New Delhi, June 20 -- peptide therapies.

Marketed as powerful biological messengers capable of improving everything from metabolism and muscle recovery to cognitive performance and skin health, peptides have rapidly become one of the hottest trends in the longevity movement. Yet while enthusiasm is soaring, scientists warn that many of the claims being made about these compounds are running far ahead of the available evidence.

Peptides are short chains of amino acids that help regulate countless functions within the human body. Some peptide-based medicines have long-established medical uses. Insulin, for example, is a peptide, and newer GLP-1 medications used to treat diabetes and obesity are also peptide-based drugs. The excitement sur...