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Peptide Evidence Registry

Reproductive & sexual health

Oxytocin

The natural nonapeptide hormone of labour and lactation, long approved as an IV/IM obstetric medicine.

L5Repeated human trialsApproved medicine (jurisdiction-specific) · FDA (US)Approved
How settled this rating is:
high confidence in the current evidence rating
Routes studied:
Intravenous, Intramuscular · Nasal (marketed but never approved)
Also known as:
Pitocin, Syntocinon
Last reviewed:
2026-08-23
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Evidence passport

Oxytocin

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 2026-08-23
Evidence level
L5Repeated human trials
Confidence
High confidence in rating
Regulatory status
Approved medicine (jurisdiction-specific) · See jurisdiction details
Development status
Approved

Evidence strength

Human efficacy evidence85 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 evidence80 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
Includes human studies
Furthest established stage
Approved
Human research maturity
Established obstetric medicine
Source curation
Sources fully curated

Routes recorded

IVIMNasal· unapproved

Overview

Human efficacy evidence strength85 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 strength80 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 strength80 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: Established obstetric medicine

Routes & formulations

Studied / approved routes

IVIM

Marketed / research routes — never approved

Nasal· unapproved

Approved obstetric use is IV infusion or IM injection in clinical settings. Intranasal oxytocin appears in research studies and research-market products; that work is not the approved medicine and does not support social, mood or bonding claims.

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

  1. Discovery

  2. Preclinical

  3. Phase I

  4. Phase II

  5. Phase III

  6. Approved

Approved

What it is

A nine-amino-acid hormone produced in the hypothalamus that triggers uterine contractions and milk ejection; synthetic oxytocin is one of the oldest peptide medicines still in routine use.

What people claim

  • Induces or augments labour in defined obstetric situations
  • Helps control postpartum bleeding
  • Marketed online for mood, bonding and social effects via nasal sprays

What the evidence actually says

The approved obstetric evidence base is deep and old. Intranasal oxytocin research in psychology is real but inconsistent, and evidence does not transfer from supervised IV obstetric use to wellness nasal sprays.

Related evidence

Useful next reads based on this compound — not recommendations.

Human evidence

  • Decades of obstetric trials and clinical use for labelled indications.
  • Intranasal behavioural studies exist but are small and inconsistent.

Preclinical evidence

  • Extensive neuroendocrine pharmacology of the oxytocin system.

Animal and cell findings are Level 1–2 evidence.

Mechanism and pathways

  • Oxytocin-receptor activation in uterine smooth muscle drives contractions; in breast myoepithelial cells it drives milk ejection.

Safety and unknowns

  • Labelled obstetric risks include uterine hyperstimulation and water intoxication with high-volume infusion; use is monitored.
  • Unregulated nasal products carry unknown purity and no approved indication.

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 concern identified

No established human cancer signal within approved use.

Regulatory status

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

Named regulators: FDA (US)

Approved (e.g. Pitocin) for specific obstetric indications including induction or augmentation of labour and control of postpartum bleeding, given by IV infusion or IM injection under medical supervision.

Evidence grade

L5Repeated human trialsHigh confidence in rating

Substantial, consistent controlled human evidence supporting a specified outcome, preferably independently replicated. Approval is reported separately.

What would change our rating?

  • Consistent, replicated human evidence for any non-obstetric claim would be rated on its own merits.

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
2026-08-23
Recently reviewed · 54 days ago
Linked curated sources
1
Sources still pending
0
External specialist reviews
0
None recorded for this profile
Regulatory / label: 1

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.

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 2026-08-23.

Related claims we’ve checked — in full

Claim verdict

Routes & formulations

MisleadingL3Early human studies

“Oxytocin nasal sprays sold online carry the same evidence as medical Pitocin.”

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

Misleading — the approved evidence belongs to IV/IM obstetric use only.

Why this verdict

  • Approved oxytocin (Pitocin) evidence covers supervised IV infusion and IM injection for specific obstetric indications such as labour induction and postpartum bleeding control.
  • Intranasal oxytocin behavioural research is small and inconsistent, and research-market nasal sprays are unapproved products of unknown purity.
  • Evidence is route- and indication-specific: IV obstetric data does not validate wellness nasal-spray claims.