A small blue bottle, a syringe, and that’s it. On social networks, videos extolling the merits of peptides have multiplied in recent months. Lose weight quickly, slow down the aging of your skin, recover from an injury, grow your hair, improve sleep… Listening to influencers, these molecules would work miracles.
In France, where the sale of peptides is very restricted, the number of searches for this term jumped 180% in one year, according to Google Trend. To the point of making the health authorities react: Thursday July 2, the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) formally advised against purchasing this type of product on the Internet. “It’s dangerous and we’re starting to see it,” Alexandre de La Volpilière, deputy director of the ANSM, explained to AFP, referring to “around ten” cases of poisoning.
Peptides refer to a broad category of molecules. The National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) describes them as “bricks” used to make proteins in our body. “Most act as tiny messengers that send signals to cells to tell them how to react, for example, to regulate immune defenses in the face of an infection,” explains an article from Canal détox, the media created by the Institute to combat health misinformation.
Lack of scientific evidence
Peptides are produced naturally by the body, but can also be synthesized in the laboratory. For more than a hundred years, these molecules have served as active ingredients in certain medications. This is for example the case of insulin used to regulate blood sugar levels or, more recently, anti-obesity drugs such as Ozempic or Trulicity, which mimic the action of the GLP-1 hormone.
The problem is that influencers and brands are now touting the merits of peptides for other uses, without scientific proof of their effectiveness or their absence of dangerous side effects. “In the form of creams, injections or food supplements, peptides are associated with all forms of spectacular promises,” reports Inserm. However, to date, no large-scale, randomized and controlled clinical trial conducted in humans has confirmed these effects for these uses, and certain peptides even present very real health risks. »
These molecules are therefore included in the composition of anti-aging creams. But studies of Matrixyl, a cocktail of peptides believed to reduce wrinkles, have only been carried out on a small number of people, with very limited and short-lived results. For its part, the “Melanotan II” peptide mixture – nicknamed “Barbie” – allows you to tan without exposing yourself to the sun. However, it is the subject of warnings from the American Cancer Society, which warns of the appearance of moles, headaches, allergic reactions and vomiting in certain consumers. When in doubt, it is better to avoid injecting this type of substance.
