Palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7 (INCI name; formerly palmitoyl tetrapeptide-3), Pal-GQPR; one of the two peptides in Matrixyl 3000
Rigin is the trade name for palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7: GQPR, a four-amino-acid piece of the antibody IgG, with a palmitic acid (fatty acid) tail added to help it into skin. It’s marketed to damp inflammation signals in skin, and it’s the second peptide in Matrixyl 3000.
None of these uses is approved. Uses tested in people come first, then claims that rest on animal studies or user reports.
Trial: tested in people, with the result. Animal: cell or animal studies only. No study: nothing published supports it.
Every compound’s uses, by body system: evidence map, and by condition: conditions A to Z.
Category 2 is FDA’s list of bulk substances that may present significant safety risks in compounding. The 503A bulks list adds substances that pharmacies may compound with. Advisory committee votes are advice; FDA makes the final decision. Sport status follows the WADA Prohibited List in force since January 1, 2026; athletes should confirm with their anti-doping organization. Checked October 5, 2026. Status outside the US checked October 7, 2026 against EMA, MHRA, Health Canada and TGA records. By country: EU, UK, Canada, Australia. Status of every compound.
Rigin’s peptide, GQPR, is a short stretch of the antibody IgG; in 1981 it boosted phagocytosis (immune cells engulfing microbes) in lab tests as much as tuftsin, a similar IgG fragment. Its developer reports that the palmitoyl form lowers interleukin-6 (IL-6), an inflammation signal, from skin cells, including after UVB light, and that paired with palmitoyl tripeptide-1 it raised collagen and fibronectin made by fibroblasts. In 3 volunteers it stayed in the dead outer skin layer.
AnimalMainly from cell and animal studies; not shown in people.
Whether enough reaches living skin cells to damp inflammation or raise collagen, and whether results with blends owe anything to it rather than its partner peptide or moisturizing, is unknown.
Fournial patent 2012
Developer test: cream with 3% Matrixyl 3000 (about 1.5 ppm of this peptide plus 3 ppm palmitoyl tripeptide-1), twice daily on half the face for 2 months.
Usually comes from Matrixyl 3000 added at 3–8%, about 1.5–4 ppm of this peptide; “5% Matrixyl 3000” doesn’t mean 5% pure peptide.
Continuous, shown over 26 weeks
The ways Rigin is most often run, each tagged with where it comes from.
28 women aged 51–72, placebo cream on the other side: the low-density band under the outer skin of the inner forearm was 11% thinner and 15% denser, and facial dermal fibers about 13% thicker. Developer data from a patent application.
Watson 2009, 60 people: wrinkles improved in 43% vs 22% on the plain serum (not significant); fibrillin-1, a skin fiber protein, increased.
Added at cool-down. The blend also supplies twice as much palmitoyl tripeptide-1; the stand-alone Rigin solution is less often used.
Applied to clean skin of the face, around the eyes, neck or hands. Topical only; never inject it.
Nothing special. Skip it and use the next application as usual.
Developer tests of 3% Matrixyl 3000: less deep wrinkling and roughness than at the start in 24 people, and in 28 women a denser layer under the outer skin than on the placebo side. Developer data only.
TrialWith a multi-ingredient serum, 43% vs 22% had fewer wrinkles at 6 months (not significant), and 70% had improved after 12 months of use (Watson 2009).
TrialSkin irritation or redness (none in a 52-person patch test of the 500 ppm supplier solution)
Patch-test first. Stop if it doesn’t settle.
Eye irritation (the supplier solution was slightly irritating in a lab eye test)
Keep it out of the eyes. Rinse with water if it gets in.
Infection or harm from injecting a cosmetic serum
Never inject topical products; they aren’t sterile.
Stop and see a doctor for a spreading rash, swelling, blistering or hives, or eye pain after contact.
The side effects people ask about most, answered one by one. Each answer says where it comes from.
Trial: reported in human studies. Not reported: studied in people and not reported. A side effect that hasn’t been reported can still happen, especially with long or high-dose use. Any of these across every compound: the side-effect finder.
No product label covers Rigin, so these come from human studies and from precautions based on how it works. Most important first.
Precaution: follows from how it works or from a related drug, and hasn’t been tested. This isn’t a complete list: a pharmacist or doctor can check a specific medicine or condition. Every documented interaction, by medicine: drug interactions.
What’s known about pregnancy, breastfeeding, kidney and liver problems, age and surgery. Where nothing has been studied, the row says so.
Precaution: not studied, so the caution follows from how it works or from a related drug. Ages are given as approved or studied; this site never gives doses for children. Across every compound: pregnancy, breastfeeding, kidney disease, liver disease, older adults and surgery.
Paired in Matrixyl 3000. In the developer’s cell tests the pair raised collagen more than their separate effects added up; no human study separates them.
5 key published human studies, with how many people took part. Animal studies aren’t listed here.
Against the placebo side, the low-density band under the outer skin of the inner forearm was 11% thinner and 15% denser (p<0.01), and facial dermal fibers were 13% thicker on confocal imaging (p<0.05).
Fournial & Mondon, patent application WO 2012/164488; Mondon et al., J Cosmet Dermatol 2015, PMID 25817264 (same measures, no figures in the abstract)
Wrinkles improved in 43% vs 22% on vehicle, not a significant difference (p=0.10); fibrillin-1 rose significantly; 70% improved by 12 months. Its own share can’t be separated.
Watson et al., Br J Dermatol 2009, PMID 19438432
Deep wrinkles and roughness fell and elasticity rose significantly from the start on the peptide side (p<0.01), with no significant change on the plain side; no between-side statistics were given.
