BPC-157

What BPC-157 is

BPC-157 is a lab-made peptide that has been tested in more than 100 studies. Nearly all of them used animals or cells in a dish. As of 2026, fewer than 30 people have been studied in published research, no large human trial has been finished, and the FDA has not approved it for any medical use.

A peptide is a short chain of amino acids, the building blocks of protein. This one has 15 of them (Gly-Glu-Pro-Pro-Pro-Gly-Lys-Pro-Ala-Asp-Asp-Ala-Gly-Leu-Val) and weighs about 1,419 Da. The chain is copied from part of a protein in human stomach juice. It does not show up in the body as a separate piece. BPC stands for “body protection compound”.

Scientists at the University of Zagreb in Croatia first described it in the early 1990s.

Stomach acid breaks down most peptides fast. BPC-157 lasted more than 24 hours in human stomach juice, and animals absorbed it by mouth with nothing added to carry it [17].

How much research there is

Many animal studies, very few human ones, and most of the work comes from one lab.

Question	Answer
Published studies	More than 100. This guide cites 36 key ones.
What was tested	Mostly rats, plus mice, rabbits and dogs, and cells in a dish
People studied	Fewer than 30 in all published research
Checked by other labs	A little, and growing. Groups in Taiwan (Hsieh) and China (Xue) confirmed key results
Where the work comes from	More than 80% of studies come from one group, led by Sikiric at the University of Zagreb
How the body handles it	Measured in rats and dogs only (He and colleagues, 2022). Not measured in people
Large human trials	None finished. Two bowel-disease trials (PL-10, PLD-116) are mentioned, but their data were never published
Do the results agree	Mostly yes, and mostly positive. Studies that found nothing may have gone unpublished

A 2025 review by outside authors named the single-lab issue as something readers should weigh [35].

How it might work

Animal and cell studies point to several ways BPC-157 could act. Nobody has found its receptor, the place in the body where it attaches. Everything in this section comes from animals or cells, not people.

New blood vessels

Healing tissue needs blood. BPC-157 helped new blood vessels form in two ways.

• Through VEGFR2. A team at Chang Gung University in Taiwan found that BPC-157 raised levels of VEGFR2, a switch on blood vessel cells. That turned on two proteins, Akt and eNOS, which led to more nitric oxide and new vessels [25]. It was the first time a lab outside Zagreb had mapped a specific pathway for the compound.
• Without VEGF. The same team later found a second route. BPC-157 freed eNOS from Caveolin-1, a protein that holds it back, using a signal called Src. That also raised nitric oxide and widened vessels [30].

Other studies found higher levels of VEGF, CD34 and FVIII at wound sites in several tissues [26].

Nitric oxide

Nitric oxide is a gas the body makes to relax blood vessels. BPC-157 does not simply push it up or down. It seems to work in both directions, depending on what the tissue needs:

• It supported vessel widening when blood flow was low.
• It held back the excess nitric oxide that comes with inflammation.
• It reduced free radicals in both cases.

Researchers have proposed this balancing effect as the reason it looks protective in so many models [23]. A 2025 review argued that its effect on blood vessels runs through nitric oxide and is separate from the usual VEGF route [37].

Growth signals

Several growth signals have been linked to BPC-157:

• VEGF: higher at wound sites, which supports new vessels.
• EGF: changes in the EGF receptor, tied to healing of the gut lining.
• FGF: possible effects on the growth of fibroblasts, the cells that build connective tissue.
• Growth hormone receptor: an independent study in Taiwan found that BPC-157 raised this receptor in tendon cells. It was among the genes that rose the most. That could make tendon respond better to the body’s own repair signals [28].

Brain chemicals

BPC-157 affected several brain chemical systems in animals. The pattern was a return toward balance, not a push in one direction:

• Dopamine: it countered the effects of blocked, oversensitive, overactive and drained dopamine systems [24].
• Serotonin: it acted on serotonin receptors, mainly 5-HT2A, and countered signs of serotonin syndrome [34].
• GABA: it increased GABA signaling. In long-term tests it prevented tolerance to diazepam and delayed withdrawal [24].
• Opioids: some signs of an effect, but this is less studied.

Researchers think these effects travel along the link between the gut and the brain [24].

