Pentapeptide-18

Skin & Hair

aka Leuphasyl · Tyr-D-Ala-Gly-Phe-Leu · Pentapeptide-3 (older INCI name in original Lipotec dossier)

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Formula

MW (Da)

Half-life

topical (negligible systemic absorption)

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Overview

Pentapeptide-18 (trade name Leuphasyl) is a cosmetic anti-wrinkle peptide with the sequence Tyr-D-Ala-Gly-Phe-Leu, marketed as an enkephalin-mimetic. The original Lipotec dossier used the older proposed INCI name "Pentapeptide-3", a nomenclature inconsistency worth flagging — the molecule is the same.

Mechanism

The mechanistic concept, per the Lipotec technical dossier, is that Leuphasyl couples to enkephalin receptors on the external surface of nerve cells, reducing neuronal excitability and modulating acetylcholine release. In vitro testing on neuronal cultures used glutamate release as a proxy for acetylcholine release. At 1 mM, Leuphasyl inhibited glutamate release by 13% versus 20% for Argireline and 35% for the combination, compared with 65% for botulinum toxin A at 0.0001 mM. The mechanistic claim is plausible as a neuromodulatory cosmetic concept but not equivalent to clinical botulinum pharmacology.

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Reported benefits

In vitro neurotransmitter-release inhibition

At 1 mM, Leuphasyl inhibited neuronal glutamate release by 13% versus 20% for Argireline and 35% for the combination — far below the 65% achieved by botulinum toxin A at 0.0001 mM.

[leuphasyl-tds-lipotec]

preclinical

Manufacturer topical efficacy in a 14-volunteer trial

A cream containing 5% of the commercial Leuphasyl solution applied twice daily around the eyes of 14 volunteers for 28 days produced a mean wrinkle-depth reduction of 11.64% (max 23.55%). A Leuphasyl + Argireline combination reached 24.62%.

[leuphasyl-tds-lipotec]

clinical

Reported side effects

Favorable in vitro and small human patch-test safety
preclinical
Manufacturer dossier reports no cytotoxicity in human dermal fibroblasts or epidermal keratinocytes, no genotoxicity in an Ames test, no ocular irritation in HET-CAM, oral LD50 > 2500 mg/kg in rats, and no irritation in a 10-volunteer patch test.
No long-term or systemic safety data
anecdotal
Available studies do not address long-term dermatologic safety or systemic exposure to medical-use standards. Adverse-event incidence for therapeutic use is unspecified.

Dosing notes

Topical application only. Manufacturer guidance: 3–10% of the commercial solution in finished formulations; add below 40 °C. Volunteer-study regimen used 5% of the commercial solution applied twice daily around the eyes for 28 days. No therapeutic or systemic dose is established.

Research use only. Information on this page is editorial reference, not medical or dosing advice. Always consult qualified medical guidance before use.

Storage

Manufacturer stability data: cool, dark, clean storage with at least 12 months shelf life; storage at 4 °C extends shelf life to at least 18 months. Treat as supplier guidance — not a peer-reviewed pharmaceutical stability study.

Vendors carrying Pentapeptide-18

No approved vendors are listing this peptide yet. Check back later or browse the full vendor directory.

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References

[leuphasyl-tds-lipotec]
Leuphasyl (Pentapeptide-18) technical data sheet PD080
Lipotec · Lipotec / Daltosur technical data sheet
Source
[pentapeptide18-mdpi-review]
Topical peptide treatments with effective anti-aging results (review)
Review authors per MDPI Cosmetics · MDPI Cosmetics (review)
Source