HCG
Human chorionic gonadotropin. A hormone. Not a short research peptide. Research only. Not a protocol.
What it is
HCG is made by the placenta in pregnancy. Pregnancy tests look for it. It is a glycoprotein hormone: two protein chains with sugar stuck on. About 237 amino acids. That is a protein hormone, not a 10–40 residue research vial.
In medicine it is used in fertility clinics and in some men with hypogonadism, under a doctor, as an approved drug. The LH receptor is the target. LH is luteinizing hormone. HCG can stand in for it.
Why it is not a short research peptide
Shops sell 5000 IU vials next to BPC-157. The bottle size is the only thing they share. HCG is a large glycosylated hormone. BPC-157 is a short gastric fragment. Calling both “peptides” because both come as powder is sloppy.
What researchers studied
A century of obstetrics and endocrinology. Detection of pregnancy. Triggering ovulation. Supporting the corpus luteum. In men, raising testosterone when the pituitary signal is the problem.
The “HCG diet” is a different story. Simeons sold a very-low-calorie diet plus HCG in the 1950s. Later trials did not show HCG beat placebo when calories were matched. In 2011 the FDA told companies to stop selling over-the-counter HCG diet products and calling them homeopathic weight loss. The weight loss was the starvation diet.
Papers and notices
Lijesen, Theeuwen, Assendelft, Van Der Wal, 1995 — Review of HCG diet trials. No evidence HCG adds weight loss beyond the calorie cut. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. Free at PMC1365103.
FDA consumer update, 2011 / archived — OTC HCG diet products are illegal. The agency’s words, not a shop’s.
What this is not
Not a short research peptide. Not a proven fat-loss drug on its own. This page does not tell you how much to take.