The Stable Gastric Pentadecapeptide BPC 157 Pleiotropic Beneficial Activity and Its Possible Relations with Neurotransmitter Activity
/PMC/2026
Why It Matters
This paper caught my attention because BPC-157 is one of the most hyped peptides in biohacking circles, but nearly all the evidence comes from one research group in Croatia doing animal studies. This review attempts to explain how one peptide could affect wound healing, gut health, tendon repair, and brain function—but we're still missing the human data that would tell us if any of this translates to people.
Key Findings
- In rodent studies, BPC-157 accelerated healing of gastric ulcers, wounds, bone fractures, tendon injuries, and ligament damage—effects that appeared within days to weeks
- The peptide showed protective effects against various toxins and drugs (NSAIDs, alcohol, neurotoxins) in animal models, suggesting a broad cytoprotective mechanism
- Proposed mechanism involves interactions with multiple neurotransmitter systems: dopamine (both D2 receptor antagonism and agonism depending on context), serotonergic pathways, GABA-ergic signaling, and nitric oxide modulation
- Animal studies demonstrated effects on behavior and addiction models, including reduced amphetamine sensitization and alcohol withdrawal symptoms in rats
- The peptide is reportedly stable in gastric acid and doesn't require injection in animal models—oral administration showed effects, though most research used intraperitoneal injection
Read the Paper↗PMC11053547