BPC-157.
BPC-157 (sometimes written PL 14736 or "Body Protection Compound 157") is a synthetic pentadecapeptide, a chain of 15 amino acids (Gly-Glu-Pro-Pro-Pro-Gly-Lys-Pro-Ala-Asp-Asp-Ala-Gly-Leu-Val, MW ~1419 Da).
BPC-157 (sometimes written PL 14736 or "Body Protection Compound 157") is a synthetic pentadecapeptide, a chain of 15 amino acids (Gly-Glu-Pro-Pro-Pro-Gly-Lys-Pro-Ala-Asp-Asp-Ala-Gly-Leu-Val, MW ~1419 Da). BPC-157 is research / preclinical, and PepCue grades its published evidence D tier (39/100). Also known as body protection compound. This is a research reference, not medical or dosing advice.
What it is
BPC-157 (sometimes written PL 14736 or "Body Protection Compound 157") is a synthetic pentadecapeptide, a chain of 15 amino acids (Gly-Glu-Pro-Pro-Pro-Gly-Lys-Pro-Ala-Asp-Asp-Ala-Gly-Leu-Val, MW ~1419 Da). It was designed as a stable partial sequence derived from a larger protein reported in human gastric juice, and is studied chiefly as a cytoprotective and tissue-healing agent. It is not a naturally occurring hormone or an approved drug; nearly all of its reputation rests on animal experiments.
How it works
BPC-157's most consistently reported mechanism is modulation of the nitric oxide (NO) system: it promotes endothelial NO production and its protective and vasoactive effects are blunted by NO-synthase blockade (e.g., L-NAME) in animal and tissue models. In endothelial cells it has been reported to activate a Src–caveolin-1–eNOS pathway and to enhance VEGFR2-driven signaling, which is the proposed basis for its pro-angiogenic ("new blood vessel") effects on healing tissue. In cultured tendon fibroblasts it upregulates the growth hormone receptor and supports cell survival and migration. It is also described as interacting with multiple cytoprotective and neurotransmitter (e.g., dopaminergic, serotonergic) systems, though these are largely inferred from preclinical pharmacology rather than direct human data.
Mechanism pathways
Promoting new blood-vessel formation, cell migration, and repair signalling.
Wound healing proceeds through overlapping phases: haemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodelling. Angiogenesis, the growth of new capillaries from existing vessels, is essential to the proliferative phase because new tissue cannot be built or sustained without perfusion. It is driven largely by vascular endothelial growth factor acting on VEGFR2 on endothelial cells, with nitric oxide serving as a downstream and permissive signal that governs vessel dilation, endothelial survival, and sprouting. Cell migration is the other requirement: keratinocytes, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells must physically move into the wound bed, which depends on rapid reorganisation of the actin cytoskeleton. Compounds grouped here engage different points in that sequence. One acts most consistently through the nitric oxide system, promoting endothelial nitric oxide production, with protective effects that are blunted when nitric oxide synthase is blocked. It has been reported to activate a signalling chain involving Src, caveolin-1, and endothelial nitric oxide synthase, and to enhance VEGFR2-driven signalling, which is the proposed basis for its pro-angiogenic effects. It also has reported effects on gut mucosal protection and on tendon fibroblast behaviour. Others derive from a naturally occurring intracellular protein whose best-characterised function is binding monomeric actin in a one-to-one complex. By buffering the pool of unpolymerised actin, it modulates cytoskeletal assembly and therefore cell shape and motility. A short conserved motif within the protein has been reported to promote keratinocyte and endothelial migration, angiogenesis, and anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects in preclinical models. The relationship between the full protein and the fragment sold under a separate name is a frequent source of confusion, since they are related but not identical entities. This is a pathway where the gap between mechanism and proof is unusually wide, and it deserves plain statement. The molecular actions above are documented, but overwhelmingly in cell culture and rodent models of injury. Controlled human trials are sparse to absent for these compounds, none is an approved medicine for tissue repair in major jurisdictions, and material sold under these names is unregulated with uncertain identity and purity. Promoting angiogenesis is also not universally desirable, since the same signals that build capillaries into healing tissue could in principle support other proliferating tissue, and that question has not been addressed in humans.
The evidence
The evidence base is overwhelmingly preclinical: hundreds of rodent and in vitro studies (a large fraction from a single Croatian research group led by Predrag Sikiric) report accelerated healing of tendon, muscle, ligament, bone, gut, and nervous tissue, plus gastrointestinal cytoprotection. Human evidence is extremely thin: there is no completed, published, adequately powered randomized controlled trial demonstrating a clinical benefit, and reports of human use (e.g., small uncontrolled case series for joint pain, and an early-phase inflammatory bowel disease program under the code PL 14736) are limited, often unpublished, lack placebo controls, and represent the lowest tiers of clinical evidence. Mechanistic and animal plausibility for tissue repair is genuinely interesting, but it has NOT been confirmed to translate into proven efficacy or safety in people. Any claim that BPC-157 reliably heals injuries in humans goes beyond what the published data support.
