Research Summary

A list of peptides can be organized many ways, and the way it's organized determines what it implies. This guide gives peptide examples grouped by chemical class and research field — short peptides, peptide hormones, antimicrobial and neuropeptide families, and cyclic peptides — and explains why it deliberately omits a "what they do" column.

How to Read a List of Peptides

In brief: A peptide list is more defensible when it is organized by chemistry, structure, and research field rather than claimed outcomes.

There are tens of thousands of known peptides, so any list of peptides is a selection.

The most defensible way to organize one is by chemistry — chain length, structure, and the research field in which the compound class is studied — rather than by a claimed outcome.

A list organized by class tells you what a molecule is; a list organized by claimed effect tells you what someone wants you to believe about it.

The peptide examples below follow the first approach, in line with the framework in our reference guide to peptide classes and structural families.

Peptide Examples: Dipeptides and Tripeptides

In brief: Short peptides provide simple textbook examples of how peptides are classified by residue count.

The shortest peptides are the simplest examples of peptides to name.

Carnosine is a dipeptide; aspartame, a food-chemistry example, is a dipeptide derivative; glutathione is a tripeptide.

These are textbook illustrations of how short chains are named, covered in our guide on peptides vs. amino acids, which also explains pentapeptide examples and the naming of other short chains by residue count.

They are named here as chemistry examples only.

Examples of Peptide Hormones and Polypeptides

In brief: Insulin, glucagon, oxytocin, and vasopressin are standard textbook examples used when discussing peptide and polypeptide hormones.

What are examples of peptide hormones? Insulin and glucagon are standard textbook examples of polypeptide hormones; oxytocin and vasopressin are standard examples of short peptide hormones.

For the polypeptide examples biology courses use, and polypeptide examples in humans, the same hormones appear, along with the individual chains that make up larger proteins.

A fuller list of peptide hormones with classification notes appears in our guide on what peptide hormones are.

Two examples of polypeptides, if you need only two, are the insulin A and B chains — though textbooks vary on how they present them.

Antimicrobial Peptides and Neuropeptides

In brief: Antimicrobial peptides and neuropeptides are broad research classes that contain many structurally distinct peptide families.

Antimicrobial — host-defense — peptide families include the magainins, defensins, and cathelicidins, covered in our overview of antimicrobial and copper-binding peptides.

Neuropeptides are a large class of signaling peptides in the nervous system, with the enkephalins and substance P among the textbook examples.

As with every entry here, these are classification examples; they are not described in terms of effects.

Cyclic Peptide Examples

In brief: Cyclic peptides include molecules whose chains are closed through disulfide bonds, head-to-tail cyclization, or side-chain bridges.

Cyclic peptide examples include peptides closed into rings by a disulfide bridge.

Oxytocin and vasopressin, mentioned above, are both ring-containing peptides through a disulfide bond.

Other cyclic structures include head-to-tail and side-chain-bridged cyclic peptides.

Our guide on what a cyclic peptide is explains how those rings form and why cyclization changes stability.

Why There's No "What They Do" Column

In brief: This site organizes research peptides by identity, structure, research-field context, and regulatory status rather than pairing individual materials with claimed outcomes.

Searches for a list of peptides and what they do, a list of peptides and what they do PDF, or a list of peptides and uses are asking for a table that pairs each molecule with an outcome.

This site doesn't publish one, and the reason is substantive: attaching a use or outcome to a research material is exactly what moves a product from a laboratory chemical toward an unapproved drug claim.

The outcome literature for any compound is preclinical, compound-specific, and not established in humans.

What this site publishes instead is identity, structure, research-field context, and regulatory status for each compound — one guide at a time.

See our guide on what research peptides are used for for the industry-level answer.

Where to Find Specific Compounds, FDA-Approved Peptides, and Skincare Peptides

In brief: Research compounds, FDA-approved peptide drugs, and cosmetic-grade peptides belong to different categories and should be referenced through the appropriate source.

For individual research compounds, see the research peptide compound index.

A list of peptides approved by FDA is a different thing from any list of research materials.

Our guide on which research peptides are FDA-approved explains why, and our guide on what peptide drugs are covers the approved- therapeutics landscape, including how to find any list of peptide drugs, examples of peptide drugs, or examples of peptide therapeutics through FDA's own databases rather than a marketing page.

For a list of peptides for skin or examples of peptides in skincare, see our guide on cosmetic-grade vs. research-grade peptides.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a list of peptides?

Any selection of peptides, ideally grouped by chemical class and research field. There are tens of thousands of known peptides, so every list is a selection rather than a complete catalog.

What are some examples of peptides?

Textbook examples include the dipeptide carnosine, the tripeptide glutathione, the peptide hormones insulin, glucagon, oxytocin, and vasopressin, and antimicrobial peptide families such as the defensins. These are classification examples only.

Is there a list of peptides and what they do?

This site doesn't publish one. Pairing each molecule with an outcome is the pattern that turns a research-material list into an unapproved-drug claim. See the compound index for identity, research-field context, and regulatory status instead.

Is there a list of peptides approved by FDA?

FDA publishes approvals in its own databases such as Drugs@FDA. Approval attaches to specific formulated drug products, not to research-grade chemicals. See our guide on which research peptides are FDA-approved.

What are examples of peptide hormones?

Insulin, glucagon, oxytocin, and vasopressin are standard textbook examples of peptide hormones. See our guide on what peptide hormones are for classification and chemistry.

What are examples of peptides in skincare?

Cosmetic ingredient lists include various formulated peptides. Cosmetic-grade peptides are formulated ingredients under FDA's cosmetic framework, not the same as research-grade material. See our guide on that distinction.