Healing & repair
BPC-157
A synthetic fragment of a gastric protein, widely promoted online for injury recovery. Human trial evidence is very thin; almost all data comes from animal studies.
What it is
BPC-157 (body protection compound 157) is a 15-amino-acid synthetic fragment derived from a protein found in human gastric juice. It is not an approved medicine anywhere, has no established human dosing, and is sold mainly as a 'research chemical'. It is on the WADA prohibited list.
How it works
- 1
In animal models it appears to increase signalling through the VEGFR2 pathway, which is involved in new blood-vessel formation.
- 2
It has been reported to interact with nitric oxide and growth-factor pathways in tissue-repair models.
- 3
Animal studies describe faster closure of tendon, muscle and gut-lining injuries.
- 4
Proposed mechanisms have not been confirmed in controlled human studies, and the receptor-level target is still debated.
What it's studied for
Reported and studied effects
- Faster histological healing in rat tendon and muscle models
- Reduced ulcer size in rodent gastric-injury models
- Reported improvement in pain scores in small, uncontrolled human case series
- No adequately powered randomised human trial has been published
Research protocol notes
Research context onlyResearch context only — there is no approved human protocol. Published animal work used doses expressed in micrograms per kilogram, often given by injection for one to four weeks. Widely circulated online 'cycle' numbers come from forums, not from clinical research, and should not be treated as evidence of safety or effectiveness.
These figures are described so you can understand what researchers did. They are not a dose, a schedule, or a suggestion — and they are not a substitute for a doctor.
Possible side effects and contraindications
Safety profile
Possible side effects
- Human safety data are minimal, so the true side-effect profile is unknown
- Injection-site irritation reported anecdotally
- Nausea and dizziness reported anecdotally
- Product purity is unregulated in most markets — contamination is a documented problem with research chemicals
Contraindications and cautions
- Not established — no clinical contraindication list exists
- Pregnancy, breastfeeding and childhood should be treated as absolute unknowns
- Anyone with cancer history should be cautious of anything proposed to promote blood-vessel growth
- Competitive athletes: prohibited under WADA rules
A side-effect list is never complete, and these are not the only situations that warrant caution. Anything unexpected, or anything you are unsure about, should be discussed with a doctor before use.
Evidence assessment
Mechanistic and animal studies are consistent but small, and human evidence is limited to uncontrolled case reports. No randomised human trial of adequate size exists.
References
- 01Sikiric et al., Stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 — PubMed literature search
- 02Chang et al., BPC 157 promotes healing in a rat tendon model — PubMed literature search
- 03World Anti-Doping Agency — Prohibited List
References link to published literature, regulator pages or literature indexes. Where a link points to a search, it collects the peer-reviewed work on that molecule rather than a single study.
Related
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Other entries in Healing & repair.
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KLOW blend (TB-500, BPC-157, KPV, GHK-Cu)
A four-peptide repair and skin stack: animal data on each part, nothing at all on the combination.
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KPV
A three-amino-acid fragment of alpha-MSH promoted for gut and skin inflammation. Anti-inflammatory in cells and animals; there are no human trials at all.
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TB-500
A synthetic fragment of thymosin beta-4, studied in animals for wound healing and cell migration. No approved status and no robust human trials.