--- title: "HCG 5,000iu" url: "https://lotuspeptide.com/peptide/hcg" canonical: "https://lotuspeptide.com/peptide/hcg" type: "product" brand: "LotusPeptide" currency: "USD" price_low: "35.00" price_high: "285.00" availability: "low stock" ships_from: "United States" handling_time_business_days: 1 returns: "not accepted" replacements_and_refunds: "damaged or lost items" intended_use: "Laboratory research use only" image: "https://lotuspeptide.com/order/api/media/products/32.webp?size=full&v=1" updated: "2026-10-05" order_url: "https://lotuspeptide.com/order/p/32" synonyms: "Human chorionic gonadotropin; chorionic gonadotropin; hCG" cas: "9002-61-3" molecular_weight: "About 37.5 kDa (varies with glycosylation)" sequence: "Glycoprotein heterodimer: alpha subunit of 92 amino acid residues and beta subunit of 145 residues, with N- and O-linked sugar chains" written_by: "LotusPeptide research team" --- # HCG 5,000iu > Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a glycoprotein hormone of the placenta, built from an alpha and a beta subunit and quantified in international units of biological activity rather than by mass. It is the active ingredient of FDA-licensed prescription products; the material sold here is a laboratory reagent, not one of those medicines. ## Packs and prices - Availability: Low stock - Order: https://lotuspeptide.com/order/p/32 | Pack | Price | Per vial | |---|---|---| | Single Vial | $35 | $35 | | 5-Pack (5 vials) | $140 | $28 | | 10-Pack (10 vials) | $285 | $28.50 | ## At a glance - Also known as: Human chorionic gonadotropin; chorionic gonadotropin; hCG - CAS number: 9002-61-3 - Molecular weight: About 37.5 kDa (varies with glycosylation) - Sequence: Glycoprotein heterodimer: alpha subunit of 92 amino acid residues and beta subunit of 145 residues, with N- and O-linked sugar chains - Availability: Low stock - Ships from: United States - Intended use: Laboratory research use only - Page updated: 2026-10-05 Written by LotusPeptide research team. Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a glycoprotein hormone of the placenta, built from an alpha and a beta subunit and quantified in international units of biological activity rather than by mass. It is the active ingredient of FDA-licensed prescription products; the material sold here is a laboratory reagent, not one of those medicines. ## What hCG is hCG belongs to the glycoprotein hormone family with luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). The alpha subunit is shared across the family, while the beta subunit is specific to each hormone; the hCG beta subunit is 80 to 85% homologous to that of LH [1]. hCG acts through the LH/hCG receptor (LHCGR) [1]. The 1994 crystal structure showed that each subunit folds around a cystine knot of three disulfide bonds, and that a stretch of the beta subunit wraps around the alpha subunit like a seat belt, closed by the Cys26 to Cys110 disulfide [2]. hCG is heavily glycosylated. One review describes it as the most acidic glycoprotein, with the highest proportion of sugars [3]. The same name covers several molecules, including regular hCG, hyperglycosylated hCG and the free beta subunit [3]. Regular hCG has a molecular mass of about 37.5 kDa, and the hyperglycosylated variant about 38.5 to 40 kDa [4]. ## Why a vial is labeled in IU A label such as 5,000 IU states biological activity, not a mass of protein. The activity of commercial hCG preparations is assigned in international units (IU) by an in vivo bioassay, calibrated against an International Standard [5]. Because preparations differ in their sugar chains, the protein mass behind a given number of units can differ between preparations. A 2017 comparison of commercial hCG preparations, used in assisted reproduction or research, found different molecular weight patterns, isoelectric points and lectin binding between products [5]. The same authors pointed out that IU are an unsuitable unit for in vitro studies, and they quantified their samples by immunoassay calibrated against the fifth International Standard (NIBSC 07/364) [5]. Reference materials have changed over time. In 2003, an expert group noted that older hCG standards contained contaminating variants and other impurities, and prepared new WHO reference reagents calibrated in molar concentration [6]. FDA-approved US products state their content in USP units. ## Regulatory status hCG is an FDA-approved active ingredient. FDA records (Drugs@FDA and FDA's 2020 list of products deemed to be biologics licenses) include these marketed products, with their original approval dates from Drugs@FDA: - Pregnyl, Organon, application 017692, approved October 20, 1976 - Novarel, Ferring, application 017016, approved January 15, 1974 - Chorionic Gonadotropin, Fresenius Kabi, application 017067, approved March 5, 1973 - Ovidrel, EMD Serono, application 021149, approved September 20, 2000; it contains choriogonadotropin alfa, a recombinant hCG made in Chinese hamster ovary cells These were approved as new drug applications. On March 23, 2020, under the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act, FDA deemed them to be biologics license applications. The approved indications are set out in each product's FDA label, available on [DailyMed](https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/search.cfm?labeltype=all&query=chorionic+gonadotropin). All are prescription