What Are Peptides?

Peptides are short chains of amino acids—the "building blocks" of proteins.

While proteins usually contain more than 100 amino acids, peptides are generally composed of just 2 to 100 amino acids. They occur naturally in the body and in food, acting as crucial chemical messengers that instruct cells to perform specific tasks, such as regulating metabolism, repairing tissue, or balancing hormones.

Types of Peptides

Peptides are categorized by how they are produced and their length:

Endogenous Peptides

Produced naturally by your body, such as insulin (which regulates blood sugar) or oxytocin.

Exogenous Peptides

Sourced from outside the body, including dietary proteins in food or synthetic lab-made peptides.

Oligopeptides

Shorter chains consisting of 2 to 20 amino acids.

Polypeptides

Longer chains consisting of 20 to 100+ amino acids.