The evidence, in brief
A synthetic peptide widely marketed for healing, but the evidence is almost entirely animal and in-vitro; robust human clinical trials are lacking. It is not approved for human use and is sold research-use-only. Mechanistically interesting, clinically unproven; treat strong human claims with caution.
- Sikiric P et al.: Stable Gastric Pentadecapeptide BPC 157 and Intestinal Anastomoses Therapy in Rats: A ReviewPharmaceuticals (Basel), 2024 (PMID 39204186)
Evidence maturity
An evidence-only reading: approval status, human vs preclinical data, mechanism and safety. Popularity never raises it. Research file #008
Some human signal atop preclinical work; gaps remain.
Some early human evidence exists but isn't definitive.
Claim receipts
Popular claims about BPC-157, checked against the state of the evidence. The verdict describes evidence maturity, never an invented study result.
Repair signals come mainly from animal models; high-quality human evidence is limited.
Gastrointestinal-protection findings are largely preclinical, not confirmed in human trials.
Long-term human safety is not established; quality of non-pharmaceutical material is an added risk.
There is no robust human clinical evidence base supporting the popular recovery claims.
Safety profile
There is no robust human safety dataset: long-term controlled toxicology and pharmacokinetic data in people are essentially absent, so its safety profile in humans is genuinely unknown. Animal studies have generally reported low acute toxicity, but rodent safety does not establish human safety, and theoretical concerns exist given its angiogenic (blood-vessel-promoting) activity, including unstudied implications for tumor biology. Most material sold online is research-use-only product of unverified identity, purity, and sterility, which adds contamination and mislabeling risks independent of the peptide itself. This entry intentionally gives no dosing, route, or protocol information.
Compound notes
- BPC-157 (“Body Protection Compound-157”) is a synthetic pentadecapeptide, a 15-amino-acid sequence derived from a protein fragment identified in gastric juice.
- In preclinical models it is studied for tissue repair, angiogenesis (new blood-vessel formation), and protection of gut, tendon, and ligament tissue.
- The supporting evidence is overwhelmingly from animal studies; robust human clinical trials are lacking.
- Not FDA-approved; research-only and not authorized for human use.
- Human safety, short- or long-term, is not established; purity/quality of non-pharmaceutical material is an added risk.
- Popular recovery claims run well ahead of the human evidence.
Regulatory status
BPC-157 is not approved by the FDA (or other major regulators) for any indication and remains an investigational/research-use-only compound. The FDA placed it in Category 2 of the 503A bulk-substances review in 2023 (citing significant safety questions and restricting compounding); reporting in 2026 indicates it was later removed from that Category 2 list amid a renewed review; removal is not approval and does not establish safety or efficacy.
Sold research-use-only; human evidence is limited or preclinical.
By the numbers
- 01Synthetic 15-amino-acid peptide (sequence Gly-Glu-Pro-Pro-Pro-Gly-Lys-Pro-Ala-Asp-Asp-Ala-Gly-Leu-Val), ~1419 Da, also coded PL 14736
- 02Promoted as a stable fragment of a protein reported in human gastric juice, marketed for tissue repair and gut protection
- 03Evidence is overwhelmingly preclinical (rodent/in vitro); no published adequately powered RCT establishes human efficacy
- 04Proposed mechanisms center on nitric oxide/eNOS modulation, VEGFR2-related angiogenesis, and growth hormone receptor upregulation in fibroblasts
- 05Not FDA-approved; investigational/research-use-only, and most online product is of unverified quality
- 06A large share of the favorable literature originates from a single research group, a recognized limitation
BPC-157: research formats
Choose the format you are researching to see route-specific notes.
Most common research format. Stable in BAC water; no special diluent required.
BPC-157 is typically sold as a 5 mg lyophilized vial. Reconstituting with 2.0 mL BAC water gives 2,500 mcg/mL, a concentrated solution suitable for the small volumes used subcutaneously. The compound is stable in BAC water at refrigerator temperature for approximately 28–30 days.
A single 5 mg vial provides 10 injections at 500 mcg or 20 injections at 250 mcg. Plan reconstitution volume based on how quickly you will use the vial within 28–30 days.
Sources
Every factual claim above resolves to a real, published source.
- The promoting effect of pentadecapeptide BPC 157 on tendon healing involves tendon outgrowth, cell survival, and cell migrationJournal of Applied Physiology, 2011, PMID: 21030672
- Modulatory effects of BPC 157 on vasomotor tone and the activation of Src-Caveolin-1-endothelial nitric oxide synthase pathwayScientific Reports, 2020, PMID: 33051481
- PubMed search: all indexed BPC 157 literature (~221 records)PubMed/NCBI database query
- Bulk Drug Substances Used in Compounding Under Section 503A of the FD&C ActU.S. Food & Drug Administration, regulatory page
Cite this page
PepCue. “BPC-157: the evidence.” PepCue, reviewed June 1, 2026. https://www.pepcue.app/p/bpc-157.
Log your doses, run the vial math, and keep a provider-ready record in PepCue.