What is BPC-157?

What sources report

What BPC-157 is

BPC-157 is a chain of 15 amino acids: Gly-Glu-Pro-Pro-Pro-Gly-Lys-Pro-Ala-Asp-Asp-Ala-Gly-Leu-Val, or GEPPPGKPADDAGLV in one-letter code.⁴ PubChem lists the free base as C62H98N16O22, molar mass 1419.5 g/mol, compound ID 9941957.⁵ Its CAS registry number is 137525-51-0.⁶ Researchers describe it as a partial sequence of body protection compound, a protein isolated from human gastric juice.¹ The literature first reported it in 1993.²

FDA treats BPC-157 free base and its acetate salt as distinct active ingredients, though both contain the same peptide.² It has also seen several salts and derivatives sold under the one name.² Researchers will find BPC-157 for sale here as a 5 mg vial of freeze-dried powder.

How it is thought to work

In endothelial (vessel-lining) cells and in rats with reduced blood flow to a hind leg, BPC-157 raised VEGFR2, a receptor for vessel growth (2017).¹³ It also switched on the VEGFR2-Akt-eNOS signaling pathway, and treated rats regained blood flow faster.¹³ In rat tendon cells, it increased outgrowth, survival under stress and migration, likely through the FAK-paxillin pathway (2011).¹ FDA cautions that the molecule's targets have not been identified, which makes the reported effects hard to judge.²

BPC-157 resisted breakdown by gastric juice in the lab, but it clears the blood fast.² In rats and dogs, unchanged BPC-157 had a half-life under 30 minutes.¹⁹ It was broken into small fragments and then single amino acids (2022).¹⁹

Animal research

Most of the evidence comes from animal studies, chiefly in rats.³²⁶ After the Achilles tendon was cut, rats given BPC-157 had stronger tendons, better walking scores and better tissue repair than rats given saline (2003).¹⁸ A tendon cut from the heel bone did not heal back on its own in rats but did with BPC-157 (2006).²³ Other rat studies reported better healing of a fully cut quadriceps over 72 days and of a cut knee ligament over 90 days.²⁴²⁵

FDA's review adds gut findings in rats: colon fistulas about 40% smaller from day 3, and NSAID-induced stomach and intestinal lesions more than 75% smaller.² A 2025 systematic review of orthopaedic research counted 35 preclinical studies among the 36 it included.²⁶

Human studies

Human data are few and weak: a 2026 systematic review found three studies with 30 people in total, all before-and-after designs with no control group.³ It rated the certainty of evidence very low and said BPC-157 should not be used clinically outside regulated, high-quality trials.³

FDA concluded there is a lack of evidence that BPC-157 works for ulcerative colitis, a disease with several FDA-approved treatments.² A University of Arkansas pilot after rotator cuff surgery (target 30 people) was not yet recruiting in October 2026.²⁹ Its record states that BPC-157 has not yet been studied in formal human clinical trials.²⁹

BPC-157 is also sold blended with TB-500 as the Wolverine stack. For other compounds studied in tissue repair, see the healing research overview.

Side effects

Side effects in people are not well described: FDA notes the human studies were short and small and gave limited safety information.²

Reported in people

• FDA's adverse event database (FAERS, searched through December 2025) held three reports, all involving injected BPC-157.²
• One report was an injection-site reaction, and one was shortness of breath.²
• The third described skin and gum darkening after a research-labeled product that also contained TB-500.² The reaction returned when the product was used again.²
• FDA could not determine whether BPC-157 caused any of the three.²
• Healthy volunteers given BPC-157 enemas most often reported headache and flatulence, with no obvious difference from placebo in frequency or severity.²

Seen in animals

• Mild irritation in a local tolerance test, and lower creatinine levels in dogs given 2 mg/kg daily, which reversed after 2 weeks off the drug (2020).³⁰
• In FDA's reading of 28-day injection studies: clotting-test changes (aPTT shorter in rats, longer in dogs) and liver-related signals.²

Warnings

• FDA says injected or nasal BPC-157 may trigger immune reactions, which clumping and impurities could worsen.²
• FDA identified no cancer (carcinogenicity) studies, and the published reproduction study did not cover a full reproductive cycle.²
• Health Canada warns that unauthorized injectable peptides may cause infections and allergic reactions, and may contain high-risk ingredients or contaminants, listed on the label or not.³¹

General precautions are in peptide safety basics.

