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PeptideLimited humanNot FDA approved

BPC-157

Body Protection Compound 157

Last reviewed October 27, 2026 · 11 sources · Written for general readers · Compare with another compound →

The bottom line

BPC-157 is a lab made peptide with a long list of impressive animal studies and a very short list of small human ones. The only placebo controlled trial, in ulcerative colitis, did not show a clear benefit.[1] It is not approved as a medicine in the United States, FDA advisers narrowly backed compounding it in July 2026 but FDA has not acted, and anything sold online sits outside the pharmacy system.[2]

Where the evidence stands

What it is

BPC-157 is a synthetic chain of 15 amino acids, written GEPPPGKPADDAGLV. Its registered identifier is CAS 137525-51-0 and its formula is C62H98N16O22, with a weight of about 1419.5 g/mol. FDA notes that BPC-157 is a common nickname rather than an official drug name, and that products sold under that name differ from one another.[1]

The name stands for Body Protection Compound. Researchers describe it as derived from a sequence found in human gastric juice, and an earlier research version was called PL 14736.[1]

Most of what is published about it comes from one research group in Croatia working in rats and mice over about thirty years.[5]

Name
BPC-157 (Body Protection Compound 157)
Other names
bepecin, PL 14736
Type
Peptide
Sequence
GEPPPGKPADDAGLV
CAS number
137525-51-0
Formula
C62H98N16O22
Molecular weight
About 1419.5 g/mol

How it works

The proposed mechanisms come from animal and cell work, not from measurements in people.

  • Animal reviews report effects on blood vessel growth, nitric oxide, inflammation signals and the pathways that rebuild tissue after injury.[3]
  • In rat tendon cells grown in a dish, BPC-157 raised the number of growth hormone receptors, which made those cells respond more strongly to growth hormone.[6]
  • Rat studies describe protection of the stomach lining and of other organs after injury, which is where the name Body Protection Compound comes from.[5]
  • It breaks down very fast. In dogs and rats given it into a vein, half was gone in about 5 to 15 minutes, likely cut apart by enzymes in blood and tissue.[1]
  • FDA says the real targets of BPC-157 in the body have not been identified and its mechanisms remain poorly understood.[1]

None of these mechanisms has been confirmed by measurements in living people.

What the research shows

We keep animal and human evidence apart. A result in animals is a reason to study something in people, not proof that it works in people.

Animal and lab studies

A large animal record, mostly from one research group

  • A 2025 systematic review in sports medicine found 36 studies. All but one were animal or cell studies.[3]
  • In rat models of cut or crushed muscle, cut Achilles and thigh tendons, and cut knee ligaments, treated animals showed better strength, structure and movement. One muscle study found benefit even when healing was slowed by steroids.[3]
  • In rabbits with bone breaks that would not heal, BPC-157 given into muscle did about as well as a bone graft.[3]
  • Long running rat and mouse work reports protection of the gut lining and healing of many kinds of injury.[5]
  • In safety tests, single injections into muscle caused no visible harm in rats and dogs. In 28 day studies, FDA flagged changes in blood clotting tests and in liver related blood values. Standard gene damage tests were negative, pregnant rats showed no birth defects, and no cancer studies exist.[1]

Limit: Animal healing results have repeatedly failed to carry over to people, and most of this work comes from a small number of related laboratories.

Human studies

Human evidence is small, short and mostly uncontrolled

  • FDA reviewers searching the medical literature in 2026 found only five clinical studies plus one registered trial. All were short, small and exploratory. No serious side effects were reported, but how closely people were monitored was often unclear.[1]
  • In early safety studies reported only as meeting abstracts, 24 healthy volunteers used a BPC-157 enema for up to eight days. Headache and gas were the most common complaints. In the enema studies the peptide mostly could not be found in the blood, which suggests little gets absorbed that way.[1]
  • In ulcerative colitis, about 53 people were randomly given a BPC-157 enema or a dummy enema for two weeks, and 46 finished. Disease scores improved by 3.2 points with BPC-157 and 1.6 points with placebo, a difference that was not statistically significant. Three people on BPC-157 and two on placebo dropped out because of side effects, mainly worsening colitis.[1]
  • A 2021 chart review described 17 people at one Florida clinic who had BPC-157 injected into the knee for different kinds of knee pain. When called months later, 14 of the 16 who answered said their pain was better. There was no comparison group and no exam, scan or standard score.[4]
  • A 2024 report described 12 people with interstitial cystitis, a painful bladder condition, given a single treatment into the bladder. There was no comparison group.[1]
  • Two healthy adults received BPC-157 as an IV drip on two days in a row. Two people cannot show whether something is safe.[1]
  • A Phase 1 trial of an oral tablet, NCT02637284, was registered in Mexico with about 42 planned participants. It has posted no results and no publication was found.[1]
  • FDA found no human study at all of the routes most people use, such as injection under the skin, nasal spray or cream.[1]

Limit: Without a proper comparison group, improvements can come from time, rest, placebo effect or wishful memory rather than the peptide.

Claims check

The most common claims about this compound, and what studies actually found. Verdicts rate the evidence, not whether you should use it.