Johnson et al., Int J Toxicol 2018 (Cosmetic Ingredient Review), doi:10.1177/1091581818807863
No sign of skin irritation or allergic sensitization in adults aged 18–79.
Johnson et al., Int J Toxicol 2018 (Cosmetic Ingredient Review), doi:10.1177/1091581818807863
Both peptides reached every layer of the stratum corneum, the dead outer skin layer, but stayed between cells and fell off with depth; deeper layers weren’t sampled.
Trzaska et al., Int J Pharm 2026, PMID 42790608
No ongoing trial of Rigin is registered, and none has finished recently without publishing its results. Checked on ClinicalTrials.gov, October 7, 2026. Every compound: trials under way.
No study has tested Rigin alone for any skin benefit. Human data come from the developer’s 2-month tests of Matrixyl 3000, its blend with palmitoyl tripeptide-1 (24 and 28 people), and from multi-ingredient products; the largest, 60 people for 6 months, found no significant wrinkle difference vs vehicle. Its anti-inflammatory and collagen effects rest on cell tests, and in volunteers it stayed in the dead outer layer. High strengths and use over years are untested.
Rigin is used on the skin, so the math is a dilution, not a syringe dose.
| Powder | Serum volume | Strength | Percent | ppm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 mg | 1,000 mL | 0.01 mg/mL | 0.001% | 10 ppm |
| 10 mg | 2,000 mL | 0.005 mg/mL | 0.001% | 5 ppm |
| 10 mg | 2,500 mL | 0.004 mg/mL | 0% | 4 ppm |
| 10 mg | 5,000 mL | 0.002 mg/mL | 0% | 2 ppm |
Matrixyl 3000 is a dilute solution holding 50 ppm of this peptide and 100 ppm palmitoyl tripeptide-1; the stand-alone Rigin solution holds 500 ppm. 10 mg of pure peptide in 2.5 liters of product gives 4 ppm, the top of what a Matrixyl 3000 serum delivers.
Every compound side by side: the half-life chart and the storage chart.
Every compound’s numbers: the identifiers table.
Most products get it from Matrixyl 3000, a dilute solution with 50 ppm of it and 100 ppm palmitoyl tripeptide-1, used at 3–8%. The stand-alone Rigin solution holds 500 ppm, so pure powder is far stronger than either.
Rigin is the trade name for palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7: GQPR, a four-amino-acid piece of the antibody IgG, with a palmitic acid (fatty acid) tail added to help it into skin. It’s marketed to damp inflammation signals in skin, and it’s the second peptide in Matrixyl 3000.
Rigin’s peptide, GQPR, is a short stretch of the antibody IgG; in 1981 it boosted phagocytosis (immune cells engulfing microbes) in lab tests as much as tuftsin, a similar IgG fragment. Its developer reports that the palmitoyl form lowers interleukin-6 (IL-6), an inflammation signal, from skin cells, including after UVB light, and that paired with palmitoyl tripeptide-1 it raised collagen and fibronectin made by fibroblasts. In 3 volunteers it stayed in the dead outer skin layer. Whether enough reaches living skin cells to damp inflammation or raise collagen, and whether results with blends owe anything to it rather than its partner peptide or moisturizing, is unknown.
Not approved as a drug in the US or EU; used as a cosmetic ingredient. Cosmetics don’t need FDA approval before sale. Never nominated for FDA’s compounding bulk lists; it isn’t on any of FDA’s 503A or 503B category lists (May 2026 and March 2025 versions).
From human studies (Fournial patent 2012): Developer test: cream with 3% Matrixyl 3000 (about 1.5 ppm of this peptide plus 3 ppm palmitoyl tripeptide-1), twice daily on half the face for 2 months. From community reports, not established: Usually comes from Matrixyl 3000 added at 3–8%, about 1.5–4 ppm of this peptide; “5% Matrixyl 3000” doesn’t mean 5% pure peptide. These are the amounts sources reference, not recommendations.
No product label covers Rigin, so these come from human studies and from precautions based on how it works. Anyone thinking of injecting it: It is a cosmetic ingredient, not made to injectable standards, and has never been tested by injection. Anyone mixing pure powder at high strength: Cosmetics use it at a few ppm, and a 2018 safety review backed only current use levels; stronger mixes haven’t been tested. Pregnancy or breastfeeding: No human safety data exist.
Supplier solutions: fridge (about 4 °C), sealed. Pure powder: freezer (about −20 °C), kept dry. After mixing: Finished serum: cool and dark, within the product’s stated shelf life. This is common practice; no product label covers it.
No. Not named on the 2026 list. It’s a topical cosmetic ingredient used at a few parts per million, not a drug of the kind S0 covers. The 2027 list adds peptides to S0’s examples but names no cosmetic ingredients.
Yes. The human studies section lists 5 published studies. The largest, from 2009, included 60 people. Wrinkles improved in 43% vs 22% on vehicle, not a significant difference (p=0.10); fibrillin-1 rose significantly; 70% improved by 12 months. Its own share can’t be separated.
Trial 6 months blinded, then 6 more open-label, in 60 people using a serum that mixed it with other actives. Never tested alone.
Trial Used in creams and serums. In 3 volunteers it reached every layer of the dead outer skin layer but stayed between cells; injection and oral use are untested.
No study There’s no label and no overdose data. Cosmetics contain it at a few ppm, and a 2018 safety review backed current use levels. Call Poison Help (1-800-222-1222), or emergency services for severe symptoms.
For how it works, who should avoid it and the limits of the evidence
For uses, the side-effect questions, special situations, trials, identifiers and status outside the US
Doses tagged Community come from public dosing guides and user reports, checked against at least two of them. Those sites aren’t named here because many of them sell peptides or earn commissions on them.