Stomach and gut lining

The oldest research on BPC-157 is about protecting the stomach and gut. It builds on an idea called cytoprotection, first set out by Robert: the stomach lining has its own defenses, and a drug can strengthen them [29]. Proposed effects include:

• a stronger stomach lining, with more mucus and healthier surface cells
• lower signs of inflammation in gut tissue
• protection against damage from NSAID painkillers, alcohol and stress
• better healing where sections of bowel are surgically joined, and of sores in the colon
• recovery of the interstitial cells of Cajal in colitis models [21]

Tendon, muscle and bone

In animal models, BPC-157:

• switched on the growth and movement of fibroblasts
• increased collagen and made it more orderly
• helped tendon heal back onto bone
• offset the slower healing caused by corticosteroid drugs [9], [15]

What the studies found

All of these studies were peer reviewed and are listed in PubMed unless noted. Most used rats or cells in a dish.

Tendons and ligaments

Tendon healing is one of the most studied uses.

• Achilles tendon: treated rats had stronger healing tendon with better organized collagen. In a dish, BPC-157 made tendon cells multiply [4].
• Rotator cuff: a stronger join where tendon meets bone, more fibrocartilage, and more tendon outgrowth as cells survived and moved better [16].
• Knee ligament (MCL): healing improved more as the dose went up, with more fibroblasts and more orderly collagen [12].
• Tendon to bone: better healing, and it countered the harm corticosteroids did at the attachment [9].

A 2025 systematic review in the HSS Journal found possible benefits for tendon and muscle repair across animal models. It also said these results are still largely untested in people [36].

Stomach and gut

This is the best supported area, with about 30 years of studies.

• Stomach ulcers: protection against damage from alcohol, NSAIDs and stress in several models [1]. A lab in China confirmed it independently [5].
• Ulcerative colitis: benefit in colitis models, with less inflammation and better healing of the lining. The paper noted that human trial data (PL-10, PLD-116) existed but had not been published [18].
• Colon repair: it healed colitis caused by the chemical cysteamine and restored the interstitial cells of Cajal [21].
• NSAID harm: it protected the gut, liver and brain at the same time from the painkiller diclofenac [22].

Muscle

• Cut quadriceps: better recovery of function and healthier tissue under the microscope, with more regrowth and less scar [8].
• Crushed calf muscle: faster return of function and more regrowth of muscle fibers [10].
• Steroid-slowed healing: it countered the harm corticosteroids did to muscle repair [15].

Bone

• Bone gap in rabbits: bone growth similar to a bone marrow implant, with faster callus formation and higher bone mineral density [2].
• Gum disease: less inflammation and more new bone in a dental model [11].

Brain and nerves

• Head injury: in mice, it countered the worsening that normally follows a traumatic brain injury and improved function [14].
• Alcohol damage: protection against short-term and long-term alcohol damage, including loss of the coating around nerves [6].

Heart and blood

• Heart failure: in heart failure caused by the drug doxorubicin, it brought raised endothelin-1 back down and lowered lung artery pressure, more so at higher doses [7].
• Heart rhythm: it protected against deadly high potassium, acting through nitric oxide [20].
• Bleeding: it shortened bleeding time and countered low platelets in rats given heparin, warfarin or aspirin [19].

Safety

In animals

• Well tolerated at the doses tested, usually 1 to 10 mcg per kg in rats.
• No organ damage, gene damage or cancer seen in the models tested.
• No lethal dose has been found. High doses did not kill animals in these studies.

In people

There is very little human data.

• In a 2025 pilot study by Lee and Burgess, 2 healthy adults received up to 20 mg into a vein. They had no side effects and no meaningful changes in vital signs, heart tracings or lab tests [36b].
• Older bowel-disease trials (PL-10, PLD-116, PL 14736) are mentioned in the literature, but their full results were never published.

What is not known

• There is no full safety record in humans.
• There is no data on fertility or hormones, by sex, in any species.
• There is no data on long-term or repeated use.
• There are no formal drug interaction studies. In theory it could interact with drugs that act on nitric oxide or dopamine.
• Because it promotes blood vessel growth, its effect where a tumor already exists has not been studied well enough.
• Quality can vary from batch to batch. There is no standard way of making it.

Legal status in the US

• Not FDA approved. BPC-157 has no approval for medical use from the FDA. The same is true of the EMA in Europe and the MHRA in the UK.
• Banned in sport. The World Anti-Doping Agency lists it under S0, non-approved substances. It is banned at all times, in and out of competition.
• Research use. Suppliers label it for laboratory research use only, not for human use.

