BPC-157 and Post-Surgery Recovery: What Has Been Studied

What the research covers

No human trial of BPC-157 after surgery has reported results. The evidence comes from rodent (rat) surgery models. The peptide is a chain of 15 amino acids, part of a larger peptide first found in gastric juice.

In these rodent (rat) studies, researchers operated first and then gave the peptide. In one, a cut small bowel was sewn back together. With the peptide injected into the belly cavity, the joins healed better. They held more fluid and pressure before leaking. In another, the Achilles tendon was cut away from the bone. The peptide improved healing where tendon meets bone. It also lessened the harm done by a steroid, methylprednisolone. In a 2025 rodent (rat) study, the thigh muscle was cut from the bone. The peptide, given by mouth, helped it reattach over 90 days.

In people, no results exist yet. One placebo-controlled trial after rotator cuff repair is listed on ClinicalTrials.gov. When checked on 27 September 2026, it was not yet recruiting. A PubMed search that day found no record of the peptide tagged as a clinical trial.

Sources

1. Vuksic T, Zoricic I, Brcic L, et al. Stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 in trials for inflammatory bowel disease (PL-10, PLD-116, PL14736, Pliva, Croatia) heals ileoileal anastomosis in the rat. Surg Today (2007). PMID 17713731 doi:10.1007/s00595-006-3498-9 Rodent (rat), small bowel cut and rejoined; 10 micrograms, 10 nanograms or 10 picograms per kg intraperitoneally; higher doses improved healing.
2. Krivic A, Anic T, Seiwerth S, et al. Achilles detachment in rat and stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157: Promoted tendon-to-bone healing and opposed corticosteroid aggravation. J Orthop Res (2006). PMID 16583442 doi:10.1002/jor.20096 Rodent (rat), Achilles tendon cut from bone; improved tendon-to-bone healing and reduced methylprednisolone harm.
3. Matek D, Matek I, Staresinic E, et al. Stable Gastric Pentadecapeptide BPC 157 as Therapy After Surgical Detachment of the Quadriceps Muscle from Its Attachments for Muscle-to-Bone Reattachment in Rats. Pharmaceutics (2025). PMID 39861766 doi:10.3390/pharmaceutics17010119 Rodent (rat), quadriceps cut from bone; BPC-157 by mouth, 10 micrograms or 10 nanograms per kg per day; reattachment over 90 days.
4. Sikiric P, Petek M, Rucman R, et al. A new gastric juice peptide, BPC. An overview of the stomach-stress-organoprotection hypothesis and beneficial effects of BPC. J Physiol Paris (1993). PMID 8298609 doi:10.1016/0928-4257(93)90038-u Original description: BPC-157 is a 15-amino-acid fragment of a gastric juice peptide.