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Like gas station kratom, research-grade peptides have become widely available for consumers at convenience stores<\/a> across the United States. Yet as one investigation into peptides sourced from a New York City bodega found, ease of access comes with a high price: your health.<\/p>\n In new reporting on the peptide trade, CBS took a hard look<\/a> at gray market peptide products available across the US, including a knockoff of Eli Lilly\u2019s yet-to-be-released injectable weight loss drug retatrutide, bought from a corner store<\/a> in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n To test what\u2019s actually in a bodega vial labeled \u201cretatrutide,\u201d the news outlet sent samples to Jason Galpin, a researcher of bioorganic chemistry at the University of Iowa. His analysis? \u201cIt does not look anything like a peptide,\u201d he told CBS.<\/p>\n In place of any sort of peptide-like-substance \u2014 which should be made up of short chains of amino acids<\/a> \u2014 Galpin discovered the vial was chock full of phenylacetic acid, a filler-compound typically used in perfume<\/a> and illicit amphetamine manufacturing<\/a>. <\/p>\n Worse yet, the vial also contained at least 13 various bacterial colonies, which director of development at the University of Iowa\u2019s Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing Carl Ross told CBS could easily cause a dangerous infection.<\/p>\n \u201cAs kids, we\u2019re all taught to wash out cuts if we get cut,\u201d Ross explained. With gray market peptides, however, users are \u201cinjecting bacteria under the skin where it could multiply. It\u2019s pretty terrifying.\u201d<\/p>\n Last month, Wired conducted<\/a> a similar analysis, buying \u201cpeptides\u201d from a bodega in Brooklyn and sending them to a lab for analysis. As with CBS, it turned out that they weren\u2019t peptides at all; instead, they found chemical slurry that technicians couldn\u2019t even identify.<\/p>\n So there you have it:\u00a0if your guy at the corner deli tries to slip you some peptides to go with your chopped cheese, just say no. Your body will thank you \u2014 in more ways than one<\/a>.<\/p>\n More on peptides: Black Market Retatrutide Linked to Multiple Deaths<\/a><\/p>\n \t