Limits of the research

1. Mostly animals. Almost all the evidence comes from rats and mice. Results in animals may not carry over to people.
2. One main lab. More than 80% of the studies come from the Sikiric group in Zagreb. Other labs, mainly in Taiwan, have confirmed only some results.
3. No finished human trials. Fewer than 30 people appear in published studies. Without large controlled trials, nobody has shown that it works in humans.
4. Missing negative results. Studies that find no effect are less likely to be published. That can make the evidence look better than it is.
5. Doses do not translate. Turning an animal dose into anything else needs data on how the human body handles the compound. That data does not exist. A 2022 study measured it in rats and dogs. Its half-life in blood was under 30 minutes. After injection into muscle, 14 to 19% reached the bloodstream in rats and 45 to 51% in dogs [31].
6. Target unknown. Several pathways have been proposed, but the main receptor has not been identified.

More than 100 studies say BPC-157 helps animals heal. None has yet shown it does the same in people.

References

Selected peer-reviewed references. Ordered by date of publication.

1. Sikiric P, Seiwerth S, Rucman R, et al. (1999). Stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157: novel therapy in gastrointestinal tract. Current Pharmaceutical Design, 5(3), 195–207. PMID: 10421682
2. Sebecic B, Nikolic V, Sikiric P, et al. (1999). Osteogenic effect of a gastric pentadecapeptide, BPC-157, on the healing of segmental bone defect in rabbits. Bone, 24(3), 195–202. PMID: 10071911
3. Sikiric P, et al. (1997). Pentadecapeptide BPC 157 interactions with adrenergic and dopaminergic systems in mucosal protection in stress. Digestive Diseases and Sciences, 42(3), 661–671. PMID: 9073154
4. Staresinic M, Sebecic B, Patrlj L, et al. (2003). Gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 accelerates healing of transected rat Achilles tendon. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 21(6), 976–983. PMID: 14554208
5. Xue XC, Wu YJ, Gao MT, et al. (2004). Protective effects of pentadecapeptide BPC 157 on gastric ulcer in rats. World Journal of Gastroenterology, 10(7), 1032–1036. PMID: 15052688
6. Boban Blagaic A, et al. (2004). The influence of gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 on acute and chronic ethanol administration in mice. European Journal of Pharmacology, 499(3), 285–290. PMID: 15381050
7. Lovric-Bencic M, et al. (2004). Doxorubicin-congestive heart failure—increased big endothelin-1 plasma concentration: reversal by amlodipine, losartan, and gastric pentadecapeptide BPC157. Journal of Pharmacological Sciences, 95(1), 19–26. PMID: 15153646
8. Staresinic M, et al. (2006). Effective therapy of transected quadriceps muscle in rat: gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 24(5), 1109–1117. PMID: 16609979
9. Krivic A, et al. (2006). Achilles detachment in rat and stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157: promoted tendon-to-bone healing and opposed corticosteroid aggravation. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 24(5), 982–989. PMID: 16583442
10. Novinscak T, et al. (2008). Gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 as an effective therapy for muscle crush injury in the rat. Surgery Today, 38(8), 716–725. PMID: 18668315
11. Keremi B, et al. (2009). Antiinflammatory effect of BPC 157 on experimental periodontitis in rats. Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, 60(Suppl 7), 115–122. PMID: 20388954
12. Cerovecki T, et al. (2010). Pentadecapeptide BPC 157 (PL 14736) improves ligament healing in the rat. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 28(9), 1155–1161. PMID: 20225319
13. Sikiric P, et al. (2010). Revised Robert’s cytoprotection and adaptive cytoprotection and stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157. Current Pharmaceutical Design, 16(10), 1224–1234. PMID: 20166993
14. Tudor M, et al. (2010). Traumatic brain injury in mice and pentadecapeptide BPC 157 effect. Regulatory Peptides, 160(1–3), 26–32. PMID: 19931318
15. Pevec D, et al. (2010). Impact of pentadecapeptide BPC 157 on muscle healing impaired by systemic corticosteroid application. Medical Science Monitor, 16(3), BR81–88. PMID: 20190676
16. Chang CH, et al. (2011). The promoting effect of pentadecapeptide BPC 157 on tendon healing involves tendon outgrowth, cell survival, and cell migration. Journal of Applied Physiology, 110(3), 774–780. PMID: 21030672
