What it is
BPC-157 is a peptide made of 15 amino acids. It is made in a lab. It copies a small section of a protein found in human stomach juice. Scientists at the University of Zagreb first studied it in the early 1990s. Other names: Body Protection Compound 157, Pentadecapeptide BPC 157.
What researchers study it for
- Tendon, muscle, and bone injury in rats
- Stomach and intestine damage in animals
- Wound closing in animals
- Nerve and spinal cord injury in rats
- Blood vessel growth in lab tests
What the studies found
1. It increased growth hormone receptors on rat tendon cells.
A receptor is a protein on the surface of a cell. Growth hormone attaches to it. When it attaches, the cell divides and makes repair proteins. More receptors means more growth hormone attaches at once, so the cell repairs faster. Measured in lab cells only.
2. Rats with spinal cord injury walked better after treatment.
Treated rats scored higher on walking tests than untreated rats. Spinal cord tissue repairs itself very little on its own. This result is why researchers now study BPC-157 for nerve injury.
3. It widened rat blood vessels.
BPC-157 turned on an enzyme that makes nitric oxide. Nitric oxide relaxes the muscle in the vessel wall, so the vessel widens. A wider vessel carries more blood. More blood delivers more oxygen and nutrients to damaged tissue.
4. Wounds closed faster in treated animals.
A 2021 review found faster closing in skin cuts, burns, and gut injuries. No animal died at any dose tested. Animal data only. No human safety data exists.
5. It left rat blood in 15 minutes. The effects lasted weeks.
Researchers think it switches on repair genes in the first hour. Those genes keep making repair proteins after the peptide is gone.
6. It stays intact in stomach acid.
Stomach acid breaks down almost every other peptide. BPC-157 does not break down. This is why researchers can test it by mouth in animals.
How much research exists
More than 100 published studies. All are in animals or in lab-grown cells. No completed human trial has been published.
Facts
- Formula: C62H98N16O22
- Weight: 1419.5 g/mol
- CAS number: 137525-51-0
- Storage: freeze the dry powder. Keep mixed solution in the fridge and use it within a few weeks.
Legal status
Not approved by the FDA or any other agency for human use. Banned in sports by WADA since 2022.
For research use only. Not for human use. Nothing here is medical advice.