BPC-157 is the Body Protection Compound.
It is a peptide that is made from human gastric juice. It has also been called Bepectin. Many preclinical models have shown its benefit in tissue injury and healing, inflammatory bowel disease, and CNS (nerve/brain) issues. From what we have seen, it has a desirable safety profile. Very few side effects have been reported.
So why isn’t it everywhere? It has not been approved for use in standard medicine by the FDA yet and was temporarily banned by the World Anti Doping Agency WADA in 2022 (though not currently listed as banned currently), as there are not sufficient and comprehensive human clinical studies.
Recently it has been removed from Category 2 classification. The FDA is looking to reclassify it, along with 14 other peptides, to Category 1.
Benefits of BPC-157
BPC 157 is naturally occurring
- BPC-157 metabolizes to non-toxic products
- Specific molecular targets enhance treatment efficacy
- Low dose to produce identical biological effects
- Peptide drugs do not accumulate in the body
- Peptides show enormous chemical and biological diversity.
What have preliminary studies shown?
Again, this is dense, but these are preclinical studies that have shown the benefits and safety of BPC 157. You will see most of these studies are in rats and dogs. They speak to potential dosing regimens, outcomes, and safety.
Safety:
- No toxic dose has been determined to date
- Study in rats with a single 20mg/kg IM dose, no deaths, abnormalities in body weight, food intake, or behavior noted
- Study in dogs at 10mg/kg IM showed no adverse effects
- Study in rats of 28 days of 0.2 mg, 1mg, or 4mg/day IM no changes relative to saline injection
- Study in dogs of 0.1 mg, 0.5 mg, or 2 mg/day IM no changes relative to saline injection
Uses:
- Study: protection against NSAID and alcohol adverse effects
- Study: healing actions on wound and injuries from trauma and systemic issues
- Study: benefits in neuropsychiatric conditions like depression, though other studies show it has poor penetration of the blood brain barrier. It is thought to affect dopamine levels.
It has a short half life (30 minutes).
What is the science behind how it works?
- NITRIC OXIDE.
- OXIDATIVE STRESS. It acts as a strong antioxidant by stabilizing free radical scavengers or prevents free radical formation (NOTE: Cancer and neurological diseases are thought to be created by oxidative stress. )
- ANGIOGENSIS. This is a fancy way of saying helps to create new blood vessels, which helps with wound healing. this is thought to be due to stimulating Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor.
- REDUCING FIBROSIS. There are some who think this is the underlying cause of almost all disease. Fibrosis leads to scarring and poorer tissue function. It is the residual you have after a heart attack or the scar from a surgery.
What are limitations of peptides in general?
- Conformational instability
- Short duration of action and are rapidly cleared by the liver and kidneys
- Hard to penetrate into the tissue you need it (particularly the blood brain barrier for uses to help the brain nervous system)
- They breakdown in the stomach, so hard to give the peptide orally. this is why it is done by injection. *NOTE: BPC157 is thought to be more stable and resistant to gastric juices.
What do we think at Biohackr Health?
Stay tuned for our next blog on possible applications for BPC-157, from cancer to wound healing. There is something here. This is a rapidly evolving space. To discuss peptides, come into Biohackr Health.
MEDICAL CITATION:
Multifunctionality and Possible Medical Application of the BPC 157 Peptide—Literature and Patent Review, Pharmaceuticals Jan 2025
Cited studies:
- Growing importance of natural products research. Molecules. 2019 [PubMed]
- Renesans peptydów a nowe cele terapeutyczne. Eliksir. 2015;2:15–22. [Google Scholar]
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- The future of peptide-based drugs. Chem. Biol. Drug Des. 2013[PubMed]
- Pharmacokinetics and pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic correlations of therapeutic peptides. Clin. Pharmacokinet. 2013 [PubMed]
- Problems with peptides—All that glisters is not gold. Trends Neurosci. 1986; [Google Scholar]
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- Strategies for improving Peptide stability and delivery. Pharmaceuticals. 2022; [PubMed]
- The influence of gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 on acute and chronic ethanol administration in mice. The effect of N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester and L-arginine. Med. Sci. Monit. 2006 [Google Scholar]
- Stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 in the treatment of colitis and ischemia and reperfusion in rats: New insights. World J. Gastroenterol. 2017; [PubMed]
- Stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 heals cysteamine-colitis and colon-colon-anastomosis and counteracts cuprizone brain injuries and motor disability. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 2013 [PubMed]