HCG
Approved gonadotropin. The weight-loss ‘HCG diet’ is separately discredited.
What it is
Human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone approved for fertility and specific endocrine indications.
What it does
Mimics luteinising hormone, stimulating gonadal steroid production; used in fertility protocols and to maintain testicular function during testosterone therapy.
Does it work?
Endocrine uses are legitimate and physician-supervised. The ‘HCG diet’ for weight loss is a distinct claim that regulators and trials have repeatedly rejected — do not conflate them.
Claims vs data
Each marketing claim, tagged by what the evidence actually supports.
| Supports testicular function during TRT | supported |
| Causes weight loss (HCG diet) | overreach |
Reference figures
Quoted from published reference material. These are not Peptuity recommendations.
The evidence, counted
Live counts from Europe PMC and ClinicalTrials.gov.
46,132 publications indexed, including 1081 randomised controlled trials. 562 interventional studies registered. This is a well-tested compound.
query: "human chorionic gonadotropin" · checked 2026-08-07
Most-cited literature
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Hormones and endocrine-disrupting chemicals: low-dose effects and nonmonotonic dose responses
Vandenberg LN, Colborn T, Hayes TB, Heindel JJ, Jacobs DR, Lee DH, Shi · Endocr Rev 2012 · 2131 citations
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Principles of protein-protein interactions
Jones S, Thornton JM. · Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1996 · 1906 citations
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The golden age: gold nanoparticles for biomedicine
Dreaden EC, Alkilany AM, Huang X, Murphy CJ, El-Sayed MA. · Chem Soc Rev 2012 · 1713 citations
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Derivation of completely cell culture-derived mice from early-passage embryonic stem cells
Nagy A, Rossant J, Nagy R, Abramow-Newerly W, Roder JC. · Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1993 · 1697 citations
Regulatory status
Formal, dated regulatory actions.
Common questions
Why is HCG used alongside testosterone therapy?
It mimics LH, maintaining testicular stimulation that exogenous testosterone suppresses — an established, physician-supervised endocrine use.
Is the HCG diet real?
It is really marketed and really discredited. Controlled trials repeatedly found no weight-loss benefit over placebo, and regulators have acted against the claim for decades.
Is HCG available without prescription?
Not legitimately. It is a prescription medicine in Saudi Arabia and most jurisdictions.