Peptide Safely
Mostly animal studiesRecovery

BPC-157

Also called Body Protection Compound 157, PL 14736, Bepecin

A lab-made piece of a stomach protein that helped rats heal, barely tested in people.

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Typical dose250–500 µg
How oftenOnce or twice a day
Half-lifeUnder 30 minutes (animal data)
Vial sizes5 mg, 10 mg

The simple version

What it does
It helped tendons, muscles and the gut heal in rats.
How people take it
People typically inject 250–500 µg once or twice a day.
Know this
It has barely been tested in people, so whether it works or is safe is unproven.

What it is

BPC-157 is a short peptide (15 amino acids) copied from a protein found in stomach juice. Researchers in Croatia have studied it in animals since the early 1990s. It isn't an approved medicine anywhere.

How it works

In animal and lab studies, it seems to help the body grow new tiny blood vessels and calm inflammation. More blood flow to a hurt area may help tendons, muscle and the gut lining heal faster. Nobody has shown the same thing happens in people.

What people use it for

  • Tendon and ligament injuries
  • Muscle strains
  • Joint pain
  • Gut lining problems such as ulcers or IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) symptoms

The evidence

Mostly animal studies

Almost all the evidence comes from rats and lab cells, much of it from one research group. In people there are only three tiny studies from one Florida clinic (16, 12 and 2 people), none with a placebo group, and while they reported no side effects they're far too small to prove it works or is safe. A 2025 systematic review found no real clinical safety data.

How people dose it

Label doseFDA labelTrial doseclinical trialsReportedcommon use, untested

Standard

Reported
Dose
250–500 µg
How often
Once or twice a day
When
Any time; many split it morning and night
Cycle
4–6 weeks on, then a break of similar length
Route
Subcutaneous injection, often near the injured area

Why: In animals it leaves the blood in under 30 minutes, so people split the dose to keep levels steadier. These numbers come from community and clinic use, not human trials.

Oral (gut-focused)

Reported
Dose
250–500 µg
How often
Once or twice a day
When
On an empty stomach
Cycle
4–8 weeks
Route
By mouth (capsule or liquid)

Why: It was first found in stomach juice and seems to survive stomach acid in lab tests, so some people take it by mouth for gut issues. Nobody knows how much reaches the rest of the body in people.

Start at the low end, and change one thing at a time. If you take medication or have a health condition, check with a doctor first.

Mix & measure

Set up for a 5 mg vial. Change any number to match yours. New to this? Read how to mix a vial and mg vs mL vs units first.

mg
mL
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Plan your supplies

Pick your dose and how long you'll run it. We'll count what you need.

µg
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We may earn a commission from these links. Counts include one syringe and two swabs per dose.

Stay safe

Side effects

  • Redness, itching or bruising where you inject
  • Nausea or dizziness (reported by users)
  • Headache (reported by users)
  • Unknown long-term effects: there are no long-term human studies

Skip it if

  • History of cancer or a current tumor (it helps grow new blood vessels, which tumors also use)
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding
  • Under 18
  • Competitive athletes tested under WADA (anti-doping) rules

Interactions

  • No human interaction studies exist
  • Tell your doctor if you take blood thinners; animal studies show effects on blood vessels and clotting

Get help right away for swelling of the face or throat, trouble breathing, chest pain, or a spreading, hot, red injection site.

Storage & legal

Storage

Powder: fridge or freezer, out of light. Once mixed with bacteriostatic water: fridge, use within about 4 weeks.

Legal status

FDA: Not approved. FDA removed it from its Category 2 compounding risk list in April 2026. On July 23, 2026 the FDA's Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee voted 8–6 to recommend adding it to the 503A bulks list. That is advice only; FDA has not made it final.

Sport (WADA): Prohibited at all times (S0, non-approved substances) since 2022.

Often paired with

TB-500KPVGHK-Cu

Common questions

Has it been proven in people?

No. There are three small human reports from one clinic, with no placebo group. Everything else is animal or lab work.

Can I take it by mouth?

Some people do, mostly for gut problems. It seems to survive stomach acid in lab tests, but nobody knows how well people absorb it.

Is the FDA vote the same as approval?

No. The July 2026 vote was a recommendation about compounding (pharmacies mixing it). It isn't approval, and FDA still has to act on it.

Sources

  1. Staresinic M, et al. Gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 accelerates healing of transected rat Achilles tendon and in vitro stimulates tendocytes growth. J Orthop Res. 2003;21(6):976-83. PubMed 14554208
  2. Seiwerth S, et al. BPC 157 and Standard Angiogenic Growth Factors. Gastrointestinal Tract Healing, Lessons from Tendon, Ligament, Muscle and Bone Healing. Curr Pharm Des. 2018. PubMed 29998800
  3. 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. PubMed 34324435
  4. Lee E, Walker C, Ayadi B. Effect of BPC-157 on Symptoms in Patients with Interstitial Cystitis: A Pilot Study. Altern Ther Health Med. 2024;30(10):12-17. PubMed 39325560
  5. Lee E, Burgess K. Safety of Intravenous Infusion of BPC157 in Humans: A Pilot Study. Altern Ther Health Med. 2025;31(5):20-24. PubMed 40131143
  6. Vasireddi N, et al. Emerging Use of BPC-157 in Orthopaedic Sports Medicine: A Systematic Review. HSS J. 2025;21(4):485-495. PubMed 40756949

Last checked 2026-10