Compound guide · Tier A
HCG
The only compound in this catalogue whose own approved label states, in writing, that it does not do the thing it is most often bought for.
The short answer
HCG is a legitimate prescription hormone with real endocrine indications, and it is also the subject of one of the most durable diet frauds in modern medicine. The FDA required labelling that says there is no substantial evidence HCG increases weight loss beyond that resulting from caloric restriction, that it causes a more attractive or normal distribution of fat, or that it decreases the hunger and discomfort associated with calorie restricted diets. That statement is on the label of the approved product. The HCG diet works because the diet attached to it is a severe caloric restriction, and the hormone contributes nothing to the result. For fertility and hypogonadism it is a real drug for a real purpose, and that is a prescription conversation, not a vial from a research supplier.
At a glance
| Class | Human chorionic gonadotropin, a glycoprotein hormone |
| Developer | Multiple. Long established as a prescription medicine. |
| Sold as | Pregnyl, Novarel, and others |
| Regulatory status | Approved, and explicitly not approved for the thing most people buy it for. The FDA has approved HCG as a prescription drug for female infertility and for certain other endocrine conditions. It is not approved for weight loss anywhere, and the FDA has taken enforcement action against over the counter HCG weight loss products including homeopathic drops, sprays and pellets. |
| Compounding status | Approved HCG products exist and are dispensed on prescription. The weight loss market around HCG sits entirely outside that, and the FDA has been unusually direct about it over many years. |
| Anti-doping | Prohibited at all times for male athletes under S2. HCG stimulates endogenous testosterone production, which is why it appears in post cycle protocols and why it is banned. |
| Our evidence tier | Tier A. Approved medicine |
What it is
Human chorionic gonadotropin is a glycoprotein hormone produced in pregnancy that acts on the LH receptor. In women it can be used to trigger ovulation, and in men it stimulates the testes to produce testosterone, which is the basis of its use in hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and of its unapproved use for restarting endogenous production after anabolic steroid use. Because it is a glycoprotein rather than a simple peptide, it is dosed in international units of biological activity rather than by weight, and that distinction matters when reading a certificate of analysis.
Who it is for, and who actually takes it
The approved populations include women being treated for infertility through ovulation induction, and males with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, alongside other specific endocrine indications. All of these are supervised prescription settings.
It is bought largely for weight loss, on the back of a diet protocol the label itself contradicts, and by men restarting testosterone production after anabolic steroid cycles, which is an unapproved use that at least has a coherent endocrine rationale behind it.
What the research shows
The definitive HCG weight loss comparisons are decades old and consistently null. A chart of two identical bars would be a rhetorical device rather than information, and the label statement says it more plainly.
Dosing
| Stage | Dose |
|---|---|
| Approved indications | Female infertility through ovulation induction, hypogonadotropic hypogonadism in males, and other specific endocrine indications |
| Not an approved indication | Weight loss, in any formulation, anywhere |
| Route | Intramuscular or subcutaneous injection, by prescription |
| Measured in | International units of biological activity, not milligrams |
| Label statement required by the FDA | No substantial evidence that HCG increases weight loss beyond caloric restriction, improves fat distribution, or reduces diet related hunger |
The final row is not our commentary, it is the approved labelling. Reproducing an approved label is a record of public fact and not a recommendation, and the most useful thing on this label is the sentence telling you what the drug does not do. We publish no reconstitution guidance.
What happens when you come off it
In men using HCG to stimulate endogenous testosterone, the stimulus ends when the drug does, and the underlying axis suppression that prompted its use is not necessarily resolved by it. In the weight loss context the question is moot, because the weight change belongs to the caloric restriction and behaves accordingly when the diet stops.
What it is being studied for
| Area | Stage of evidence |
|---|---|
| Female infertility, ovulation induction | Approved |
| Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism in males | Approved |
| Prepubertal cryptorchidism | Approved indication historically |
| Weight loss | Not approved. Contradicted by required labelling and FDA enforcement |
| Post cycle restoration of testosterone production | Unapproved use with an endocrine rationale, not an approved indication |
The weight loss row is unusual on this site. Most compounds here lack evidence. This one has evidence against it, gathered decades ago, and a regulator that made the manufacturer print the conclusion on the box.
