Immune & inflammation · Tissue repair

KPV

A three-amino-acid fragment of alpha-MSH marketed for gut healing and inflammation, with no human clinical studies identified by the FDA.

L1Theory onlyResearch / unapproved supplyPreclinicalVery low confidence in ratingLast reviewed 2026-09-18

How settled this rating is:: very-low confidence in the current evidence rating
Routes studied:: Not established
Also known as:: Lys-Pro-Val, alpha-MSH(11-13) fragment
Last reviewed:: 2026-09-18

Also known as: Lys-Pro-Val, alpha-MSH(11-13) fragment

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Evidence passport

KPV

A one-screen evidence identity for this compound. These fields describe research maturity, confidence and legal status. They are not a safety guarantee, efficacy percentage or recommendation.

Reviewed 2026-09-18

Evidence level: L1Theory only
Confidence: Very low confidence in rating
Regulatory status: Research / unapproved supply
Development status: Preclinical

Evidence strength

Human efficacy evidence5 of 100 evidence strength

Higher = more and better-quality human evidence. It does not mean the effect is bigger or that the compound works for you.

Human safety evidence5 of 100 evidence strength

Higher = more mature, better-documented human safety data. It does not mean the compound is safer than one with a lower number.

The 0-100 values rate the strength and maturity of evidence, not how effective or safe the compound is.

Evidence base: Mostly animal and laboratory research
Furthest established stage: Not established
Human research maturity: Preclinical only; no human studies identified
Source curation: Sources fully curated

Routes recorded

Most of this evidence comes from animals and cells

The supporting research for KPV is predominantly preclinical (Level 1–2). That is a legitimate starting point for science and a poor basis for personal decisions. Human results are not simply a scaled-up version of mouse results.

Overview

Human efficacy evidence strength5 of 100 evidence strength

Higher = more and better-quality human evidence. It does not mean the effect is bigger or that the compound works for you.

Preclinical (animal / lab) evidence strength35 of 100 evidence strength

Higher = more animal, tissue or cell research. Preclinical results are a starting point, not proof of a human benefit.

Human safety evidence strength5 of 100 evidence strength

Higher = more mature, better-documented human safety data. It does not mean the compound is safer than one with a lower number.

How to read these scores

Every number here rates the evidence, not the compound. They are editorial 0-100 strength ratings, not percentages, and not a rating out of five stars.

Human efficacy evidence strength — Higher = more and better-quality human evidence. It does not mean the effect is bigger or that the compound works for you.
Preclinical evidence strength — Higher = more animal, tissue or cell research. Preclinical results are a starting point, not proof of a human benefit.
Human safety evidence strength — Higher = more mature, better-documented human safety data. It does not mean the compound is safer than one with a lower number. A score of 80 does not mean “80% safe”.
Evidence level (L0-L5) — the strongest type of study behind the compound, from anecdote (L0) to large replicated human trials (L5). It is a description of the study evidence, not a quality, safety or recommendation rating.
Confidence — how likely we think it is that this rating changes as new research lands. Low confidence means the picture is unsettled, not that the compound is bad.

None of these ratings is medical advice, a safety guarantee, or a recommendation to use anything. How we grade evidence.

How far human research has progressed: Preclinical only; no human studies identified

Routes & formulations

The curated record does not establish any studied route of administration. The FDA identified no human exposure data via any route, so no route — marketed or otherwise — is described here as evidence.

Route availability is not evidence of efficacy, and evidence from one route does not transfer to another. The Registry never provides dosing or sourcing information.

Peptide lifecycle

Discovery
Preclinical
Phase I
Phase II
Phase III
Approved

PreclinicalFurthest stage not established in our curated record

No human clinical studies identified in the FDA's 2026 compounding review.

What it is

The terminal three amino acids of alpha-MSH, an endogenous melanocortin peptide. Sold in the research market for gut and inflammatory claims.

