BPC-157 is systemic. The reason for the localized effects claim and even me not doubting the claim much is because of the fact that the only places you see/feel improvements is where your injured and most take it for a single injury and pin locally. Though there is a suggestion of better localized pain relief/increase in threshold
Pharmacokinetics, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of body-protective compound 157, a potential drug for treating various wounds, in rats and dogs
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2022.1026182/full
2.3.4 Tissue distribution of BPC157 in rats
The total radioactivity concentrations in the rat tissues were similar after a single IM injection of 100 µg/300 μCi/kg of [3H]BPC157. Tissue distributions at different time points are summarized in Figure 6.
After 3 min of administration, total radioactivity concentration was detected in all rat tissues; however, it was significantly lower than that observed in the plasma.
After 10 min of administration, the total radioactivity concentration increased significantly in all tissues, with the mean renal tissue concentration reaching 223 ng (Eq. µg/ml), which was higher than the mean plasma concentration (150 ng, Eq./ml).
After 1 h of administration, the total radioactivity peaked in most tissues, and the average concentration in the kidney was the highest, reaching 560 ng (Eq. µg/ml), followed by that in the liver, stomach wall, spleen, and thymus. All average concentrations were higher than those in the plasma. The total radioactivity concentrations in the intestine, skin, and lungs were similar to those in the plasma, and the mean concentrations in the gonads, myocardium, skeletal muscle, brain, and body fat were all lower than the mean concentrations in the plasma.
At 24 h after administration, the mean concentrations of total radioactivity in the kidney, thymus, liver, spleen, and gastric wall decreased significantly but were still higher than the mean concentrations in the plasma at the same time. The concentrations in other tissues were lower than the average concentration in the plasma and are presented in the descending order as follows: intestinal tract, lung, gonad, skin, skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, whole blood, brain, and body fat. The total radioactivity concentrations in the kidney, liver, stomach wall, thymus, spleen, intestine, lung, skin, and body fat were reduced by approximately 50% compared with the peak concentration in the same tissue (1 h after administration).
View attachment 221891
From Regeneration to Analgesia: The Role of BPC-157 in Tissue Repair and Pain Management
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13026520
Further, BPC-157 improved medial collateral ligament (MCL) healing in rats, including the expression of early growth response 1 (EGR1), a transcription factor implicated in cell growth, differentiation, and inflammation.
Given either intraperitoneally, as a local topical application, or orally, the therapy was shown to promote muscle and transected tendon healing.
In addition to direct or indirect intervention in various tissue, bone, and other disorders, BPC-157 may influence pain as well.
In rats, available data suggest the local application of BPC-157 at surgical incision sites significantly raised the pain threshold at early time points hours following injury, but the reduced sensitivity effect was lessened by 7 days post-surgery [46]. Researchers posited that the antinociceptive effect of the biologic may occur through an anti-inflammatory mechanism that results in short-lived alleviation rather than a centrally mediated analgesic effect [46]. Further studies have indicated similar results in formalin pain models in rats, with BPC-157 decreasing flinching responses during acute phase 1 but not persist
ent phase 2 pain [47].