How do the two records compare?
Both names sit at Grade D: neither has a completed randomized trial, and neither is approved in the US or the EU. They differ on sport, and on how much published science sits behind the name. A completed randomized trial is a finished study that assigns people by chance to the compound or to a comparison. The Table counts only those.
| Pentadeca arginate (PDA) | BPC-157 | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A name sellers and compounders use for a chemically modified BPC-157, with an added arginine salt | A lab-made chain of 15 amino acids, modeled on part of a protein found in human stomach fluid |
| Human evidence | Grade D: no randomized trial | Grade D: no randomized trial |
| Completed randomized trials | 0 | 0 |
| Approved? | Not approved in the US or the EU | Not approved in the US or the EU |
| Sport | Not named on WADA's list | Banned in sport |
| Checked on | 22 Sep 2026 | 17 Sep 2026 |
- A name sellers and compounders use for a chemically modified BPC-157, with an added arginine salt
- Grade D: no randomized trial
- 0
- Not approved in the US or the EU
- Not named on WADA's list
- 22 Sep 2026
- A lab-made chain of 15 amino acids, modeled on part of a protein found in human stomach fluid
- Grade D: no randomized trial
- 0
- Not approved in the US or the EU
- Banned in sport
- 17 Sep 2026
Every cell but the first is a field from the records. The two zeros mean different things, and the trials section says how.
What does each name stand for?
BPC-157 is a lab-made chain of 15 amino acids, modeled on part of a protein found in human stomach fluid. Pentadeca arginate is a name from the peptide-retail and compounding world for a chemically modified BPC-157, with an added arginine salt that is claimed to improve stability.
The pentadeca arginate record lists "arginate salt of BPC-157 analogue" as one of its names and calls the compound a modified version of BPC-157. The BPC-157 papers on that record call the parent compound a "pentadecapeptide", a chain of fifteen amino acids. BPC-157 also goes by Body Protection Compound 157 and PL 14736.
The name has no peer-reviewed definition. Nearly all information about pentadeca arginate comes from compounding-pharmacy and supplement marketing material. By contrast, a team led by Predrag Sikiric at the University of Zagreb first described BPC-157 in the early 1990s. Neither record names whoever coined pentadeca arginate, or says when.
What was tested in people, and under which name?
No peer-reviewed study in people exists under the name pentadeca arginate. Under the name BPC-157, the FDA's May 2026 review found five small human studies, none of them randomized.
The pentadeca arginate record found no PubMed-indexed study of the compound as of 2026, and no peer-reviewed human or animal study under the name. Its study list holds BPC-157 work only: a rat study of fistula healing, and an early inflammatory bowel disease program in Croatia that was not completed or published in full. The BPC-157 record adds two registered trials. One is a Phase 1 safety trial registered in 2015 that has never posted results. The other is a Phase 2 trial for hamstring strain that is enrolling 120 participants. None of the five small studies used a route proposed for compounding.
Both records count 0 completed randomized trials, and the zeros differ. BPC-157's zero sits on top of small human studies and animal work. Pentadeca arginate's zero sits on top of nothing peer-reviewed under its name. Animal studies of BPC-157 exist, and neither record says any of them tested the arginate form. No peer-reviewed study of that form exists, on how the body handles it or on its safety. How we count a trial
Is either one approved, and for what?
No. Neither pentadeca arginate nor BPC-157 is an approved medicine in the US or the EU. Both records say so as a status: no FDA approval and no EMA marketing authorisation.
Compounding is the open question, and it belongs to BPC-157. Its record says BPC-157 is not currently eligible for US pharmacy compounding. In July 2026 an FDA advisory committee recommended making it eligible, and no final rule has followed. The pentadeca arginate record gives no compounding status for the arginate form itself. It says only that the parent compound was nominated for possible future compounding eligibility, with no final rule. Our records check the FDA and the EMA only. The BPC-157 record adds that no clinical trial is registered in the EU.
What is banned in sport?
BPC-157 is banned in sport, at all times, under class S0 of WADA's 2026 Prohibited List. Pentadeca arginate is not named on WADA's list, and that is not clearance.
The two rows pull against each other, and the records do not resolve it. The site's other pages describe class S0 as covering any substance with no current approval from a government health authority for human use. Pentadeca arginate has no US or EU approval, so that class may reach it without naming it, and its record has no sport source at all. Whether a tester would treat a vial sold as pentadeca arginate as BPC-157 is not on either record. If you compete, check both names on Global DRO, the checker the anti-doping agencies run, and read the current List.
What can nobody tell you about your vial?
Nobody can tell you from the outside whether a vial sold as pentadeca arginate holds the modified molecule its name claims. The record's central concern is that the product, as sold, has not been independently verified as a molecule. Nearly all information about it comes from the marketing of the people selling it.
A vial sold as BPC-157 at least has a published sequence to be checked against. None of the studies on its record tested a vial sold online. For either name, a "research use only" label guarantees nothing about purity. A certificate of analysis counts only if it names your lot number, a lab with no stake in the result, and the method used. Purity and identity are separate tests. For pentadeca arginate, an identity test would also need a published molecule to check against, and the record says the molecule, as sold, has not been scientifically characterized. The checklist scores a seller on 20 criteria.
The other side
The pentadeca arginate record says people use it mostly hoping for tissue repair or recovery. A personal result is real to the person who had it. It cannot tell the compound from the vial, or from recovery that time would have brought anyway.
What would change this answer?
- A peer-reviewed, independently run study of the arginate salt form itself, on how the body handles it or on its safety. The pentadeca arginate record calls this the single biggest change, and a study of BPC-157 in general would not count.
- For BPC-157: a final FDA rule after the July 2026 committee vote. Posted results from the 2015 Phase 1 trial or the Phase 2 hamstring trial would also count, as would a published cancer-risk study. Neither record says any of those would test the arginate form.
- A published, independently verified chemical identity for pentadeca arginate. Until one exists, nobody can test whether a vial sold under the name holds what the name claims.
Three questions to ask next
Every source below sits on one of the two records. The BPC-157 record was checked on 17 Sep 2026 and the pentadeca arginate record on 22 Sep 2026.
Regulators
- [1] FDA briefing document, Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee meeting on BPC-157 (opens in new tab). FDA. From the BPC-157 record
- [2] Certain bulk drug substances that may present significant safety risks (BPC-157 status) (opens in new tab). FDA. From the BPC-157 record
- [3] DEA controlled substances list (Orange Book), August 2026 edition (opens in new tab). DEA. From the BPC-157 record
- [4] WADA 2026 Prohibited List, category S0 (opens in new tab). From the BPC-157 record Copy on another site
Trial registries
- [5] ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02637284: Phase I trial, no results posted (opens in new tab). On both records
- [6] ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT07437547: Phase 2 trial, enrolling (opens in new tab). From the BPC-157 record Copy on another site
Journals and papers
- [7] Stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157: colocutaneous fistulas in rats (opens in new tab). From the pentadeca arginate record Paywalled
- [8] Focus on ulcerative colitis: stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 (opens in new tab). From the pentadeca arginate record Paywalled
Secondary Leads. Weaker than a primary document.
- [9] Coverage of the July 2026 committee vote (opens in new tab). From the BPC-157 record Secondary
- [10] Bulk-list bound? PCAC backs majority of peptides in two-day public meeting (opens in new tab). From the pentadeca arginate record Secondary