What Is BPC-157? A Reference on the Body Protection Compound
A synthetic pentadecapeptide drawn from a sequence in gastric juice. Mechanism, half-life, and why it's one of the most-studied peptides in laboratory tissue-repair research.
BPC-157 is a 15-amino-acid sequence derived from a protein found in gastric juice. The full name — “Body Protection Compound” — comes from preclinical observations that the peptide appears to support tissue integrity under stress. It is one of the most-studied research peptides in tissue-repair literature.
Structure
The sequence: Gly-Glu-Pro-Pro-Pro-Gly-Lys-Pro-Ala-Asp-Asp-Ala-Gly-Leu-Val. Molecular weight is approximately 1419 Da. The peptide is stable in gastric acid — uncommon for peptides — which is one reason it has been studied in oral as well as parenteral administration in animal models.
Proposed mechanism
The mechanism is not fully resolved. Reported observations in animal models include:
- Modulation of nitric oxide pathways
- Effects on growth-hormone receptor expression in injured tissue
- Interaction with the dopaminergic and serotonergic systems
- Angiogenic activity in wound-healing assays
The peptide does not have a single canonical receptor identified to date. Most published work treats BPC-157’s activity as multi-pathway.
Half-life
In rodent models, plasma half-life is short — on the order of minutes for parenteral administration. Effects in tissue, however, persist beyond what plasma kinetics would predict, suggesting local-tissue persistence or downstream signaling effects.
Common research contexts
In published animal studies, BPC-157 has been investigated in models of:
- Tendon and ligament injury
- Gastric ulceration
- Bone defect healing
- Nerve transection recovery
Translation to humans is not established. The compound is not approved for human use by any major regulatory body.
Sourcing notes
Reference standards vary in purity. Look for suppliers that publish HPLC purity figures (>98% is the standard reference threshold) and mass-spec verification on a per-lot basis. Reconstitution requires bacteriostatic or sterile water; the peptide is hygroscopic and should be stored lyophilized at -20°C until reconstituted.
For more on storage and reconstitution practices, see Storage and reconstitution best practices.
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