The invention comprises peptidyl analogs of ghrelin having greater stability which are active at the GHS receptor according to formulae depicted below: (R2)-A1-A2-A3-A4-A5-A6-A7-A8-A9-A10-A11-A12-A13-A14-A15-A16-A17-A18-A19-A20-A21-A22-A23-A24-A25-A26-A27-A28-R1 wherein the definitions of A1 to A28, R1 and R2 are provided for in the specification, with the exception that the N-terminal amino acid must be selected from the group consisting of Inp, 1-Apc and 4-Apc, the pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof and pharmaceutical compositions comprising an effective amount of said compound together with therapeutic and non-therapeutic uses thereof.
