the fragment.
- GHK-Cu wound evidence is a mouse scald model and reviews written largely by the peptide's discoverer.
- No study here compared a peptide against standard wound care in a way that would change practice.
What this page does not cover, and why
We do not cover surgical wound products, prescription growth factors, or dressings. This page is only about peptides sold as research chemicals.
Sources
- Guarnera (2010). PMID 20536470
- Kleinman (2016). PMID 27450738
- Pickart (2015). PMID 26236730
- Wang (2017). PMID 28370978
FDA list of bulk drug substances nominated for compounding and withdrawn, last checked 2026-08-24: fda.gov. Every claim above is also on our evidence table.
Other goals
Injury recovery
Studies about healing damaged tendon, ligament, muscle, bone or joint tissue after an injury.
See the rankingSkin and aging
Studies about skin appearance, collagen, scalp and hair, in people or in human skin cells.
See the rankingGut inflammation
Studies about inflammation of the bowel, in animals or in cells.
See the rankingMixing a vial? Do the math with the calculator.
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