Research
HCG
A glycoprotein hormone of two subunits, produced by the placenta during pregnancy. Its alpha subunit is shared with LH, FSH and TSH; the beta subunit is what makes it distinct.
Available in the catalogue
Supplied as research material. Sizes and pricing are on the product page. Availability is not a statement about what a compound does.
What is being investigated
Directions the published work points at, and how far each has actually got. These are open questions, not established effects: most of what looks promising in cells does not replicate in animals, and most of what works in animals does not work in people. Nothing here is a claim about what this compound does for anyone.
- Ovulation induction
Its established clinical use, with decades of controlled work behind it. Nothing here is new or speculative, which makes this the best-evidenced entry in the catalogue rather than the most interesting one.
Human trials
- Testicular function in male hypogonadism
Binding the LH receptor stimulates the cells that produce sex steroids directly, which is why it appears in trials of preserving testicular function and spermatogenesis alongside testosterone therapy.
Human trials
- Weight loss
The one worth stating plainly: the widely promoted 'HCG diet' has been tested in randomised placebo-controlled trials and did not outperform placebo. This is a settled negative result, not an open question.
Human trials Did not work
Published research
Every reference below was checked against the published record before being listed, with the model each study used.
- Singhania et al. (2024)Endocrine Practice · 30(10):978–86
Compared a combined low-dose gonadotropin and testosterone regimen against a conventional higher-dose regimen in hypogonadal men.
human, comparative clinical study Source
- Zheng et al. (2025)Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology · 23(1):46
Compared spermatogenesis outcomes between pulsatile GnRH and combined gonadotropin therapy in congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism.
human, comparative clinical study Source
Further reading
Longer articles on handling, analysis and what the published work reports.
- HCG chorionic gonadotropin: what the research says
A long-established fertility medicine, and a literature that is almost entirely about treating diagnosed endocrine deficiency. Not about weight loss.
- How to store research peptides
Lyophilised peptides at -20°C, reconstituted at 2–8°C, ambient in transit. Why the dry cake tolerates shipping, and what actually degrades a vial.
- Peptide shelf life and stability
How long lyophilised and reconstituted peptides keep, and the four things that shorten it: temperature, moisture, light and oxidation. Storage figures included.
- How to reconstitute lyophilised peptides
How to reconstitute a lyophilised peptide with bacteriostatic water without damaging it: why you run the liquid down the vial wall and never shake it.