BPC-157 Restores Esophageal and Stomach Sphincter Function Damaged by NSAIDs in Rats

Wistar rats were treated with various NSAID regimens known to produce gastrointestinal damage: diclofenac (12.5 and 40 mg/kg IP), ibuprofen (400 mg/day/kg IP for 4 weeks), paracetamol (5.0 g/kg IP), aspirin (400 mg/kg IP or intragastric), and celecoxib (0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg IP). Lower esophageal and pyloric sphincter pressures were measured in cmH₂O. BPC-157 (10 μg/kg or 10 ng/kg) was given immediately after NSAIDs via injection, intragastrically, or in drinking water.

NSAIDs are among the most widely used drugs worldwide, and their gastrointestinal side effects — including sphincter dysfunction leading to acid reflux — affect millions of people. Current protective strategies (proton pump inhibitors) address acid but not sphincter function. A peptide that directly restores sphincter competence could represent an entirely new approach to preventing NSAID-related digestive complications.

BPC-157 is one of the most extensively studied cytoprotective peptides in preclinical literature, with a large body of rat studies showing protective effects across multiple organ systems. This study extends its known gastrointestinal protective profile to sphincter function — a previously unexplored aspect of NSAID toxicity. The peptide has been in inflammatory bowel disease clinical trials, but widespread clinical use has not yet been established.

This is entirely an animal study in Wistar rats — no human data on BPC-157's effects on sphincter function exist. The study comes from a single research group (Sikiric laboratory in Zagreb) that has published the majority of BPC-157 literature, and independent replication is limited. Specific statistical analyses and group sizes were not detailed in the abstract. The clinical relevance of the pressure measurements to human symptomatology (e.g., reflux, gastroparesis) is not established.