← All compounds · evidence tier first, by design
| Use | E1 | E2 | E3 | E4 | E5 | E6 | E7 | E8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E6 Inflammatory bowel disease and gut inflammation | E6 | |||||||
| E6 Wound healing | E6 | |||||||
| E7 Inflammatory skin conditions (psoriasis, eczema) | E7 |
KPV
KPV
Tripeptide H-Lys-Pro-Val-OH, corresponding to the C-terminal residues 11-13 of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH). CAS number as given for KPV (free base) in FDA's July 2026 briefing document; KPV acetate is a distinct salt form. FDA notes that different salts and derivatives are sold under the same name.
Also: Lys-Pro-Val, Lysine-proline-valine, alpha-MSH(11-13) · CAS 67727-97-3
A three-amino-acid peptide (lysine-proline-valine) matching the tail end of the hormone alpha-MSH. It is sold on the gray market for gut inflammation, skin conditions and wound healing. It is not an approved medicine. FDA's 2026 briefing document states that FDA identified no clinical studies and no human exposure data for KPV by any route of administration.
- US C gray market
- EU ? not verified
- UK ? not verified
- CA ? not verified
- AU ? not verified
- JP ? not verified
- CN ? not verified
01Regulatory status, by jurisdiction
| Jurisdiction | Status | Detail and primary source |
|---|---|---|
| US | Not approved | No FDA-approved product. KPV was formerly in 503A Category 2 and now appears on FDA's list of substances nominated but withdrawn. FDA evaluated KPV (free base) and KPV acetate for wound healing and inflammatory conditions for the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee meeting of 23 July 2026, and its briefing document recommended against adding either form to the 503A bulks list. The committee's vote and any final FDA decision were not verified from an FDA source for this record.“After considering the information currently available, a balancing of the criteria weighs against KPV (free base) or KPV acetate being placed on that list”July 23-24, 2026, Meeting of the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee – FDA Briefing Document for KPV-Related Bulk Drug Substances (KPV (free base) and KPV acetate) · retrieved 2026-10-10 |
| US | Not approved | FDA's page on bulk drug substances that may present significant safety risks lists KPV under 'Bulk drug substances nominated but withdrawn' (substances previously in Category 2). Page content current as of 22 April 2026.“FDA has not identified any human exposure data on drug products containing KPV administered via any route of administration.”Certain Bulk Drug Substances for Use in Compounding that May Present Significant Safety Risks · retrieved 2026-10-10 |
| EU UK CA AU JP CN | Not yet verified from a primary source. No status is shown rather than an unsourced one. | |
Sport (WADA): Prohibited · class S0. KPV is not named on the 2026 Prohibited List. As a pharmacological substance with no current regulatory approval for human therapeutic use, it falls within the general definition of class S0: “Any pharmacological substance which is not addressed by any of the subsequent sections of the List and with no current approval by any governmental regulatory health authority for human therapeutic use” WADA source
02What the human evidence shows
Inflammatory bowel disease and gut inflammation
No human trial of any design has been published for this use.
In mice with chemically induced or immune-transfer colitis, KPV reduced inflammatory markers and tissue damage. Several later studies tested KPV in nanoparticle or hydrogel carriers in rodents. No study in people with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis or any other gut condition has been published, and FDA found no human data of any kind.
- [1] Reduced inflammatory cytokine expression in human intestinal cell lines and in mice with DSS- and TNBS-induced colitis
- [2] Less weight loss and fewer inflammatory infiltrates in two mouse models of colitis
Registered-study counts: ClinicalTrials.gov intervention search “KPV”, fetched 2026-10-10. Registered studies include trials of other uses; the gap between registered and reported is itself a finding.
Wound healing
No human trial of any design has been published for this use.
Published wound data are limited to animal models; the study cited here used eye drops after corneal scraping in rabbits. No study of skin wounds, surgical wounds or chronic ulcers in humans has been published. FDA reviewed KPV for wound healing in 2026 and noted that none of the references submitted by the nominator studied KPV in humans.
- [3] Faster corneal epithelial closure after mechanical abrasion in rabbits given topical KPV, blocked by a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor
Registered-study counts: ClinicalTrials.gov intervention search “KPV”, fetched 2026-10-10. Registered studies include trials of other uses; the gap between registered and reported is itself a finding.
Inflammatory skin conditions (psoriasis, eczema)
No human trial of any design has been published for this use.
Evidence is limited to cultured human skin cells and a laboratory three-dimensional skin model, where KPV reduced inflammatory signalling triggered by fine dust particles. No animal model of psoriasis or eczema treated with KPV and no human study were identified.
- [4] Reduced IL-1beta secretion and cell death in cultured human keratinocytes exposed to fine particulate matter
Registered-study counts: ClinicalTrials.gov intervention search “KPV”, fetched 2026-10-10. Registered studies include trials of other uses; the gap between registered and reported is itself a finding.
03Safety signals
There are no adequate human safety data. The absence of reported harm is not evidence of safety.
04What is unknown
- No human pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic data by any route; FDA identified none
- No human safety data of any kind: FDA found no clinical studies, no FAERS reports and no published case reports
- Whether KPV taken by mouth survives digestion and reaches inflamed colon tissue in humans is untested; mouse studies relied on drinking water or specialised carriers
- Which salt or derivative is present in gray-market products is unverified; FDA notes that multiple salts and derivatives, including different active moieties, are sold under the name KPV
- Immunogenicity in humans has not been assessed
- Regulatory status outside the US was not verified from regulator sources for this record
05Product quality
No independent purity results have been published for this compound yet. The purity programme will publish full methods and vendor-named results, passes and failures, once its protocol has had legal review.
06Citations
- PepT1-mediated tripeptide KPV uptake reduces intestinal inflammation (2008). doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2007.10.026
- Melanocortin-derived tripeptide KPV has anti-inflammatory potential in murine models of inflammatory bowel disease (2008). doi:10.1002/ibd.20334
- Effects of the COOH-terminal tripeptide alpha-MSH(11-13) on corneal epithelial wound healing: role of nitric oxide (2006). doi:10.1016/j.exer.2006.07.014
- Lysine-Proline-Valine peptide mitigates fine dust-induced keratinocyte apoptosis and inflammation by regulating oxidative stress and modulating the MAPK/NF-κB pathway (2025). doi:10.1016/j.tice.2025.102837
Every DOI is resolved against Crossref and every NCT number against ClinicalTrials.gov, title for title, before publication. Regulatory sources are cited inline above with a verbatim quote and retrieval date.
07Mechanism
In cell studies KPV is taken up by the PepT1 peptide transporter and reduces NF-kappaB and MAP kinase inflammatory signalling; in mice its effects on colitis appeared to be at least partly independent of the melanocortin-1 receptor.
Mechanism is placed last on purpose: a plausible mechanism is not evidence that a compound works in people.
Reviewed by OSMF research team (AI-assisted, source-verified) on 2026-10-10. Found an error? It goes in the corrections log: report it.