FreePeptideCalc

KPV Peptide Dosage Calculator and Study Dose Chart

The last three amino acids of alpha-MSH. Studied in mouse colitis models, mostly given orally; no human study of any kind exists.

Written by , who builds and maintains this site and is not a clinician. Every figure links to its primary source.

Not approved

Not approved anywhere; not on the 503A Bulks List

KPV is not a component of any FDA-approved drug, has no USP monograph and no authorised product in the EU. It sat in the FDA's Category 2 until 22 April 2026, when the nomination was withdrawn. In July 2026 the FDA reviewed it for wound healing and inflammatory conditions and its scientists recommended against inclusion; the advisory committee voted in favour, but that vote is non-binding and KPV is not on the 503A Bulks List.

No approved human dose exists for this compound in any country. The figures below are the doses used in named published studies, reproduced for reference only. Doses given to rats or mice do not convert to a human dose. The FDA has stated that labelling a product “research use only” or “not for human consumption” does not change its legal status when the seller's own marketing shows it is intended for people.

Calculator inputs

Set up your vial

Enter the label, dilution and dose. The result updates as you type.

Syringe volume
Syringe volume
KPV in the vial
KPV in the vial
500 mcg is a calculator example, not a studied or recommended dose
Bacteriostatic water to add
Bacteriostatic water to add
Dose per injection
Dose per injection
No approved human dose exists for this compound. The dose shown is only a calculator input, not a recommendation or starting point.
More optionsReverse calculation, schedule and cost

Enter the bacteriostatic water you added and get the volume to draw.

Draw to
10units(0.1 mL)
10 units01020304050Drag the plunger, or focus it and use the arrow keys
Draw to 10 units on a 50-unit U-100 syringe.
Concentration
5000 mcg/mL
Water added
2 mL
Doses in vial
20
How the concentration is calculated

This divides the peptide by the water you add. The powder occupies a little volume of its own, which is negligible on a typical vial but not on one with a heavy bulking agent. When a product label states a concentration, use the label’s number.

Key facts

Molecular weight
342.43 DaLys-Pro-Val, C16H30N4O4.
Half-life
Not published. No accessible human pharmacokinetic study reports one, so any specific figure quoted elsewhere has no primary source behind it.
Also sold as
Lys-Pro-Val, alpha-MSH 11-13, α-MSH tripeptide

Doses used in published studies

These are reproduced for reference. They are not recommendations, and an animal dose in mg/kg does not convert to a human dose.

mouseoral, dissolved in drinking water

100 µmol/L KPV in drinking water

Viennois et al., 2016: given through two 7-day DSS cycles in a colitis-associated cancer model, and from 5 to 18 weeks of age in APC Min/+ mice. A concentration in water, not a per-kg dose.

mouseoral gavage, KPV-loaded nanoparticles in a polysaccharide hydrogel

Not stated in the abstract

Laroui et al., 2010, DSS colitis: the authors report that nanoparticle KPV matched free KPV's effect at a concentration about 12,000-fold lower — a formulation finding that makes doses across KPV studies non-comparable.

How good is the evidence?

Rodent and cell-culture only. The FDA found no clinical study, no human exposure data, no case reports and no pharmacokinetic study in animals or humans. The efficacy work is mouse colitis, most of it oral or nanoparticle KPV from a single research group, acting through the PepT1 intestinal transporter rather than melanocortin receptors. The FDA judged both effectiveness and safety impossible to assess and flagged immunogenicity and aggregation as unknowns.

KPV dosage: what the studies used

Every dose in the KPV literature is from mice, and most of it is oral. The clearest figure is 100 µmol/L of KPV in drinking water, used through repeated colitis cycles and for weeks in a genetic tumour model. The founding 2008 study also gave KPV by mouth and showed the gut transporter PepT1 carries it into intestinal cells, which is how it reduced inflammation.

That route matters for anyone holding an injectable vial. The mechanism described in these studies depends on uptake from the gut lumen; the FDA found no study of KPV injected under the skin in any species, no pharmacokinetics and no half-life. An oral mouse concentration does not convert to a human subcutaneous dose.

What the FDA found in July 2026

The FDA's briefing for its compounding advisory committee says it did not identify any clinical studies or human exposure data for KPV, and found it impossible to assess effectiveness or safety. Its scientists recommended against adding KPV to the 503A Bulks List for wound healing and inflammatory conditions. The committee voted the other way, but a committee vote is advice: KPV stays off the list until the FDA acts, and nothing in that vote is evidence that KPV works.

Common questions

Sources

Every number on this page comes from one of the documents below. Where no reliable source exists, the page says so instead of filling the gap.

  1. RegulatorFDA· 2026-07
    FDA evaluation of KPV for the 503A Bulks List — PCAC briefing document, July 2026
  2. RegulatorFDA· 2026-07
    July 23–24, 2026 Meeting of the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee
  3. RegulatorFDA
    Certain Bulk Drug Substances for Use in Compounding May Present Significant Safety Risks
  4. ReferenceNCBI PubChem
    Lys-Pro-Val (KPV) — PubChem compound summary (CID 125672)
  5. Published study· 2008
    Dalmasso G et al. PepT1-mediated tripeptide KPV uptake reduces intestinal inflammation. Gastroenterology 2008
  6. Published study· 2016
    Viennois E et al. Critical role of PepT1 in promoting colitis-associated cancer and therapeutic benefits of the anti-inflammatory PepT1-mediated tripeptide KPV in a murine model. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol 2016
  7. Published study· 2010
    Laroui H et al. Drug-loaded nanoparticles targeted to the colon with polysaccharide hydrogel reduce colitis in a mouse model. Gastroenterology 2010