BPC-157: Structural Profile of a Gastric Pentadecapeptide

BPC-157 is a synthetic 15-amino-acid peptide catalogued in the chemical literature as a gastric pentadecapeptide. This profile documents its published identity, its amino-acid sequence, and its physical form as a research-use-only material. It makes no claims about biological activity and describes no use.

Identity at a glance

For a research chemical, the identity record is the primary way one material is distinguished from another and from unrelated compounds sold under similar trade names. The fields below are drawn from public chemical registries and should be treated as the reference set a laboratory checks incoming material against.

Field	Value
Compound class	Gastric pentadecapeptide
CAS number	137525-51-0
Molecular formula	C62H98N16O22
Molecular weight	1419.5 g/mol
Amino-acid count	15 residues
FDA UNII	8ED8NXK95P
PubChem CID	9941957
InChIKey	HEEWEZGQMLZMFE-RKGINYAYSA-N
Synonyms	Bepecin, PL-10
Reported purity	99.9%
Physical form	White lyophilized powder
Salt form	Acetate
Storage	-20 °C, protected from light

Sequence and composition

BPC-157 is reported with the sequence Gly-Glu-Pro-Pro-Pro-Gly-Lys-Pro-Ala-Asp-Asp-Ala-Gly-Leu-Val, written from the N-terminus on the left to the C-terminus on the right. In single-letter notation that reads GEPPPGKPADDAGLV. Fifteen residues place it in the pentadecapeptide range, and the composition is dominated by small and acidic residues: three glycine units, two alanine units, and two aspartate units, alongside a single lysine that carries the only strongly basic side chain.

The proline run

The most distinctive structural feature is the block of three consecutive proline residues at positions three, four, and five. Proline is the only proteinogenic amino acid whose side chain loops back to the backbone nitrogen, which constrains the local backbone geometry. From an identity standpoint, a proline-rich stretch is worth noting because it influences how the peptide behaves during synthesis and analysis, and because miscounting the proline block is a common transcription error when a sequence is copied by hand rather than read from a certificate.

Physical form and laboratory handling

The material is supplied as a white lyophilized (freeze-dried) powder in the acetate salt form. Lyophilized peptides are generally handled cold and dry: the vial is held at low temperature, kept sealed, and protected from light and moisture until a laboratory prepares it for work. This profile does not provide reconstitution amounts, concentrations per subject, schedules, or routes, because those fall outside the scope of an identity document. What belongs here is the storage guidance for the sealed powder, which is -20 °C in the dark, and the packaged sizes offered for research, which are 5 mg and 10 mg.

Reading the identifiers

Each identifier in the table above answers a different question, and a careful researcher confirms several of them rather than relying on a single label.

CAS 137525-51-0 is the registry number that ties the name to a defined substance across catalogues and safety documents.
C62H98N16O22, 1419.5 g/mol is the elemental composition and calculated mass, which a mass-spectrometry identity check is compared against.
InChIKey HEEWEZGQMLZMFE-RKGINYAYSA-N is a hashed structure key useful for database lookups and de-duplication.
UNII 8ED8NXK95P is the unique ingredient identifier assigned in the FDA substance registration system.
PubChem CID 9941957 links the record to the public structure and property entry.

Advanced Sequence supplies BPC-157 as a research-use-only reference material. You can review the sample certificate fields on the lab results page, see the packaged sizes on the BPC-157 product listing, and browse related identity write-ups in the peptide profiles archive. Any certificate values shown across the site are illustrative examples of the fields a real certificate of analysis would carry, not a specific released lot.

Distinguishing BPC-157 from similar listings

Several materials circulate under names close to BPC-157, and the identity record is what keeps them apart at receiving. The descriptor “stable gastric pentadecapeptide” is sometimes attached to modified or salt-variant preparations that are not identical to the acetate powder described here. Two habits reduce the risk of a mismatch. First, confirm the CAS number and the full residue sequence together, since a shared class name does not guarantee a shared structure. Second, check the counterion: this material is supplied as the acetate salt, and the acetate is a separate species associated with the peptide rather than part of the 15-residue chain, so a net-peptide-content figure on a certificate can differ from the gross powder mass.

Name, code, and synonym

BPC-157 appears in the literature and in catalogues under the synonyms Bepecin and PL-10, among others. Synonyms are convenient but weak identifiers on their own, because they are applied inconsistently across sources. When a synonym is the only label on a document, the responsible step is to resolve it back to a registry number and a sequence before treating two listings as the same compound. The same caution applies to the amino-acid string itself: copying fifteen residues by hand is error-prone, and the triple-proline block in particular is easy to mistranscribe as two prolines or four.

What this profile does not cover

This is an identity document, so it stops at structure, composition, physical form, and storage of the sealed powder. It does not state or imply that BPC-157 treats, improves, or affects any condition, body, or outcome, and it gives no preparation amounts, concentrations, schedules, or routes. Those exclusions are deliberate. A structural profile earns trust precisely by staying inside the boundary of what can be documented from public registries and a certificate of analysis. Questions about measurement, such as how a purity percentage is generated and read, belong to the separate lab-standards notes rather than to an identity write-up, and questions about biological activity belong to the primary literature rather than to a supplier profile.

Common questions

What is the CAS number for BPC-157?

BPC-157 is registered under CAS number 137525-51-0. That number ties the name to a defined substance across chemical catalogues and safety documents, which is why it belongs on any research certificate of analysis.

How many amino acids are in BPC-157?

BPC-157 is a pentadecapeptide, meaning it has 15 amino-acid residues. Its reported sequence is Gly-Glu-Pro-Pro-Pro-Gly-Lys-Pro-Ala-Asp-Asp-Ala-Gly-Leu-Val, which in single-letter code reads GEPPPGKPADDAGLV.

