Human study PLS-00025

Augmented Skin Beneficial Effects of Thermus Thermophilus and Bacillus Subtilis Mixed-Culture Ferment Extract by Tripeptide GHK-Cu.

Other design · Not reported participants enrolled

Version 1 · published November 7, 2026 · evidence through November 7, 2026 · research snapshot 2026.1.1 · methodology ev-1 · Automated assessment by AI (claude-opus-5-5 and claude-sonnet-5-5), not reviewed by a person.

Only the abstract was available. Essential methods may be missing, which limits what can be judged.

Reports of this study

Every publication, registration and abstract describing this one study. Participants are counted once.

Augmented Skin Beneficial Effects of Thermus Thermophilus and Bacillus Subtilis Mixed-Culture Ferment Extract by Tripeptide GHK-Cu.primary · Skin research and technology : official journal of International Society for Bioengineering and the Skin (ISBS) [and] International Society for Digital Imaging of Skin (ISDIS) [and] International Society for Skin Imaging (ISSI) · 2026-08-01 · PMID 42573538 · DOI

Design and participants

Design: Other design
Population: Human participants in a clinical study of an anti-aging face cream. Number, age, sex and skin characteristics are not described in the abstract.
Conditions: Skin aging, Facial wrinkles, Skin barrier function
Setting: not stated
Planned enrollment (registry): Not reported
Enrolled: Not reported
Randomized: Not reported
Completed follow-up: Not reported
Funding: not stated
Authors’ conflicts: not stated

Intervention and comparator

What each group received. Related peptides, analogs and combinations are never treated as the compound itself.

TBFE + GHK-Cu face cream (intervention) · ghk-cu (combination) · Face cream formulated with TBFE and copper tripeptide-1 (GHK-Cu) as the sole active ingredients · topical · not stated · Not reported assigned

What the authors reported

As stated in the sources. This is the authors’ account, not Peptide Library’s assessment.

Wrinkles

unclear outcome · patient-important · not stated · not stated

TBFE + GHK-Cu face cream: narrative — Combination reported effective in decreasing wrinkles

Skin barrier condition

unclear outcome · surrogate · not stated · not stated

TBFE + GHK-Cu face cream: narrative — Combination reported to improve skin barrier conditions

Adverse events

None reported. That is not evidence of safety.

Monitoring: Not reported in the abstract.

The authors concluded (paraphrased): The TBFE plus GHK-Cu combination has anti-aging effects on human skin by targeting inflammation, extracellular matrix and barrier function, and is a promising option for anti-aging skincare.

Peptide Library’s assessment

An automated assessment, made by AI separately from the authors’ conclusions and not reviewed by a person. How risk of bias is assessed.

Limitations

abstract only: Only the abstract is available. Design, sample size, comparator, measurement methods and numeric results of the clinical study are not reported.
no control group: The abstract does not mention any vehicle or comparator group in the clinical study, so the effect cannot be attributed to the product.
confounding: GHK-Cu was combined with a ferment extract in one cream, so any clinical effect of GHK-Cu itself cannot be isolated.
small or imprecise: No sample size, effect estimates, intervals or p-values are reported for the clinical outcomes.
other: The macrophage and skin explant findings are in vitro and ex vivo work and do not establish clinical benefit in people.
funding or conflicts: Funding and conflicts of interest are not reported for this cosmetic formulation study.

Wrinkles: Serious concern (Structured limitations appraisal)

For uncontrolled studies, case series and case reports, where no validated comparative tool applies. It lists limitations; it is not a risk-of-bias rating.

Domain judgments
Control group	Not reported	The abstract does not state whether the clinical study had a vehicle or comparator group.
Selection of participants	Not reported	Recruitment and eligibility criteria of clinical participants are not described in the abstract.
Confounding	Serious concern	The cream contained TBFE plus GHK-Cu, so the contribution of GHK-Cu to wrinkle change is confounded.
Follow-up and attrition	Not reported	Duration of use, follow-up and completion numbers are not reported in the abstract.
Outcome measurement	Not reported	The abstract does not state how wrinkles were measured or whether assessors were blinded.
Completeness of reporting	Serious concern	Only qualitative claims of benefit are given, with no data.
Precision	Not reported	No sample size, estimates or measures of uncertainty are reported for the wrinkle outcome.
Funding and conflicts of interest	Not reported	Funding and author conflicts of interest are not stated in the record.

Combination product, unclear comparator and unreported methods give serious concern about attributing wrinkle effects to GHK-Cu.

Version 1 · published November 7, 2026 · evidence through November 7, 2026 · research snapshot 2026.1.1 · methodology ev-1 · Peptide Library structured appraisal pl-1 · Automated assessment by AI (claude-opus-5-5 and claude-sonnet-5-5), not reviewed by a person.

Skin barrier condition: Serious concern (Structured limitations appraisal)

For uncontrolled studies, case series and case reports, where no validated comparative tool applies. It lists limitations; it is not a risk-of-bias rating.

Domain judgments
Control group	Not reported	The abstract does not state whether the clinical study had a vehicle or comparator group.
Selection of participants	Not reported	Recruitment and eligibility criteria of clinical participants are not described in the abstract.
Confounding	Serious concern	The cream combined TBFE and GHK-Cu, so the barrier effects cannot be attributed to GHK-Cu alone.
Follow-up and attrition	Not reported	Duration of use, follow-up and completion numbers are not reported in the abstract.
Outcome measurement	Not reported	The abstract does not say which barrier parameters were measured or by what instrument.
Completeness of reporting	Some concern	Barrier improvement is reported only narratively, without numeric results or prespecification.
Precision	Not reported	No sample size, estimates or intervals are reported for skin barrier outcomes.
Funding and conflicts of interest	Not reported	Funding and author conflicts of interest are not stated in the record.

Confounding by co-ingredient and absent methodological detail give serious concern for the barrier outcome.

Claims this study informs

Improves signs of skin aging: eligible for “Wrinkles and skin quality, measured or rated”, indirect evidence
Is safe for human use: not eligible (insufficient data) for “Adverse events, including skin reactions”

Very low certainty Wrinkles and skin quality, measured or rated

Where each value comes from

arms: PMID 42573538, abstract (sentences 4 and 6) · extracted by AI (automated, not verified by a person) · abstract only
author_conclusion: PMID 42573538, abstract (sentences 8-9) · extracted by AI (automated, not verified by a person) · abstract only
design: PMID 42573538, abstract (sentence 4) · extracted by AI (automated, not verified by a person) · abstract only
limitations: PMID 42573538, abstract (sentences 4-7) · extracted by AI (automated, not verified by a person) · abstract only
outcomes: PMID 42573538, abstract (sentence 7) · extracted by AI (automated, not verified by a person) · abstract only
population: PMID 42573538, abstract (sentence 7) · extracted by AI (automated, not verified by a person) · abstract only
results: PMID 42573538, abstract (sentence 7) · extracted by AI (automated, not verified by a person) · abstract only

Version 1 · published November 7, 2026 · evidence through November 7, 2026 · research snapshot 2026.1.1 · methodology ev-1 · Automated assessment by AI (claude-opus-5-5 and claude-sonnet-5-5), not reviewed by a person.

These assessments describe published research. Records marked automated were produced by AI under the published methodology and have not been reviewed by a person; they can contain errors. None of this is medical advice, not a statement about any product’s safety for human use, and not a regulatory approval. Peptide Library’s vendor and partner relationships play no part in them (editorial independence).