Joy Kong, MDRegenerative Medicine Physician, Educator, and Entrepreneur

GHK Copper: The "Molecule of Youth" You Lose by Age 60

18 Jun 2026 · 1 min

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In this short monologue, Dr. Joy Kong explains what GHK‑Cu (glycyl‑histidyl‑lysine copper) is, how it was discovered, and why it has been marketed as a "miracle peptide" or "molecule of youth." She notes that the peptide consists of three amino acids (glycine, histidine, lysine) bound to a copper ion and was first identified in 1973 by Dr. Loren Pickhardt while studying liver tissue regeneration. Kong highlights a key physiological fact: plasma concentrations of GHK‑Cu decline sharply with age—from roughly 200 ng/mL at age 20 to about 40 ng/mL by age 60, a roughly 60 % drop. The segment sets up the premise that this age‑related loss may underlie the hype around supplementing the peptide for anti‑aging benefits.

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GHK-Cu is often hyped as a miracle peptide or the molecule of youth. But what is it? And what is the science behind it? How does it work? GHK-Cu, or GHK copper, is a naturally occurring copper peptide. It was discovered back in 1973 by Dr. Loren Pickhardt. He was researching liver tissue and noticed that old liver cells started acting like young, healthy liver cells, when exposed to a specific factor in young human plasma. That factor turned out to be a tiny chain of 3 amino acids, glycine, histidine, and lysine, attached to a copper ion. One thing is, as we age, the concentration of this peptide in our bodies drops drastically. At age 20, we have about 200 nanograms per milliliter of our blood plasma, but by age 60, that drops by about 60%. 60%.