What people claim

Heals the gut lining in IBD and leaky gut
Reduces systemic inflammation

What the evidence actually says

This is as thin as it gets: cell and animal findings without a single human clinical study identified by the FDA. Marketing that presents KPV as a gut-healing therapy is running years ahead of the evidence.

Useful next reads based on this compound — not recommendations.

Human evidence

None identified by the FDA's 2026 review — no clinical studies or human exposure data via any route.

Preclinical evidence

Cell and animal studies reporting anti-inflammatory effects of the alpha-MSH fragment.

Animal and cell findings are Level 1–2 evidence.

Mechanism and pathways

Proposed anti-inflammatory signalling related to the parent alpha-MSH melanocortin pathway.

Safety and unknowns

Human safety risks are unknown — that is the FDA's own characterisation, and it is the correct one.
Unapproved supply chains carry documented purity and mislabelling risks.

Cancer relevance

This section covers questions raised by how the compound works in the body, plus anything regulators and trial teams keep an eye on. It is not a statement that this compound causes cancer — for most compounds here, no human data exist in either direction.

No established human signal

No data in humans either way; unstudied.

Regulatory status

Regulatory decisions apply to specific jurisdictions, products, formulations and indications. An approval elsewhere is not automatically an approval in your country.

Check the regulatory note and linked primary sources for jurisdiction-specific details.

No FDA-approved product exists. FDA's Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee considered KPV in July 2026 for possible inclusion on the 503A Bulks List. Its recommendations are non-binding: this compounding-policy process is not FDA drug approval or validation of efficacy claims. FDA briefing material states that no clinical studies or human exposure data for KPV via any route were identified and that human safety risks are unknown.

Evidence grade

L1Theory onlyVery low confidence in rating

Mechanistic rationale or early development without qualifying compound-specific outcome evidence. A registered trial is not a result.

What would change our rating?

Any published human clinical study with a defined population and endpoint.
A published human safety dataset.

References and sources

Source transparency

A provenance snapshot of this profile. Counts show what kinds of sources are cited, not how much scientific weight each source deserves.

Sources fully curated

Last editorial review: 2026-09-18; Recently reviewed · 28 days ago
Linked curated sources: 2
Sources still pending: 0
External specialist reviews: 0; None recorded for this profile

Regulatory / label: 2

Review provenance

Registry editorial review: Colin Jackson-White, creator and editor, who is not a doctor or clinician. External specialist review is credited only when a named reviewer has completed a review of this exact profile.

Literature-discovery and AI tools may help locate or challenge candidate evidence, but they are not counted as evidence sources here. Registry judgements are tied to the underlying papers, trial records, regulator documents and official study records.

Regulatory / labelFDA — Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee meeting, 23-24 July 2026
Regulatory / labelFDA — KPV briefing material (2026 compounding review)

Source hierarchy: regulatory documents and trial registries first, peer-reviewed work next, sponsor material flagged as non-independent. We never use supplier or clinic marketing as evidence, and where a verified source has not yet been curated we say so rather than inventing one.

Evidence change history

These entries record changes to our assessment of the published evidence — not changes to the compound itself.

No recorded changes yet. Baseline position set on 2026-09-18.

Related claims we’ve checked — in full

Claim verdict

Gut & immune

Not supported as wordedL1Theory only

“KPV has human clinical evidence for gut healing.”

This verdict applies to the exact claim above. It is not a verdict on the compound overall, a safety guarantee, or a recommendation to use it.

Registry verdict

Unsupported — the FDA identified no human studies at all.

Why this verdict

FDA material for the 2026 compounding review states that no clinical studies or human exposure data for KPV were identified via any route.
The gut-healing story rests on cell and animal work — Level 1-2 evidence.
Human safety risks are unknown, which is a warning, not a technicality.

Claim evidence map

Sources are mapped to this exact claim. Appearance here does not mean every source supports it.

1 mapped source

Supports verdictregulatory label
FDA — KPV briefing material (2026 compounding review)
FDA's review identified no clinical studies or human exposure data for KPV via any route, directly supporting the verdict that human gut-healing efficacy is unestablished.

KPV