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BPC-157

Also known as Body Protection Compound 157, PL 14736, PL-10, PLD-116, Bepecin

Synthetic pentadecapeptide that speeds tissue repair in animal studies; human efficacy is unproven.

preclinical Recovery & tissue research chemical

At a glance

Category
Recovery & tissue
Status
research chemical
Route
subcutaneous, intramuscular; also sold orally without supporting absorption data
Half-life
mean elimination half-life 15.2 minutes in rats after 20 mcg/kg intravenously and 5.27 minutes in dogs after 6 mcg/kg intravenously 1; no published human pharmacokinetics
Onset
unknown; user protocols speak of days to weeks
Molecular weight
1419.5 g/mol (free acid); commercial material is usually the TFA salt, approximately 1533 g/mol
Sequence
GEPPPGKPADDAGLV

Not approved anywhere for human use. The FDA lists BPC-157 among bulk drug substances that may present significant safety risks, stating that compounded drugs containing it "may pose risk for immunogenicity for certain routes of administration" and that the agency "lacks sufficient information to know whether the drug would cause harm when administered to humans". As of the agency's April 2026 update BPC-157 appears in the "nominated but withdrawn" table - it was previously in category 2 of the interim 503A/503B policies and the nomination was withdrawn by the nominator, so it remains ineligible as a bulk substance for compounding 5. Separately, BPC-157 (free base and acetate) was considered at the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee meeting of 23-24 July 2026 for the 503A bulks list; FDA's briefing document for that meeting assessed it as poorly characterised and lacking evidence of effectiveness and safety, and as of late July 2026 the committee's recommendation and any FDA determination had not been published 7. Sold as a 'research chemical'.

Doping status: Prohibited (WADA S0, non-approved substances, where BPC-157 is named explicitly; on the list since 2022)

Checked against the WADA 2026 Prohibited List. For a specific product and country, Global DRO is the lookup athletes are expected to use — the List names substances, not brand names.

Mechanism of action

BPC-157 is said to be a partial sequence of a protein from human gastric juice. That parent protein has never been independently isolated or characterised outside the original research group, which is a genuine caveat about its origin.

The most consistently described mechanism is modulation of the nitric oxide (NO) system: in animal models BPC-157 dampens the effects of both an NO donor (L-arginine) and an NO blocker (L-NAME). It appears to rebalance the system rather than push it in one direction.

Activation of the VEGFR2-Akt-eNOS pathway has also been described without BPC-157 itself binding to VEGF binding sites, along with upregulation of FAK-paxillin signalling, EGR-1/NAB2 and the growth hormone receptor in tendon fibroblasts. This is thought to promote migration and outgrowth of fibroblasts and tenocytes.

Virtually all mechanistic research comes from one line of research (Sikirić and colleagues, Zagreb). Independent replication is limited. One unexplained point is the discrepancy between the very short plasma half-life and the reported prolonged tissue effects.

What the research shows

Despite more than thirty years of publications and great popularity among athletes, the strength of the evidence is low. The evidence consists almost exclusively of animal studies, largely from a single research group. There is not a single published randomised human trial supporting the claims about tendon, ligament or muscle repair 2.

Research in humans

There is not a single published randomised controlled human trial of BPC-157 for tendon, ligament, muscle or other musculoskeletal repair 2. A systematic review in HSS Journal (2025) screened 544 articles and included 36: 35 preclinical and 1 'clinical' — the latter a retrospective case series of 12 patients receiving intra-articular injections for chronic knee pain, without a control group, randomisation or blinding 2. The only real drug programme concerned PL-14736 as an enema in ulcerative colitis (Pliva): a phase 1 safety study in healthy men was published, but the results of the randomised phase 2 study have never appeared as a peer-reviewed publication. An oral study from 2015 was withdrawn prematurely. There is also no published human pharmacokinetics.

Animal and lab research

Positive results have been reported in a strikingly broad range of rodent models: Achilles and quadriceps tendon transection, medial collateral ligament, muscle contusion, intestinal anastomoses, NSAID-induced gastrointestinal lesions, burns, bone defects, spinal cord and nerve injury. Effects are reported at doses spanning several orders of magnitude (ng/kg to mcg/kg) and with intraperitoneal, intramuscular and oral administration via drinking water.

Caveats. Heavy concentration in one research group with little independent replication. A near-flat dose-response curve across several orders of magnitude is pharmacologically a warning sign rather than a strength. Blinding is often absent, n is small and outcome measures are semi-quantitative. Hardly any negative or null studies have been published, which points to publication bias. There is no public long-term toxicology, carcinogenicity or reproductive toxicology study.

What it is used for

  • Tendon, ligament and muscle injuries - based on animal studies, not on human evidence; a 2025 systematic review screened 544 articles and found 35 preclinical studies against a single uncontrolled clinical case series 2
  • Gastrointestinal complaints and damage to the intestinal mucosa, including NSAID-related lesions. The FDA reviewed BPC-157 for ulcerative colitis and concluded there is "a lack of evidence to support the effectiveness of BPC-157 (free base) and BPC-157 acetate as a treatment for UC", finding only one small trial reported as a meeting abstract and no study using the oral, subcutaneous, nasal or transdermal route 7
  • Post-operative recovery and wound healing
  • Joint pain, in practice sometimes administered intra-articularly