How is lyophilized BPC-157 stored in a lab?

As a sealed lyophilized powder it is held at -20 degrees Celsius, protected from light and moisture. This profile documents storage of the powder only and does not cover preparation amounts, concentrations, or routes.

References

Reading a Peptide Identity: CAS, Sequence, and Class

A research peptide’s identity is not a single name but a set of documented fields that agree with each other. This guide walks through the fields any careful laboratory reads first, using three catalogue compounds as worked examples and citing only the values that appear on their documentation.

The fields that define an identity

Names are the least reliable part of a peptide record. The same compound may appear under a code, a trade name, and a descriptive name, and unrelated materials sometimes share loose nicknames. The fields that actually pin down what is in the vial are the registry number, the class, the sequence descriptor, and the reported purity, cross-checked against a certificate.

CAS number

The CAS registry number is a stable, unique handle for a defined substance. It travels across catalogues, safety data sheets, and databases, so it is the single most useful field for confirming that two listings refer to the same thing.

Compound class

The class situates the peptide in a family: a secretagogue pentapeptide, a thymosin fragment, a pineal tetrapeptide, and so on. Class does not tell you the exact structure, but it frames what other identifiers you should expect to see and which analogues might be confused with it.

Sequence descriptor

A sequence descriptor ranges from an explicit residue string to a shorthand such as an amino-acid count or a named fragment. When a full sequence is published it is the most specific descriptor available; when only a fragment name or residue count is documented, that is what should be cited, and nothing more should be invented around it.

Reported purity

Purity is a measured, lot-specific figure, most often an HPLC area-percentage. It is a property of a batch, not a fixed attribute of the compound, so it belongs on a certificate tied to a lot rather than in a general description.

Three worked examples

The table below shows the documented identity fields for three catalogue compounds. Note what is present and what is deliberately absent: where a molecular formula, molecular weight, or database identifier is not part of the documented record here, it is left out rather than guessed.

Name	Class	Sequence descriptor	CAS	Reported purity
TB-500	Thymosin Beta-4 fragment	Actin-regulating fragment	77591-33-4	99.4%
Ipamorelin	Pentapeptide secretagogue	5 amino acids	170851-70-4	99.3%
Epithalon	Pineal-derived tetrapeptide	Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly	307297-39-8	99.5%

Each row reads differently on purpose. TB-500 is documented as an actin-regulating fragment of thymosin beta-4, so the descriptor is a named fragment rather than a residue string. Ipamorelin is documented at the level of its class and residue count, a pentapeptide of five amino acids. Epithalon is short enough that its full four-residue sequence, Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly, is the descriptor. Reading them side by side shows that a complete identity is whatever the documentation supports, not a template filled in from memory.

What not to add

The discipline that separates a trustworthy record from a misleading one is refusing to invent fields. If a molecular formula, molecular weight, PubChem CID, InChIKey, or UNII is not on the documentation in front of you, the correct action is to leave it blank and note the gap, not to reconstruct a plausible-looking value. A fabricated identifier is worse than a missing one, because it looks authoritative while being unverifiable.

Putting it together

To read a peptide identity in practice, confirm the CAS number first, check that the stated class and sequence descriptor are consistent with each other, and treat purity as a lot-specific measurement to be verified against a certificate. When those fields agree, you have a defensible identity. For the deeper chemistry behind sequence descriptors, the notation guide in peptide profiles covers how residue codes are written and read.

Cross-checking fields against a certificate

Reading an identity is not only about knowing which fields exist; it is about checking that they agree. A practical pass over a certificate of analysis moves through the documented fields in order and stops at the first inconsistency.

Confirm the CAS number resolves to the expected compound in a registry.
Check that the stated class is consistent with that compound, so that a pentapeptide secretagogue does not carry a tetrapeptide sequence.
Match the sequence descriptor to what the class implies, whether that is a full residue string, a named fragment, or a residue count.
Read purity as a lot-specific HPLC figure, and note the method and the batch it belongs to.

Applied to the three examples, the checks read cleanly. Epithalon’s four-residue sequence Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly is consistent with its tetrapeptide class. Ipamorelin’s documentation stops at a pentapeptide class and a five-residue count, so that is exactly what should be cited, with no residue string added from memory. TB-500 is documented as an actin-regulating fragment of thymosin beta-4, so the honest descriptor is the fragment name rather than an invented full sequence.

When fields disagree

A disagreement between fields is a signal, not a rounding error. A CAS number that resolves to a different structure than the stated sequence, or a class that does not match the descriptor, means the document should be set aside and questioned rather than reconciled by guesswork. The safe response to a conflict is always to trust the registry-anchored fields and flag the rest, never to smooth over the gap with a value that was not supplied.

None of this is caution for its own sake. An inventory built on verified, self-consistent identities is one a researcher can defend under audit and reproduce months later; an inventory built on names and half-remembered values is not. The few extra minutes spent cross-checking fields at receiving are what make every downstream record trustworthy.

Common questions

What is the most reliable field for confirming a peptide's identity?

The CAS registry number. It is a stable, unique handle for a defined substance and travels across catalogues, safety data sheets, and databases, so it is the best single field for checking that two listings refer to the same compound.

What should I do if a molecular weight or CID is not documented?

Leave it blank and note the gap. If a molecular formula, molecular weight, PubChem CID, InChIKey, or UNII is not on the documentation in front of you, inventing a plausible value is worse than omitting it, because it looks authoritative but is unverifiable.

Is reported purity a fixed property of a compound?

No. Purity is a measured, lot-specific figure, usually an HPLC area-percentage. It describes a particular batch, so it belongs on a certificate of analysis tied to a lot rather than in a general description of the compound.