17. Sikiric P, et al. (2011). Stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157: novel therapy in gastrointestinal tract. Current Pharmaceutical Design, 17(16), 1612–1632. PMID: 21548867
18. Sikiric P, et al. (2012). Focus on ulcerative colitis: stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157. Current Medicinal Chemistry, 19(1), 126–132. PMID: 22300085
19. Stupnisek M, et al. (2012). Pentadecapeptide BPC 157 reduces bleeding time and thrombocytopenia after amputation in rats. Thrombosis Research, 129(5), 652–659. PMID: 21840572
20. Barisic I, et al. (2013). Mortal hyperkalemia disturbances in rats are NO-system related. The life saving effect of pentadecapeptide BPC 157. Regulatory Peptides, 181, 50–66. PMID: 23327997
21. Klicek R, et al. (2013). Stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 heals cysteamine-colitis and colon-loss of interstitial cells of Cajal in rats. Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, 64(5), 597–603. PMID: 24304574
22. Ilic S, Drmic D, Zoricic Z, et al. (2011). Pentadecapeptide BPC 157 and its effects on a NSAID toxicity model: diclofenac-induced gastrointestinal, liver, and encephalopathy lesions. Life Sciences, 88(11–12), 535–542. PMID: 21295044
23. Sikiric P, et al. (2014). Stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157-NO-system relation. Current Pharmaceutical Design, 20(7), 1126–1135. PMID: 23755725
24. Sikiric P, et al. (2016). Brain-gut axis and pentadecapeptide BPC 157: theoretical and practical implications. Current Neuropharmacology, 14(8), 857–865. PMID: 27138887
25. Hsieh MJ, et al. (2017). Therapeutic potential of pro-angiogenic BPC157 is associated with VEGFR2 activation and up-regulation. Journal of Molecular Medicine, 95(3), 323–333. PMID: 27847966
26. Seiwerth S, et al. (2018). BPC 157 and standard angiogenic growth factors. Current Pharmaceutical Design, 24(18), 1972–1989. PMID: 29998800
27. Sikiric P, et al. (2018). Novel cytoprotective mediator, stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157. Vascular recruitment and gastrointestinal tract healing. Current Pharmaceutical Design, 24(18), 1990–2001. PMID: 29879879
28. Chang CH, et al. (2014). Pentadecapeptide BPC 157 enhances the growth hormone receptor expression in tendon fibroblasts. Molecules, 19(11), 19066–19077. PMID: 25415472
29. Sikiric P, et al. (2020). Stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157, Robert’s stomach cytoprotection/adaptive cytoprotection/organoprotection, and Selye’s stress coping response. Gut and Liver, 14(2), 153–167. PMID: 31158953
30. Hsieh MJ, et al. (2020). Modulatory effects of BPC 157 on vasomotor tone and the activation of Src-Caveolin-1-endothelial nitric oxide synthase pathway. Scientific Reports, 10, 17048. PMID: 33051481
31. He L, Feng D, Guo H, et al. (2022). Pharmacokinetics, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of body-protective compound 157, a potential drug for treating various wounds, in rats and dogs. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 13, 1028178. PMID: 36588717
32. Sikiric P, et al. (2021). Stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 and wound healing. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 12, 627533. PMID: 34267654
33. Sikiric P, et al. (2023). Stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 may recover brain-gut axis and gut-brain axis function. Pharmaceuticals, 16(5), 676. PMID: 37242459
34. Sikiric P, et al. (2024). The stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 pleiotropic beneficial activity and its possible relations with neurotransmitter activity. Pharmaceuticals, 17(4), 461. PMID: 38675421
35. Jozwiak M, et al. (2025). Multifunctionality and possible medical application of the BPC 157 peptide—literature and patent review. Pharmaceuticals, 18(2), 185. PMID: 40005999
36. Vasireddi N, et al. (2025). Emerging Use of BPC-157 in Orthopaedic Sports Medicine: A Systematic Review. HSS Journal, 21(4). PMID: 40756949
37. Lee E, Burgess J. (2025). Safety of intravenous infusion of BPC157 in humans: a pilot study. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 31(5). PMID: 40131143
38. Sikiric P, et al. (2025). BPC 157 Therapy: Targeting Angiogenesis and Nitric Oxide’s Cytotoxic and Damaging Actions. Pharmaceuticals, 18(4), 576. PMC: PMC12567428