Here is a summary of the main effects and benefits of BPC-157 observed during past clinical studies and animal studies.
Potential alternative to Becaplermin
One of the unfortunate outcomes of having diabetes is that injuries generally tend to heal at a much slower pace.
Intrigued by this, researchers took rats with extremely high blood sugar levels, an indicator of diabetes, and created wounds in their skin.
When BPC-157 was administered daily for seven days, the injured rats experienced a dramatic increase in the rate of tissue regeneration within the skin [6].
This led researchers to believe that BPC-157 could be a viable alternative compared to other standard medications for treating wounds such as Becaplermin.
BPC-157 enhances the healing effects of Human Growth Hormone (HGH)
In tendon cells isolated from male rats, BPC-157 was found to enhance the expression of growth hormone receptors.
This could potentially lead to the secretion of more HGH and heal the tendon even faster [7].
The purported healing properties of HGH are numerous [8]:
“HGH helps to maintain, build, and repair healthy tissue in the brain and other organs.
This hormone can help to speed up healing after an injury and repair muscle tissue after exercise. This helps to build muscle mass, boost metabolism, and burn fat.”
BPC-157 treats inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
In two small-scale human clinical trials, BPC-157 was shown to have beneficial effects in treating IBD [9].
There was a complete absence of toxic outcomes or adverse side effects in both trials.
Furthermore, there was no lethality and BPC-157 appeared to work in a different manner from existing medications known to cause numerous side effects.
BPC-157 may improve digestive function
A common outcome of intra-abdominal surgery – or those with digestive health problems - is a gastrointestinal fistula (GIF).
When this happens, the digestive tract has a large opening which causes the stomach to be filled with gastric fluids, and this can lead to a dangerous infection.
When rats with GIF were treated with BPC-157 once a day, the fistulas were fully healed and closed up after 46 days of administering the peptide [10].
BPC-157 could heal muscle injuries
In a 2006 study, Croatian researchers cut up the quadriceps muscle in rats in a way where healing was previously believed to be impossible.
Using BPC-157 30 minutes and 24 hours after the injury allowed the muscle tissue to regenerate [11].
Additionally, functionality was restored to the quadriceps muscle tissue.
While many of the findings cited above were observed in animal studies (and therefore cannot be extrapolated to humans), there is evidence that researchers are actively exploring BCP-157’s potential in these areas.