BPC 157 and Standard Angiogenic Growth Factors
Seiwerth et al./PubMed/2019
Why It Matters
This paper caught my attention because BPC-157 is heavily marketed in longevity circles, but this is a review — not new data. The authors claim BPC-157 outperforms established growth factors, but this is preclinical only (animal studies, mostly rats). No human trials are cited. The broad claims about healing everything from ulcers to torn tendons are based on rodent data, which often doesn't translate to humans.
Key Findings
- BPC-157 worked consistently across all routes of administration (oral, injection, topical) in animal models of gastrointestinal injury — esophageal, gastric, and intestinal ulcers all showed healing improvement
- Standard growth factors (EGF, FGF, VEGF) required specific carriers and delivery systems to show benefits in tendon/muscle/bone healing, with most evidence coming from their presence at injury sites rather than from controlled healing studies
- BPC-157 improved healing in animal models of tendon, ligament, muscle, and bone injuries using the same simple dosing regimens that worked for gut healing — no special carriers needed
- The peptide appears to work through angiogenesis (new blood vessel formation), but the mechanism isn't fully understood and differs from how standard growth factors operate
- All evidence presented is from preclinical animal studies — primarily rats — with no human clinical trial data discussed in this review
Read the Paper↗PMID: 29998800