RESEARCH MK-677 10MG

MK-677 in the UK: buying, legal status and what to check

Two questions come first for MK-677 in the UK: is it lawful, and can the seller's testing claims be checked. On the first, ibutamoren has no MHRA marketing authorisation, so it cannot be sold or supplied as a medicine in the UK, and it is not an authorised food supplement ingredient in the UK or EU. Free Muscle therefore supplies it only as a research compound, to adults aged 18 or over, for laboratory use. Growth hormone secretagogues are also on the WADA Prohibited List. Our MK-677 legal status page sets out how the rules on medicines, supplements and advertising apply.

On the second, a listing is only as good as the documents behind it. Before comparing any two MK-677 listings, check for:

• a batch number printed on the pack;
• a certificate of analysis for that batch, not just for the product, from a named independent laboratory;
• a stated strength per capsule and capsule count, so that total milligrams per pack can be compared;
• plain, tracked packaging and a written returns policy.

This listing is the 10mg strength, the lowest of the three Free Muscle strengths (10mg, 12.5mg and 25mg), with 60 capsules per bottle, so a bottle holds 600mg of ibutamoren in total. Every Free Muscle batch is assayed by Janoshik Analytical and the certificate for a batch is sent by email on request. UK delivery is free and tracked in plain packaging, orders placed before 2pm Monday to Friday are processed the same working day, EU delivery takes 3 to 7 working days, and unopened items can be returned within 30 days. See shipping and our guarantee.

Capsules compared with other forms

MK-677 is often listed with peptides and searched for as one, but it is a small synthetic molecule (C27H36N4O5S, PubChem CID 178024) designed to mimic growth hormone releasing peptides at the ghrelin receptor, and the trials cited below gave it by mouth. The question of liquid versus capsules or tablets is therefore not about digestion but about verification and stability. A capsule is a weighed fill in a sealed shell, and the batch certificate reports what that fill contained. A research liquid's stated concentration depends on how accurately it was prepared and whether the compound stays dissolved, and a certificate for the raw material answers neither question. This is a statement about verification, not about effect: we make no claim that any form performs differently.

MK-677 compared with MK-777 (Acetamoren)

Both names appear in the Free Muscle growth hormone secretagogue range. MK-677 is ibutamoren, a compound with a defined structure (CAS 159634-47-6), a pharmacological literature going back to the mid-1990s and published human trials in healthy older adults, people with Alzheimer's disease and patients recovering from hip fracture. MK-777 is Free Muscle's product designation for a ghrelin-receptor secretagogue in the Bioreactive Series. Neither MK-777 nor acetamoren returns any record in PubMed, so there are no published trials under either name.

The two are described as agonists at the same receptor, GHS-R1a, neither is licensed as a medicine in the UK, and both fall within the WADA class of growth hormone secretagogues, so their regulatory and sporting position is the same. Where they differ is evidence. For MK-677 there are published measurements of growth hormone, IGF-1, body composition, glucose and adverse events; for MK-777 there is a Janoshik certificate for each batch, which confirms identity and purity and says nothing about effects. The MK-777 collection page sets out what can and cannot be verified about it, and the guide MK-677 vs ipamorelin vs HGH covers the peptide secretagogues.

Reading the certificate of analysis for this product

The certificate for a batch of Free Muscle MK-677 10mg comes from Janoshik Analytical, and four fields carry the weight. Identity: the method, such as HPLC or mass spectrometry, should be named, and the result should confirm that the compound detected is ibutamoren. Quantity or purity: for a capsule product, look for the content found set against the 10mg label claim, or a purity percentage for the material tested. Batch number: it must match the number printed on the bottle; a certificate that names a different batch, or none, is not evidence for that pack. Test date and report reference: these let the certificate be traced back to the laboratory that issued it. A certificate with no batch number, method or date is a brochure, not a test. To request the certificate for a batch, email us the batch number and product name. Our lab tests page, How to read a certificate of analysis and What is Janoshik Analytical go further.

Detection, sport and testing

Growth hormone secretagogues are listed under section S2 of the WADA Prohibited List, and ibutamoren falls within that class. S2 substances are prohibited at all times, and strict liability applies: an athlete is responsible for any prohibited substance found in their sample. No peer-reviewed human excretion study establishing a detection window is cited here, so the accurate position is that ibutamoren is detectable and its detection window is not established. Anyone who competes under UK Anti-Doping or another anti-doping code should treat any contact with this compound as a testing risk.

