BPC-157 Regeneration Peptide - The Science, Reviews and Dosage and How It Is Used
With a few notable exceptions, such as for Doctor Who and the Hydra, the dream of rejuvenation for us mere mortals has always just been a pipedream.
But this has not stopped many people from trying out weird things to help them regenerate body parts and hopefully live longer, take Peter Thiel and Gavin Belson for instance, who are rumored to dilute their own blood with that of teenagers using blood transfusion methods. In this case the parabiosis technique is based on research into longevity performed in the 1950s on mice, that is only now getting the modern research that it really needs.
Unfortunately not everybody can afford to spend $40,000 a quarter for a supply of an adolescent’s young blood. But don’t worry too much as there is good news as far as the regeneration of damaged muscles is concerned.
What if I was to tell you that there is a synthetic peptide out there that is able to repair the damage that is caused by inflammation, promote the healing of tendons of ligaments, and even speed up bone healing and protect the gut from damage caused by pain killer Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs).
(Side note: NSAIDs are one of the reasons we designed our whole-body anti inflammation supplement... so you could avoid having to take harmful NSAIDs as often and save them for when you REALLY need them.)
Anyway, back to the story... You’d probably be thinking that I am talking about some far fetched wonder substance, but I’m not, a synthetic peptide that has been demonstrated to help the regeneration of tissue in rodents does indeed exist.
Well I’m guessing that you’d want to know the name of this peptide, its called BPC-157, really rolls off the tongue doesn’t it… Apparently the BPC in its name stands for Body Protecting Compound, and I’m guessing that there are at least another 156 of them out there.
First off, a side-note recommendation. Please DO NOT even think about taking BPC-157 for injury regeneration purposes until you have your essential bases covered.
This means you need to be taking collagen protein, some omega 3's if you aren't consuming enough fish, and a quality joint health supplement that contains essentials such as Cissus Quadrangularis (a miracle for me personally), turmeric, glucosamine and the like. Only after this should you even think look any further.
So just what is BPC-157 and why should I take it?
Like all peptides it is composed of a chain sequence of amino acids (aa) (in this case a 15 aa chain). As it is not found naturally in the body it is known as a synthetic peptide. If you are interested in the full 15 aa sequence, for whatever reason why, it is Gly-Glu-Pro-Pro-Pro-Gly-Lys-Pro-Ala-Asp-Asp-Ala-Gly-Leu-Va.
This synthetic peptide, which is derived from a protein called Thymosin beta 4 (TB-500), is also known by the names Bepecin, PL-10, and PL 14736.
So why should you take the BPC-157 peptide?
Well it appears to have all sorts of muscle and tendon mending properties, making it ideal to try if you have some type of sports related injury where the tissue needs to be rejuvenated. This may make it useful for the kind of injury that is often obtained from one of your workouts at the gym, perhaps even if the injury occurred a long time ago.
It appears to work by accelerating the rate of angiogenic repair. Angiogenesis is a key dynamic process for wound healing as it allows the formation of new blood vessels from old ones and is involved in organization of a microvascular network.
It is also strongly associated with protection of the gastric tract, where it thought to meditate protection through interactions with the central and peripheral dopamine system.
So is BPC-157 a bodybuilders dream?
The use of BPC-157 has become a topic of great interest in the world of bodybuilding. Where its potential to heal damaged joints and muscles, and to enable a quick recovery and return to the gym are deemed ideal for those carrying out high intensity exercise regimes.
A case study by an athlete going by the name of ‘Bouncer’ on the superiormuscle.com forum looks at the use of 250 mcg per day of sub-q into the stomach, using a two month supply
Bouncer opened the thread by mentioning that someone reported that after just one week of using BPC-157 they had seen an astounding improvement in their right hip. The person reported that the pain had gone from it and that after four injections he was able to smash out things at the gym that his injury had previously prevented him doing.
Bouncer did not find similar findings within a week, and suggested that the injection may work locally as opposed to systematically, despite what the research says.
After two weeks he reported improved sleep quality and that he was not feeling as tight as previously.
After one month he suggested that the use of the peptide may indeed be beneficial, but perhaps not as effective as taking TB-500. At this point he increased the dose to 500 mcg. He also reported that the use of BPC-157 seemed to have a positive impact on the effects of MK-677.
At a dose of 375 mcg, Bouncer reported getting headaches and having a queasy feeling about 10 minutes after taking the injection. His overall findings seem to be quite inconclusive.
There is also an interesting thread on the use of BPC-157 in the anabolicminds.com forum. In this thread, people suggest that as it is relatively inexpensive and that it may be one of the best healing peptides around that it is great for stacking with GHRP/H.
Some of the things that the original poster of this thread mentioned was that in rats the peptide has been reported to help heal torn quadricep muscles, damaged muscles and detached tendons; improve the speed of recovery from torn muscles; protect organs; heal ulcers; enhance the healing of ligaments; and to improve tendon to bone joint healing.
Posters to the forum suggest using a four week cycle with a two week rest period.
The reported results of the effectiveness of BPC-157 seem to be somewhat mixed.
How is BPC-157 taken?
Via Injection
The most studied and most recommended way to consume BPC157 is via a intramuscular or subcutaneous injection. This means either directly into the muscle (bodybuilding lore claims to aim for a close to the injury as possible), or underneath the fat for a general systematic effect.
Orally
Most synthetic peptides are difficult if not impossible for them to be absorbed by the body if taken orally, therefore nearly all of the research into it (using rodents) is performed by giving an injection.
