Peptide Dosage Data from Published Research Protocols

Research published in the use of peptides uses distinct dose levels, routes of administration, and duration durations evaluated in lab settings. This page collects dose info from relevant studies to be used as a research reference. It is not considered to be a guide for dosage calculations.

Dosages Reported in BPC-157 Studies

Rat Studies: Dose, Route and Duration

The most commonly cited BPC-157 dose in published rat studies is 10 mcg/kg body weight, administered either intraperitoneally (IP) or subcutaneously (SC). Studies using this dose include tendon transection models (Cerovecki et al., 2010), muscle crush injury models and gastrointestinal lesion models. Some studies have used doses as low as 2 mcg/kg and as high as 50 mcg/kg. The higher doses generally show similar efficacy profiles to 10 mcg/kg, which is consistent with the peptide's wide therapeutic window observed in toxicology data.

Scaling Factors Between Species

According to the 2005 Guidance for Industry from the FDA, it is advised to use body surface area scaling to convert animal dosage into HED instead of using simplified weight conversion. The scaling factor for the conversion from rat to humans is around 6.2, hence, a dosage of 10 mcg/kg administered to a rat would yield an HED of approximately 1.6 mcg/kg. In a human weighing 70 kg, this would mean a dosage of around 112 mcg.

Dosages Reported for Other Peptides

TB-500 in Animal Models

Published Thymosin Beta-4 studies use varying doses depending on the model. Wound healing studies in mice have used 6 mcg applied topically or 150 mcg injected IP per animal. Cardiac repair studies have used doses in the range of 12 mg/kg IP in mouse models. The dose range across published TB-500 studies is wider than for BPC-157, reflecting the diversity of models and the fact that TB-500 (a 43-amino-acid peptide) has different pharmacokinetics than the smaller BPC-157.

Ipamorelin and Tesamorelin in Clinical Data

Ipamorelin is supported by Phase II trials in human subjects ranging in dosage from 0.01 to 0.1 mg/kg IV, in which dose-dependent release of growth hormone was achieved. The only other peptide listed in this database with human dosing data resulting from clinical trials is tesamorelin, which is FDA-approved at the dosage of 2 mg per day SC for HIV-infected patients with lipodystrophy.

Epithalon Study Protocols

Published Epithalon (Epitalon) studies in animal models have used doses of 0.1 to 10 mcg per animal administered IP or SC, typically in 10-day cycles. A 2003 study by Anisimov et al. in Biogerontology used repeated 10-day courses of Epithalon in mice and reported effects on telomerase activity and lifespan markers. Human dosing data is limited to early Russian studies with small sample sizes.

Semax Nasal Dosing in Human Studies

Semax is used in Russia clinically at doses ranging from 200 to 600 mcg per day through nasal route, divided into 2 to 3 times. Studies report BDNF upregulation and cognitive effects at these doses. The choice of the nasal route is justified, because Semax's target is located in the central nervous system.

Reconstitution Math

Concentration After Adding Water

When bacteriostatic water is mixed with lyophilized peptide vials, the resulting concentration is obtained by dividing the weight of the peptide by the volume of water. For instance, in the case of 10 mg of peptide in 2 mL of water, the resulting concentration is 5 mg/mL. Even when a 5 mg peptide is mixed with 1 mL, the same concentration of 5 mg/mL is attained. The volume of the water thereby decides how much quantity is taken per dose; hence, the higher the water volume, the more volume is injected per mg of peptide. Mostly 1-2 mL of BAC water is used for every vial.

Units on an Insulin Syringe

"Units" are used to calibrate insulin syringes in the U-100 standard, which means 1 mL equals 100 units. So if your solution after reconstitution is 5 mg/mL, 10 units (0.1 mL) would contain 0.5 mg of peptide in it. This conversion of units to milligrams depends solely on the concentration after reconstitution. Using a concentration that is incorrect will lead to the wrong dose.

Unit Conversion Reference

Why Dose Extrapolation Is Unreliable

Allometric Scaling Limitations

The scaling system of body surface areas used by the FDA allows basic calculation of dosage between organisms. Nevertheless, this formula does not take into account such factors as receptor densities, organ-specific metabolic rates, protein-binding characteristics, and speed of peptide clearance. The dosage calculated is only the starting point in the design of clinical studies but is not the dose that can be proved as effective in humans. In fact, human doses can only be obtained in Phase I studies using experimental dose adjustments, including pharmacokinetic data collection which is notably absent for BPC-157, TB-500, Epithalon, and MOTS-c.

Route-Dependent Absorption Differences

The dosage of peptide administered can yield different outcomes in serum level depending on the route of administration. In the case of BPC-157 administered subcutaneously to rats, it will enter the systemic circulation quickly. In contrast, BPC-157 administered orally has to go through the gastric environment and reach the intestines first. So even if the same dose is used, it could yield different effects depending on the route of administration through which peptide was used.