Heals tendons, ligaments and muscles

Only in animals

A 2025 systematic review found 36 studies of BPC-157 for muscle, tendon, ligament and bone injuries. Thirty five were animal or cell studies. In rats with cut or crushed muscles, tendons and knee ligaments, treated animals healed with better strength, structure and movement.[3] No controlled human study has tested this.[1]

Relieves knee and joint pain

Mixed results

One 2021 chart review from a single Florida clinic looked back at 17 people who had BPC-157 injected into the knee. Of the 16 reached by phone, 14 said their pain improved, including 11 of the 12 who got BPC-157 alone.[4] There was no comparison group, no scans and no standard pain or function scores, so placebo effect and time cannot be ruled out.[4]

Heals the gut and calms ulcerative colitis

Mixed results

The only placebo controlled trial is a 2005 conference abstract in about 53 people with ulcerative colitis who used an enema for two weeks. Disease scores fell by 3.2 points with BPC-157 and by 1.6 points with placebo, but the gap between the groups was not statistically significant. FDA said the report left out too much to judge.[1]

Protects the stomach and heals ulcers

Only in animals

About thirty years of rat and mouse work, mostly from one group in Croatia, reports protection of the stomach and gut lining after many kinds of injury.[5] None of the human studies FDA found tested BPC-157 for stomach ulcers or a leaky gut.[1]

Heals broken bones

Only in animals

In rabbits with bone breaks that would not join, BPC-157 given into muscle worked about as well as a bone marrow injection or bone graft, with more mature bone and less scar tissue.[3] The same review found only one human study, and it was about knee pain, not bone.[3]

Improves mood and brain function

Only in animals

Rat studies report effects on dopamine and serotonin, two brain signalling chemicals.[3] None of the human studies FDA found measured mood, memory or thinking.[1]

Known risks and side effects

  • Side effects reported in people. In small volunteer studies, headache and gas were the most common complaints.[1] FDA's reporting system holds three injection cases, including nine days of redness and swelling at the injection site, shortness of breath that led to an emergency room visit, and darkening of the skin and gums that came back when the product was used again, though each involved mixed or unverified products.[1]
  • Immune reactions are a real possibility. FDA reviewers flagged that an injected or inhaled peptide of this size can provoke an immune response, made worse by clumping and impurities, and no study of that question has been done for BPC-157.[1]
  • Long term and cancer risk is unknown. No cancer studies exist, and one proposed way BPC-157 works is by growing new blood vessels. Month long animal studies also showed changes in blood clotting and liver tests.[1]
  • Unregulated products. BPC-157 is sold widely online, through clinics and spas, and FDA records show no compounded BPC-157 made by registered outsourcing facilities between 2017 and 2025. Certificates of analysis that FDA examined often lacked tests for impurities, bacterial toxins or sterility.[1]
  • Banned in sport. BPC-157 is named by the 2026 World Anti Doping Agency list in class S0, the group of substances with no current approval for human use, which means it is banned at all times.[7]

Regulatory status

Today: BPC-157 is not an approved drug in the United States and does not appear on any FDA list of bulk substances that pharmacies may currently compound.[8] In September 2023 FDA placed it in category 2, the group of nominated bulk substances that raise significant safety concerns.[9] That nomination was later withdrawn and the substance now sits in a separate FDA table of withdrawn nominations rather than on any approved compounding list.[10] On July 23, 2026 the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee voted 8 to 6 with one abstention to recommend adding BPC-157 to the 503A compounding list, against the advice of FDA scientists. The recommendation is not binding, and FDA would need formal rulemaking before pharmacies could compound it.[2] On October 15, 2026 the Department of Health and Human Services sent a proposed interim access policy for compounding certain peptides to the White House budget office for review. It had not been published or taken effect.[11]

  1. FDA places BPC-157 in category 2 of the 503A nominated bulk substances, the significant safety concerns group.[9]
  2. FDA updates its safety page. BPC-157 no longer appears in category 2 and is shown instead among nominations that were withdrawn.[10]
  3. The Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee votes 8 to 6 with one abstention to recommend adding BPC-157 to the 503A list. FDA staff had recommended against it, and the condition under review was ulcerative colitis.[2][1]
  4. A proposed interim access policy for compounding certain peptides goes to the White House budget office for review. Nothing has changed in law yet.[11]

Sources

  1. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Briefing Document for BPC-157-Related Bulk Drug Substances. Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee Meeting, July 23-24, 2026. FDA briefing document
  2. Steinzor P. FDA Panel Backs 6 Peptides for Compounding. The American Journal of Managed Care. July 31, 2026. PCAC vote coverage
  3. Vasireddi N, Hahamyan H, Salata MJ, et al. Emerging Use of BPC-157 in Orthopaedic Sports Medicine: A Systematic Review. HSS J. 2025;21(4):485-495. PMID 40756949
  4. Lee E, Padgett B. Intra-Articular Injection of BPC 157 for Multiple Types of Knee Pain. Altern Ther Health Med. 2021;27(4):8-13. PMID 34324435
  5. Sikiric P, Seiwerth S, Rucman R, et al. Stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157: novel therapy in gastrointestinal tract. Curr Pharm Des. 2011;17(16):1612-1632. PMID 21548867
  6. Chang CH, Tsai WC, Hsu YH, Pang JHS. Pentadecapeptide BPC 157 Enhances the Growth Hormone Receptor Expression in Tendon Fibroblasts. Molecules. 2014;19(11):19066-19077. doi 10.3390/molecules191119066
  7. World Anti-Doping Agency. The 2026 Prohibited List. Effective 1 January 2026. WADA 2026 List
  8. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Bulk Drug Substances Nominated for Use in Compounding Under Section 503A of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Updated May 14, 2026. FDA 503A bulks list
  9. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Bulk Drug Substances Nominated for Use in Compounding Under Section 503A of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Updated September 29, 2023. FDA document, copy hosted by the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding. FDA list update, Sept 2023
  10. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Certain Bulk Drug Substances for Use in Compounding that May Present Significant Safety Risks. Content current as of April 22, 2026. FDA category 2 page
  11. Associated Press. Trump administration advances plan for peptide drugs favored by RFK Jr. October 15, 2026. News report
Medical disclaimer

This page is educational information only. It is not medical advice and does not replace care from a licensed medical provider. Do not use this page to decide whether to take any substance. Talk to a licensed medical provider first.

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