Dosing

Dose
200-500 mcg per day; some protocols use 2-10 mcg/kg
Frequency
1-2 times daily
Route
subcutaneous, in user protocols often near the affected site; also intramuscular or oral
Duration
usually 4-8 weeks, followed by a break
  • These doses come exclusively from user protocols and unregulated clinics. There is not a single human study establishing a safe or effective dose: a 2025 systematic review that screened 544 articles found only one clinical report, an uncontrolled retrospective case series of 12 patients given intra-articular injections 2.
  • There is no evidence that local injection at the injury works better than systemic administration; this is an assumption from practice. It also sits awkwardly against a plasma half-life of about 15 minutes in rats 1.
  • For oral administration any pharmacokinetic substantiation of absorption is lacking. The one published animal pharmacokinetic study measured intravenous and intramuscular routes only, finding intramuscular bioavailability of roughly 15-19% in rats and 45-51% in dogs 1; it did not assess oral or subcutaneous dosing.
  • Material sold as a 'research chemical' carries no guarantee of identity, purity, sterility or endotoxin content. The FDA's own assessment is that BPC-157 (free base) is "not well-characterized from the physical and chemical characterization perspective", partly because of inconsistent naming that does not follow USAN, INN or IUPAC standards, and that certificates of analysis were not supplied with either nomination 7.

These figures describe what the literature and published protocols report. They are not advice and not a dosing instruction.

Protocols

Daily course for a soft-tissue injury

user protocol — not validated

Source: The pattern repeated across user forums, vendor pages and unregulated clinics

This is not a validated schedule. It is a pattern that circulates among users and sellers, reproduced because it is what people actually follow — not because it has been tested. No trial established these doses, this interval or this duration, and nobody is checking what is in the vial. Treat every number below as an assertion, not a finding.

Weeks 1-4250-500 mcg per day subcutaneously, as one injection or split into two
Weeks 5-8, if continuedthe same daily dose; most courses stop somewhere between week 4 and week 8
After the coursea break of roughly the same length before repeating

The four-to-eight-week length is a convention, not a finding: no human study has run BPC-157 to any endpoint. The instruction that usually accompanies it, to inject close to the injury, has no distribution study behind it either, and sits awkwardly against a plasma half-life of roughly 15 minutes in rats.

Oral course for gastrointestinal complaints

user protocol — not validated

Source: Vendor pages and clinic protocols for capsules and oral solution

This is not a validated schedule. It is a pattern that circulates among users and sellers, reproduced because it is what people actually follow — not because it has been tested. No trial established these doses, this interval or this duration, and nobody is checking what is in the vial. Treat every number below as an assertion, not a finding.

Weeks 1-4250-500 mcg per day by mouth, usually once daily
Weeks 5-8, if continuedthe same dose; longer runs are described for chronic complaints

Oral use is argued from the animal work in which BPC-157 was given in drinking water. No human absorption or bioavailability measurement exists, so quoting the same microgram figure for the oral and the injected route reflects convention rather than any demonstrated equivalence.

Schedules are reproduced as their source states them. Units, IU and milligrams explains why the figures are not interchangeable between products.

Reconstitution

Vial sizes
5 mg, 10 mg
Solvent
bacteriostatic water (0.9% benzyl alcohol)
Storage
Reconstituted 2-8 °C; in practice roughly 3-4 weeks is assumed. That is a convention, not a stability datum for this peptide. Powder in the freezer, protected from light.

Worked example

5 mg vial + 2.5 ml bacteriostatic water = 2 mg/ml. 250 mcg = 0.125 ml, or approximately 12.5 units on a U100 insulin syringe.

Do not shake; let the water run down the wall of the vial and swirl gently.

Work it out for BPC-157

Safety

Side effects

  • Injection site reactions: pain, redness, swelling
  • Reported by users: anxiety, whole-body itching, fatigue, nausea, headache, dizziness
  • Transient changes in blood pressure, plausible given the effects on the NO system
  • Immunogenicity (formation of antibodies) — explicitly named by the FDA as a risk for certain routes of administration, alongside peptide-related impurities and difficulties characterising the active ingredient 5
  • There is no controlled human safety dataset; the absence of documented side effects reflects the absence of research. The FDA states plainly that it "lacks sufficient information to know whether the drug would cause harm when administered to humans" 5, and a 2025 systematic review of 544 screened articles identified no controlled human safety data 2

Do not use if

  • Active or previous malignant disease: the angiogenic mechanism of action could theoretically support tumour growth. This is unresolved and the most frequently cited serious concern.
  • Pregnancy and breastfeeding: no data
  • Children and adolescents: no data
  • Competitive athletes subject to the WADA code: BPC-157 is named explicitly in class S0, non-approved substances, prohibited at all times in and out of competition 63, and a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) is not possible for a compound that is approved nowhere

Interactions

Not systematically studied. No formal interaction studies exist. Theoretically, interactions are conceivable with agents affecting the NO system (nitrates, PDE5 inhibitors, antihypertensives) and with anticoagulants or antiplatelet agents because of the angiogenic activity. This is speculation, not an established fact.

Common questions

Does BPC-157 actually work?
In animal studies it speeds the healing of tendon, muscle and gut tissue fairly consistently. In humans it is unproven — there are no controlled human efficacy trials, so the popular claims rest on rodent data and anecdote.
Is BPC-157 legal?
It is not an approved medicine and is sold as a research chemical labelled “not for human use”. Its regulatory position is set out on the legal status page.
Is BPC-157 banned in sport?
Yes — it is on the WADA Prohibited List under S0 (non-approved substances) and banned at all times. See doping status.
How is BPC-157 taken, and what is it stacked with?
It is most often injected under the skin; oral and capsule forms are also sold, though absorption data for those is lacking. It is commonly combined with TB-500 as the “Wolverine” blend — see also BPC-157 vs TB-500.

Sources