Although given by injection in scientific research studies it has been shown to be a relatively stable peptide ex vivo and can last for 24 hours in the stomach’s acid. It is not quite as stable in plasma, where just 36% remains intact after a one-hour period. There have been two rodent studies showing that it might be effective orally, but more studies are necessary as it may not be absorbed into the bloodstream if consumed this way. Many users in bodybuilding forums are still claiming benefits from consuming orally, but this may or may not be placebo.
Update: A company is now making BPC and preserving it in capsule format. We reached out to them and they gave a discount code to save 15% off of orders. Just use code VITAMONK15 and order here.
How much should I take? - Finding the right dosage
This depends on your body weight. All of the research carried out so far has used rodent studies, the rats and mice are usually injected with an effective dosage thought to be around 10 μg (mcg) per KG, in humans this is thought to be around the equivalent loading of 1.6 μg per KG in humans, so if you are:
60 KG (132 lb.) then your ideal daily BPC-157 oral dose would be 96 μg (mcg)
70 KG (154 lb.) => 112 μg
80 KG (176 lb.) => 128 μg
90 KG (198 lb.) => 144 μg
With this said, those doses are a little on the low side of the doses taken by bodybuilders in the forum (again, this is bro-science experimentation, NOT medically studied dosages). Users here are regularly taking 250 mcg up to 500 mcg a day. There are even those taking super high doses of BPC-157 (1mg/day) without reported negative side effects. Again, we are definitely not recommending this. You should definitely talk to a doctor before experimenting with this. It's unknown territory.
What is BPC-157 thought to aid?
Joint Health and Rejuvenation
Fibroblasts are a specialized type of cell found in connective tissues. These cells are involved in the creation of collagen.
The use of BPC-157 is thought to speed up the growth and spread of fibroblasts and to increase rates of oxidative resistance. In addition to its effects upon fibroblast production. It also affects F-actin formation (which is involved in the spreading of fibroblasts).
The peptide has also been successfully used to increase the rate of collagen reformation following surgery.
The above findings go a long way to explaining how the administration of BPC-157 is able to promote healthy tendon and ligament healing.
Accelerates Bone Healing
As gastrectomy is related with derogatory bone conditions such as osteoporosis it is no surprise that the use of BPC-157, with its well-known fracture and wound healing aspects, is associated with improved bone health.
Research using rabbits has shown that the peptide is able to significantly improve healing related to osteoperiosteal bone defects over a six-week (1.5 months) period, especially following an autologous cortical graft or the local application of bone marrow.
Furthermore, the number of animals that healed was much greater in the experimental than what occurred in the control group. So it seems that the use of BPC-157 can both increase the rate and the frequency of recovery from bone damage.
Although the above experiments took place in lagomorphs the authors are very excited about its potential use in the management of bone related impairments that may occur in human patients.
Protects against intestinal damage
One of the most exciting aspects of BPC-157 is its potential for protecting the intestines from inflammatory damage.
When toxins were given to rats to mimic the effect of intestinal inflammation, the use of this peptide reduced the amount of visual markers known to be associated with intestinal gut damage.
The direct injections of BPC-157 into specific parts of rats is thought to help repair intestines through impacting nitric oxide signaling.
It can also help to overcome problems related to short gut (Short Bowel Syndrome: SBS). This condition often leads to malnutrition and dehydration because of increased incidence of diarrhea. The use of this peptide can help to make this problematic condition much better. It is also thought to be able to help repair damaged tissues caused by inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Compulsion
This peptide is known to impact dopamine levels, though there is as yet no evidence for the direct binding of dopamine receptors. It is therefore thought that its main action with regards to dopaminergic neurotransmission is likely to be through the antagonism of dopamine itself, and this interaction is thought to reduce the effects of amphetamine on compulsive behaviors.
Protect against gut damage caused by NSAIDs
Although they act great as painkillers one of the big problems with NSAIDs is that they can be toxic to the gut, this frequently leads to ulcers and an irritation of the bowels.
BPC-157 is able to act as an anti-ulcer peptidergic agent and has been put forward as an NSAIDs antidote as it is beneficial against damage caused by mediated lesions in the gastrointestinal tract, brain, and the liver, and is able to counteract symptoms associated with the taking of aspirins, such as bleeding.
Present research suggests that BPC-157 does not have toxic effects itself and is thus thought likely to have very high safety in its use against gastric damage caused by NSAIDs.
Neuroprotecion
As BPC-157 is able to reduce cell damage in the hippocampus of rats it very likely confers neuroprotective effects. It can help protect the brain tissue from damage when rats are given cuprizone (a toxin that scientists use to mimic the effects of schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis) it is thought that actual protection of the nerves may actually occur through intestinal processes.
Personal Final thoughts
My own point of view is that this is an exciting new compound that may have major positive benefits for people who have suffered from injuries, such as which may occur during gym fitness workouts and in exercises using hand equipment, such as tennis elbow, strained and torn muscles, joint issues, and general sprains. It also seems to have numerous positive aspects for gut health. Overall, it looks to be ideal for serious post exercise recovery problems.
It is hoped that you find this information on the wonder peptide BPC 157 to be of great use, if you have any questions or have tried it yourself and would like to leave some feedback points of your own, then please feel free to leave a comment below.
Disclaimer
Due to the limited amount of high quality scientifically researched information available on this product VitaMonk does not endorse the use of BPC-157.
Although we find its use of great interest, especially for bodybuilders, it has definitely not been fully tested and people who use it do so at their own risk. As a result, it is not a product that VitaMonk will offer for sale in the future.
The information in this article is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.