Oxytocin
Bonding and mood peptide
Also known as OT, the bonding hormone
- Evidence grade
- BHuman trials, not approved for this useScale
- Half-life
- About 3 to 5 minutes
- Schedule
- Per session, intranasal
- Maintenance amount
- 40 mcg
- Vial sizes sold
- 2 mg, 5 mg
- Cost per dose
- $0.24
Where a value is not established in people, this table says so rather than filling the box.
Oxytocin is a naturally occurring hormone made in the hypothalamus that governs childbirth, milk letdown and social bonding. In research it is most often given intranasally to study effects on trust, empathy and anxiety.
Oxytocin binds oxytocin receptors in the brain and body, shaping activity in regions like the amygdala that process social and emotional cues. This is thought to dampen social fear and heighten attention to bonding signals. Intranasal delivery is used to reach the brain, though how much crosses is debated. Human trials are extensive but results for social outcomes are inconsistent.
Human evidence is extensive but genuinely mixed, with many social-cognition trials failing to replicate.
- Studied for enhancing feelings of trust and social connection
- Explored for reducing social anxiety in some settings
- Researched as an adjunct in autism and mood-related trials
- Well-characterized biology as a natural human hormone
- Nasal irritation with intranasal use
- Headache or mild dizziness
- Inconsistent or absent effects across individuals
- Injectable forms can affect blood pressure and uterine activity and need medical supervision
A summary of the research, not medical advice. Individual benefits and risks vary, and for some of these compounds the human evidence is still early.
Oxytocin's research effects are generally reported within an hour of a dose, tied to social bonding and anxiety pathways, rather than building over a multi-week course the way growth-hormone or GLP-1 peptides do.
Read the full timeline →Drawn from published trial data and how the research community commonly describes this stretch. Not a fixed schedule and not medical advice.
Per session, intranasal. For research reference only, not medical advice.
| Phase | Amount |
|---|---|
| Per session | 18–40 IU intranasal |
Dosed by session rather than a daily total. Reference practice only.
A rough shopping estimate at the maintenance amount. Your real needs shift with your dose and titration.
| Item | 8-week plan | 12-week plan | 16-week plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peptide vials (2 mg) | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Insulin syringes (U-100) | 56 | 84 | 112 |
| Bacteriostatic water (10 mL) | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Alcohol swabs (100-count box) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
What a course of Oxytocin actually costs, worked from list price and the amount in the schedule above, plus the whole vials a 12-week run would take.
| Supplier | Vial | Price | Per mg | Per dose | 12 weeks | Independent test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BioEdge Research Labs | 10 mg | $59 | $5.90 | $0.24 | $59 (1 vial) | None on file |
One supplier listed so far for this compound.
List prices, checked September 4, 2026. Sale pricing is ignored on purpose so the table does not swing week to week. Verify before ordering.
Suppliers are listed alphabetically. We do not rank them by price, because the cheapest vial and the one worth buying are rarely the same thing. The column that matters is the last one, and today most of it reads "none on file", including for Quartz Peptides, which is owned by this site’s editor. See the disclosure and the COA guide.
Lyophilized: Keep the sealed powder cold and dark, near -20 °C, dry and out of light.
Reconstituted: Refrigerate the mixed or nasal solution at 2 to 8 °C and use within about 2 to 3 weeks.
Let a cold vial reach room temperature before you open it, so it takes on less condensation.
How strong is the evidence for Oxytocin?
We grade it B on a four-point scale. A large human literature that is genuinely mixed, with many social-cognition results failing to replicate.
What is the half-life of Oxytocin?
About 3 to 5 minutes. That is the figure the reported dosing frequency follows from.
What amount of Oxytocin is used in the research?
Per session: 18–40 IU intranasal. Dosed by session rather than a daily total. Reference practice only.
How much does Oxytocin cost?
A 10 mg vial lists at $59 from BioEdge Research Labs, which works out to $5.90 per mg and about $0.24 per dose at the amount used in research. Prices checked September 4, 2026. Price is not a quality signal, so check the certificate of analysis before ordering from anyone.
How is Oxytocin stored once reconstituted?
Refrigerate the mixed or nasal solution at 2 to 8 °C and use within about 2 to 3 weeks.
- Guastella AJ, et al. A randomized controlled trial of intranasal oxytocin as an adjunct to exposure therapy for social anxiety disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 2009;65:1067-1069.
- MacDonald E, et al. A review of safety, side-effects and subjective reactions to intranasal oxytocin in human research. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2011;36:1114-1126.