Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) is what is known as a protein hormone (or a peptide hormone) that is naturally and endogenously produced by the female human body by the syncytiotrophoblast cells in the placenta. In females, HCG plays a very important role in stimulating the release of Progesterone, which is a hormone vitally essential for pregnancy. HCG that is bottled for human use is not synthesized in creation, but is instead obtained from humans. Specifically, it is found in very high concentrations in pregnant females as previously stated. HCG is in fact what is used as the number one primary indication of pregnancy in females, as it is only present in very, very high quantities in females during pregnancy. HCG is what the home pregnancy tests detect in urine, and if present in significant quantities, the home pregnancy tests will turn blue. In women who are pregnant, HCG increases in the body rise very rapidly, and can be detected within 7 days of increased secretion in the body. At this time period, however, HCG levels are only beginning to rise, and blood plasma levels of HCG do not actually peak until approximately 2 – 3 months into pregnancy. Following this 2 – 3 month period, HCG levels then begin to decline.
HCG itself could technically be considered synthetic LH (Luteinizing Hormone) and FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone), but the truth is that HCG is indeed a different hormone, but in men it will mimic the actions of LH and FSH identically. LH and FSH are gonadotropins manufactured and secreted by the pituitary gland, and these two hormones in men signal the Leydig cells in the testes to begin or increase the manufacture of Testosterone. The term ‘gonadotropin’ refers to any compound or hormone that stimulates the gonadal organs (testes in men, ovaries in females). In females, LH and FSH trigger ovulation (the manufacture of eggs in the ovaries). HCG, because it is essentially a mimic of LH and FSH in terms of its physiological activity, is administered medically to females that suffer from infertility (perhaps because they do not endogenously manufacture sufficient levels of gonadotropins as it is or for other reasons). Within medicine, HCG is also administered to males for the treatment of hypogonadism (deficient androgen production). It is also used medically for the treatment of pubertal delay in adolescent males, as well as prepubertal cryptorchidism, which is a condition in which an individual’s testicles have improperly descended (either during or after puberty). Among the anabolic steroid using bodybuilders and athletes, HCG has been utilized for a long time for its ability to restore endogenous Testosterone production following the termination of an anabolic steroid cycle. This is a period in which hormonal restoration is imperative, and HCG is normally inserted into a multi-compound protocol of approximately 4 – 6 weeks after an anabolic steroid cycle has ended, and this is known as PCT (Post Cycle Therapy).
Despite what rumors one may hear, HCG is ineffective for fat loss, and holds no capabilities in stimulating the thyroid gland to manufacture more thyroid hormone. This must be made especially clear due to the fact that for a long time, HCG was utilized wrongfully and mistakenly to treat obesity, with the origins of this practice coming from a wrongfully interpreted study in 1954. This study claimed that test subjects had lost significant amounts of body fat following the use of HCG while on a severely low caloric deficit (500 calories daily). Many interpreted the study wrongfully, and focused solely on the fact that HCG was utilized without any thought for the caloric deficit used in the subjects. More than 30 years later, the whole study and HCG-centered medical treatments for obesity were reviewed, and the approved use for the treatment of obesity was eliminated.
Little did people know that the severe caloric restriction caused individuals to lose important lean tissue mass (muscle) as well as important organ tissue in order to preserve itself, and that this result of severe caloric deficits were worse on the body than obesity. Eventually the FDA in 1974 had even issued a statement on all pamphlets that were packaged with HCG that made it very clear that the use of HCG for fat loss is ineffective and should not be used as such.
Today HCG is still widely utilized in medicine, and is widely available on all markets internationally under various major brand names (Pregnyl by Organon, Profasi by Serono and Novarel by Ferring, as well as many others) including an abundance of generic
HCG as well. HCG is a non-controlled substance in almost all countries in the world, including in the United States (although it is still only obtainable by prescription there, it is not a controlled substance). Because of its immense popularity, overabundance on the market, and ease of manufacture, counterfeits and fakes are not an issue.
Chemical Characteristics of HCG
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) is a protein (or peptide) hormone, but it is more specifically referred to as an oligosaccharide glycoprotein (a protein molecule that contains one or more carbohydrates/sugar molecules affixed to it as well). Its protein structure consists of an amino acid chain of 244 amino acids, with a sub-unit of 92 amino acids on it that is 100% identical to LH and FSH. It is this subsection of the HCG molecule that enables it to mimic the action of LH and FSH 100% identically on the same receptors in the cells that LH and FSH activate.