Storage, stability and handling

Keep capsules cool, dry and away from light, in the original bottle with the cap closed firmly so that the batch number stays with the contents. In a laboratory, handle with clean gloves and dispose of waste according to local rules. Record the batch number and opening date so that any observation can be traced back to a certificate, and do not combine capsules from different batches in one container. Keep out of the reach of children and animals.

Glossary

• Ibutamoren (MK-677, MK-0677, L-163,191): a growth hormone secretagogue developed by Merck in the 1990s and studied as an oral compound.
• Ibutamoren mesylate: the methanesulfonate salt of ibutamoren, the form named in the clinical trials.
• Secretagogue: a substance that causes another substance to be secreted; here, growth hormone from the pituitary.
• GHS-R1a: the growth hormone secretagogue receptor, also called the ghrelin receptor.
• Pulsatile secretion: release of a hormone in bursts rather than at a steady rate; growth hormone is released this way.
• IGF-1: insulin-like growth factor 1, produced mainly in the liver in response to growth hormone and used in trials as a marker of growth hormone activity.
• Fat-free mass: body mass minus fat, which includes water as well as muscle, bone and organs.
• Insulin sensitivity: how strongly tissues respond to insulin; a fall means more insulin is needed to keep glucose in range.
• Label claim: the amount of compound per capsule stated on the pack, against which the certificate result is compared.

What the published research reports

The clinical literature on ibutamoren is unusually extensive for a research compound, and its adverse findings matter as much as its hormonal ones. In a placebo-controlled trial in 32 healthy adults aged 64 to 81, once-daily oral MK-677 for two to four weeks raised 24-hour growth hormone concentrations by enlarging existing pulses rather than adding new ones, and at the highest dose tested brought IGF-1 into the young-adult range; fasting glucose rose significantly and prolactin rose by 23 per cent, while cortisol did not change (Chapman 1996). A two-year trial in 65 healthy adults aged 60 to 81 recorded, at 12 months, a rise in fat-free mass of about 1.1 kg against a small fall on placebo, but body weight rose by 2.7 kg (0.8 kg on placebo), limb fat increased more than on placebo, fasting glucose and cortisol rose and insulin sensitivity fell; increased appetite, mild lower-limb swelling and muscle pain were the most frequent side effects, and strength and function did not change (Nass 2008). A 12-month trial that randomised 563 people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease found IGF-1 raised by 60 to 73 per cent but no difference from placebo on any measure of disease progression (Sevigny 2008). In 123 older patients recovering from hip fracture, IGF-1 rose without improvement in most measures of function, and the trial was stopped early because of a signal of congestive heart failure in a small number of patients (Adunsky 2011). These are findings about a compound in supervised trials, not claims about this product.

• Chapman IM, et al. Stimulation of the growth hormone (GH)-insulin-like growth factor I axis by daily oral administration of a GH secretogogue (MK-677) in healthy elderly subjects. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1996;81(12):4249-4257. PMID: 8954023.
• Nass R, et al. Effects of an oral ghrelin mimetic on body composition and clinical outcomes in healthy older adults: a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2008;149(9):601-611. PMID: 18981485.
• Sevigny JJ, et al. Growth hormone secretagogue MK-677: no clinical effect on AD progression in a randomized trial. Neurology. 2008;71(21):1702-1708. PMID: 19015485.
• Adunsky A, et al. MK-0677 (ibutamoren mesylate) for the treatment of patients recovering from hip fracture: a multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled phase IIb study. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2011;53(2):183-189. PMID: 21067829.

Related compounds and reading

The MK-677 collection compares every strength and brand we stock by milligrams per pack and batch testing, and the same compound is listed at 12.5mg and 25mg. Related pages: MK-777 (Acetamoren), ipamorelin and the Bioreactive Series. Reading: MK-677: what the research says, MK-677 by brand and Price per milligram.

Research use only. MK-677 is not a licensed medicine and has not been evaluated by the MHRA, EMA or FDA. It is not a food supplement and not for human consumption. Sold to adults aged 18 or over. Prohibited in sport by WADA. Nothing here is medical, dosing or protocol advice.