Common myths
The HCG diet works, thousands of people have lost weight on it.
They lost weight on the diet, which is typically a severe caloric restriction of a few hundred calories a day. Anyone would lose weight on that, with or without an injection. Controlled comparisons of HCG against placebo alongside the same diet do not show a benefit from the hormone, which is why the label says so.
Homeopathic HCG drops are a gentler version.
Homeopathic HCG products contain effectively no HCG and the FDA has taken enforcement action against them as unapproved and illegal. They are not a gentler version of anything.
It stops you feeling hungry on a very low calorie diet.
The approved label specifically states there is no substantial evidence it decreases the hunger and discomfort associated with calorie restricted diets. This is the rare case where the marketing claim and its refutation appear in the same regulatory document.
A high purity certificate means the vial is good.
HCG is a glycoprotein measured in international units of biological activity, not a small peptide measured by weight. A percentage purity figure is close to meaningless here. What you want is a content assay in IU, and the published lot for this vendor reported 5527 IU against a 5000 IU label.
Verifying a purchase
This is the one product in the catalogue where the usual advice changes. HCG is a glycoprotein assayed for biological activity, so ask for a content assay expressed in international units rather than an HPLC purity percentage, and compare it against the labelled IU. The published lot report here shows 5527 IU against a 5000 IU label, which is 110.5%. Note also that a biological activity assay is a different kind of measurement from the mass spectrometry identity confirmation we recommend elsewhere, and it does not substitute for sterility or endotoxin testing on an injectable glycoprotein.
The general method is set out in our guide to reading a certificate of analysis, which covers the eleven checks that apply to any compound. The points above are the ones specific to HCG.
Caveats and safety
HCG is a prescription hormone with real endocrine effects, including ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome in women being treated for infertility, which can be serious. In men it alters the hypothalamic pituitary gonadal axis. These effects are why the approved product is prescribed and monitored. It is also prohibited in tested sport for males at all times.
Where to get it
Where to get it
CertaPeptides Romania, EU. Volume discounts at 3+, 5+ and 10+ units.
| Vial | Price |
|---|---|
| 2000 IU | €39.99 |
| 5000 IU | €69.99 |
| 10000 IU | €99.99 |
Stated purity. ≥99% stated by biological activity assay. Published lot report #212165 returned a content assay of 5527 IU against a 5000 IU label, which is 110.5% of stated activity.
Documentation. Selected lots independently tested by Janoshik Analytical (Czech Republic), HPLC plus mass spectrometry, reports searchable on the Janoshik public portal and at certapeptides.com/verify.
HCG is sold as laboratory research material. The vendor states it is not for human consumption and that it is not approved by the FDA, the EMA or any other regulator for use in humans or animals. Read the evidence tier at the top of this page before the price.
View HCG at CertaPeptidesAffiliate link. We earn a commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you. It does not change a word of the assessment above. Every product we have priced, in one list.
Sources
- Drugs@FDA records for chorionic gonadotropin
- FDA warnings on HCG weight loss products
- HCG diet, Mayo Clinic
- WADA Prohibited List, section S2
Related compounds
Disclosure. PeptoPurity is an affiliate of CertaPeptides and earns a commission on qualifying purchases made through the vendor link on this page, at no additional cost to you. That relationship does not set the evidence tier, alter the verdict, or change a word of the assessment. Our Tier C and Tier D pages carry the same links as our Tier A pages, with the same conclusions we would publish if we earned nothing. Where the registered, prescribed route is the better option, we say so on the page that would otherwise pay us.
Scope. This is an evidence review, not medical advice. Where an approved label schedule is reproduced it is a record of what a regulator has published about a licensed medicine, not a recommendation and not a schedule for anyone to follow unsupervised. For unapproved compounds we report only the doses used in published studies, attributed to those studies, and we publish no protocols and no reconstitution guidance for any compound. Regulatory status differs between countries and changes over time. Material sold for laboratory research is not approved for human use. Decisions about treatment belong with a qualified prescriber.