High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), also known as `corticotropin`, `Adrenocorticotrophic hormone`, is a polypeptide tropic hormone produced and secreted by the anterior pituitary gland. It is an important component of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and is often produced in response to biological stress (along with corticotropin-releasing hormone from the hypothalamus). Its principal effects are increased production and release of corticosteroids and, as its name suggests, cortisol from the adrenal cortex.