Dosage information

No human dose of BPC-157 is established.²¹² FDA found no published human studies of BPC-157 given under the skin, by mouth, by nasal spray or through the skin.² USADA notes that it is unknown whether any dose is safe.¹² The table lists doses used in published studies; they describe research conditions, not guidance for people.²¹²

Background on how study doses are reported is in peptide dosage basics.

Reconstitution and storage

No approved BPC-157 product exists, so no official label sets mixing or storage rules.² FDA describes the free base as a white to off-white freeze-dried powder that dissolves in water at 5 mg/mL, citing supplier data.² Supplier data cited by FDA report the powder keeps about 3 weeks at room temperature, with long-term storage dry and below -18 °C.² After mixing, other supplier figures cited by FDA give 2 to 3 weeks at 4 °C and 3 to 4 months at -20 °C.² FDA adds that pH, heat, concentration and impurities can make such peptides clump or degrade.²

The lab steps are in how to reconstitute a peptide vial. The reconstitution calculator does the concentration math, and how to store peptides covers freezer and refrigerator practice.

Regulatory status

United States

BPC-157 is not FDA-approved, is not part of any approved drug and has no USP or National Formulary monograph.² FDA notes it is marketed in US dietary supplement capsules and tablets.² The Defense Department's Operation Supplement Safety program says it is not a dietary ingredient and puts it on the DoD Prohibited Dietary Supplement Ingredients List.³⁵

Its compounding status has shifted: FDA moved BPC-157 into category 2, substances with significant safety risks, in September 2023.¹⁴ By April 2026, FDA listed it among category 2 substances whose nominators had withdrawn them.⁹ FDA's safety note stayed posted: possible immune reactions, impurity problems and too little data to know whether it would harm people.⁹

For its July 23, 2026 advisory committee meeting, FDA evaluated BPC-157 for ulcerative colitis and proposed leaving it off the 503A Bulks List.¹⁰² Committee members disagreed, voting 8 to 6 with 1 abstention to add both the free base and the acetate.¹⁷ The vote is advisory, and FDA says it will decide only after considering it.² FDA's meeting page showed no final decision as of October 24, 2026.¹⁰

A "research use only" label does not change the law.³⁴ In a warning letter dated June 12, 2023, FDA treated a website's BPC-157 injectables and nasal sprays as unapproved new drugs.³⁴ The site, FDA said, showed they were meant for people even though they carried "research purpose only" labels.³⁴

Other countries

FDA found no approved BPC-157 product in any country, and BPC-157 is not in the European, Japanese or International Pharmacopeias.² Health Canada lists it among unauthorized injectable peptide drugs it has seized.³² It says such products are illegal in Canada and that "For Research Use Only" labelling does not make them legal.³² Australia made BPC-157 a prescription-only (Schedule 4) medicine from June 1, 2024, so possessing it without authority is illegal.³³ New Zealand's Medicines Classification Committee recommended prescription-medicine status in May 2023, noting very little human data.⁸

Sport

WADA's 2026 Prohibited List names BPC-157 in class S0, non-approved substances, prohibited both in and out of competition.⁷ WADA first listed it on January 1, 2022.⁸ USADA's advisory on the 2027 list, in force from January 1, 2027, keeps it prohibited under S0.³⁷ In 2017, a US sports drug-testing laboratory identified BPC-157 in confiscated vials and validated a urine test that detects it at 0.1 ng/mL.³⁶