Editorial guides
Cornerstone reading on how peptide research works — from evidence tiers and clinical-trial vocabulary to the mechanisms behind specific drug classes.
Guide
Understanding evidence levels
Every compound page on Healthy Mango shows a four-bar evidence meter. This guide explains what each level means, what it doesn't mean, and how to read a study yourself without needing a research background.
7 minute read
Guide
Understanding GLP-1 research
Everything you need to read the GLP-1 literature confidently — what a GLP-1 receptor agonist is, what the phase-3 trials have measured, why dual and triple agonists exist, and where the safety data is mature versus preliminary.
9 minute read
Guide · Peptide biology
Understanding GIP biology
GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide) is the incretin hormone that used to be considered the less important partner to GLP-1. Tirzepatide changed that. This guide covers what GIP does, why the addition to GLP-1 activity is synergistic, and what the human trials have shown.
8 minute read
Guide · Peptide biology
Understanding glucagon biology
Glucagon is best known as the hormone that opposes insulin. Retatrutide's addition of glucagon receptor agonism to a GLP-1/GIP backbone rewrites what glucagon can do pharmacologically — and helps explain why the triple agonist produces such large weight loss.
7 minute read
Guide · Peptide biology
Growth hormone secretagogues explained
Growth hormone secretagogues stimulate the pituitary to release the growth hormone that is already stored there — a fundamentally different approach from injecting exogenous growth hormone. This guide walks through the two receptor systems involved, why combining them produces synergistic pulses, and how each compound in this family fits the picture.
10 minute read
Guide · Peptide biology
Melanocortin biology
Four melanocortin receptor subtypes (MC1R–MC5R) sit at the intersection of pigmentation, sexual response, appetite regulation, and inflammation. Understanding which peptide targets which receptor is the foundation for reading everything from Melanotan to Vyleesi.
9 minute read
Guide · Peptide biology
Tissue repair peptides
Tissue repair is a cascade of coordinated processes — gene-level ECM signalling, vascular supply, cellular migration, and inflammatory control. This guide explains which peptides address which layer of that cascade and why researchers combine them.
10 minute read
Guide · Peptide biology
Mitochondrial peptides
MOTS-c and SS-31 approach mitochondrial biology from opposite ends — one is encoded by the mitochondrial genome itself, the other is a synthetic peptide that binds cardiolipin on the inner membrane. This guide connects the biology of the two most consequential mitochondria-related peptides.
9 minute read
Guide · Peptide biology
Anti-inflammatory peptides
Chronic inflammation antagonises tissue repair, insulin sensitivity, and immune function. This guide covers the peptides that engage inflammatory signalling — most notably NF-κB suppression — and why anti-inflammatory activity often complements the other peptide families.
8 minute read
Guide · Peptide biology
Copper peptides
Copper peptides are peptides that bind copper ions and deliver them to specific cellular processes. GHK-Cu is the archetype — a naturally-occurring tripeptide whose copper-transport function underlies decades of dermatology research.
7 minute read
Guide · Scientific interpretation
Understanding peptide half-life
Half-life determines dose frequency, effect duration, and pulsatile vs continuous pharmacology. This guide covers what half-life actually measures, why native peptides get engineered for longer half-lives, and how to read pharmacokinetic differences within a peptide family.
8 minute read
Guide · Scientific interpretation
Bioavailability explained
Bioavailability is the fraction of a drug that reaches systemic circulation intact — a number that determines why almost all peptides in this catalog are injected rather than swallowed. This guide covers the barriers and the exceptions.
7 minute read
Guide · Scientific interpretation
Animal research vs human research
A robust preclinical evidence base does not automatically translate to a human clinical effect. This guide covers when animal work does predict human outcomes, when it doesn't, and how to read a peptide catalog where preclinical strength and clinical thinness sit side by side.
8 minute read
Guide · Scientific interpretation
How to read a clinical trial
Every compound page on this site references the phase-3 randomised trials that established the compound's clinical effect. This guide covers what the terms in those trial names actually mean — sample size, primary endpoint, blinding, and how effect size interacts with statistical significance.
9 minute read
Guide · Scientific interpretation
Why some peptides become medicines
Semaglutide crossed the regulatory finish line. BPC-157 has not, and probably never will in the same form. This guide covers the structural factors that determine which peptides reach approval and which remain in the research-supply grey zone.
8 minute read
Guide · Laboratory fundamentals
Laboratory reconstitution principles
Reconstituting a lyophilized peptide is a laboratory technique with specific concepts — vial mass vs concentration, diluent choice, aseptic handling. This guide covers the general principles that apply across every compound page's reconstitution section.
9 minute read
Guide · Laboratory fundamentals
Lyophilized vs liquid preparations
Peptides are supplied as either lyophilized (freeze-dried) powder for reconstitution or as pre-formulated liquid solutions. This guide explains why the format matters — stability, dose flexibility, sterility, and shelf life all track back to this decision.
7 minute read
Guide · Laboratory fundamentals
Sterility and laboratory handling
Every peptide reconstitution instruction assumes aseptic technique. This guide explains what aseptic technique actually means — why the seal, the swab, the needle, and the workspace all matter — so the practice can be executed with the concepts it depends on.
8 minute read
Guide · Laboratory fundamentals
Understanding peptide stability
Peptides degrade through hydrolysis, oxidation, aggregation, and interface-driven denaturation. This guide covers what each degradation mode looks like, what accelerates it, and why the storage instructions on every compound page track back to specific chemistry.
8 minute read
Guide · Laboratory fundamentals
Storage and cold chain best practices
Cold chain — the unbroken sequence of temperature-controlled storage from manufacture to use — determines whether a peptide arrives with the potency printed on the label. This guide covers what practical cold chain looks like for research-supply peptides.
6 minute read
Guide · Laboratory fundamentals
Buffer selection and practical considerations
Some peptides are not stable, soluble, or physiologically tolerable in plain water. This guide covers when buffer choice matters — pH, tonicity, injection-site tolerability — and reads the specific buffered peptide cases (NAD+, some GH secretagogues, glutathione).
6 minute read