HCG
Research highlights
- ✓A glycoprotein hormone made of two linked subunits, alpha and beta
- ✓Produced by placental tissue; historically isolated from the urine of pregnant women
- ✓Researchers have examined its interaction with the LH/hCG receptor in vitro
- ✓Its literature comes largely from clinical medicine rather than laboratory models
Read Carl's plain-English guide: HCG on Peptide Carl ›
What is HCG?
Human chorionic gonadotropin: a glycoprotein hormone with an alpha subunit shared with LH, FSH and TSH, and a beta subunit unique to it. Produced by placental tissue, it is the marker detected by standard pregnancy tests, and is quantified in international units of biological activity rather than by mass.
What is its legal and anti-doping status?
hCG is a regulated, prescription-only medicine in many jurisdictions, and it appears on the World Anti-Doping Agency's Prohibited List. Anyone ordering should check what applies where they are and to their institution. We supply it as a reference material for laboratory research only, not for human or veterinary use.
HCG, explained
The short version: HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) is the hormone the placenta makes during pregnancy, and it acts almost exactly like the pituitary's luteinising hormone. It is a long-standing prescription medicine for specific fertility and hormone uses, and WADA bans it for men.
What it is
HCG is a hormone built from two parts, an alpha and a beta subunit. The alpha subunit is essentially the same as the one in LH, FSH and TSH; the beta subunit is what makes it HCG. The licensed medicines are purified from urine collected during pregnancy.
Its action is virtually identical to LH. In men it stimulates the Leydig cells of the testes to make testosterone. In women it can stand in for the mid-cycle LH surge that triggers ovulation, and in pregnancy it keeps the corpus luteum making progesterone.
Where it is approved
In the US, products such as Pregnyl are prescription medicines approved for three uses: undescended testes in boys where nothing physically blocks descent, selected cases of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism in men (low testosterone because the pituitary is not sending the signal), and inducing ovulation in certain women with infertility.
The same label carries a warning in capital letters: HCG has not been shown to work as an add-on treatment for obesity, and has no known effect on fat mobilisation, appetite or fat distribution.
Where the evidence stops
The approved uses are narrow and supervised. The label says fertility treatment with it needs a doctor experienced in infertility and close monitoring, because of risks such as ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, multiple pregnancy and blood clots. WADA lists chorionic gonadotrophin as a testosterone-stimulating peptide that is prohibited in males at all times. Research-grade material is not the licensed medicine.
Handling and storage
It arrives as a freeze-dried powder. Once bacteriostatic water goes in, it belongs in the fridge. Our reconstitution and storage guide covers the details, and the calculator does the maths.
A well-understood hormone with real, narrow medical uses. Not a fat-loss tool, by the label's own words, and banned in men's sport.
Sources (checked 7 October 2026)
For research use only. Not for human consumption. Nothing on this page is medical advice.
Reviews from people who ordered HCG
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