BPC-157, a 15-amino-acid peptide popular in online "healing" circles, has a well-cited 2011 study behind its tendon-repair reputation. Researchers found that it sped tendon fibroblast outgrowth, improved cell survival under oxidative stress, and boosted migration, apparently by activating the FAK-paxillin pathway. But it did not directly increase cell proliferation, and every result came from rat tissue and cells in the lab. This article unpacks the mechanism, explains why it doesn't amount to human evidence, and reviews the peptide's unapproved regulatory status.
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