products. The material sold here is not one of them. It has not been reviewed by FDA, is not a medicine, and is supplied for laboratory research use only. ## Published research The hCG literature is very large, so this page lists only what bears on hCG as a reagent. Structural biology defined the cystine-knot fold and the seat-belt contact between subunits [2]. Reviews describe the forms of hCG and their receptor signaling [3] [1]. Reference-material work produced purified WHO reagents for hCG, its subunits and its degradation products [6]. Several studies compare commercial preparations directly. In 2017, researchers tested four urinary hCG or menotropin preparations and one recombinant preparation in human granulosa-lutein cells and in HEK293 cells expressing LHCGR. They measured cAMP, beta-arrestin 2 recruitment and progesterone, and reported preparation-specific signaling, with similar progesterone plateaus after 24 hours [5]. An FDA laboratory used LC-MS with isobaric labeling to compare glycosylation across ten lots or brands of hCG drug products. It reported 167 glycopeptides that differed significantly between naturally derived and recombinant products [7]. A 2026 LC-MS/MS study compared the protein composition of gonadotropin drugs, including urinary and recombinant hCG [8]. ## What is not known For a research reagent, the main unknown is the source. Unless the certificate says so, a buyer cannot tell whether the hCG was extracted from urine or made recombinantly, or in which cell line. Glycosylation differs between natural and recombinant hCG [7], and between commercial preparations [5], so two vials with the same IU label may not behave the same in an assay. How the IU value was assigned to a research lot, and against which standard, is often not stated. ## Laboratory storage and handling The FDA labels of the licensed products set storage conditions for those products only. For research material, store the vial as stated on the certificate of analysis and product label, keep it sealed and dry, and protect it from light. Let a cold vial reach room temperature before opening it to limit condensation. Record the lot number with each experiment. No PubMed study was found on the stability of research-grade hCG powder, so these are general good practices. ## Quality testing A certificate for hCG needs more than a peptide certificate. It should state the source (urinary or recombinant, and the expression system), the assigned potency in IU, the assay used to assign it and the reference standard. Protein identity can be confirmed by showing both subunits, for example by SDS-PAGE or by peptide mapping with LC-MS. Relevant impurities include free subunits and nicked hCG, for which the WHO prepared separate reference reagents [6]. LC-MS/MS can resolve the different gonadotropins present in urinary preparations, as a 2026 study of menotropin and hCG products showed [8], and glycosylation profiling can separate natural from recombinant material [7]. Excipients such as mannitol or phosphate buffer should be listed. Results for each lot belong on that lot's certificate. ## Questions ### What does 5,000 IU on an hCG vial mean? It is the biological activity assigned to the contents, expressed in international units against an International Standard, usually by bioassay [5]. It is not a mass. The amount of protein that corresponds to 5,000 IU depends on the preparation and its glycosylation. ### Is hCG a peptide like the other products in this catalog? No. hCG is a two-subunit glycoprotein of roughly 37.5 kDa [4], far larger than short synthetic peptides, and a large part of its mass is sugar [3]. It is made biologically, not by peptide synthesis, so its testing relies on potency assays and protein methods as well as mass spectrometry. ### Is research-grade hCG the same as Pregnyl, Novarel or Ovidrel? No. Those are FDA-licensed prescription products made and tested under their approved applications. Research-grade hCG is not reviewed by FDA, and its source, glycosylation and potency assignment can differ from licensed products [7]. ## References 1. [Nwabuobi C, Arlier S, Schatz F, et al. hCG: Biological Functions and Clinical Applications. Int J Mol Sci. 2017.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28937611/) 2. [Lapthorn AJ, Harris DC, Littlejohn A, et al. Crystal structure of human chorionic gonadotropin. Nature. 1994.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8202136/) 3. [Cole LA. hCG, the wonder of today's science. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2012.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22455390/) 4. [Głodek A, Kubiczak M, Urbaniak P, et al. [Human chorionic gonadotropin--a well-known hormone with unknown functions]. Ginekol Pol. 2012.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23383563/) 5. [Riccetti L, Klett D, Ayoub MA, et al. Heterogeneous hCG and hMG commercial preparations result in different intracellular signalling but induce a similar long-term progesterone response in vitro. Mol Hum Reprod. 2017.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29044421/) 6. [Birken S, Berger P, Bidart JM, et al. Preparation and characterization of new WHO reference reagents for human chorionic gonadotropin and metabolites. Clin Chem. 2003.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12507971/) 7. [Zhu H, Qiu C, Ruth AC, et al. A LC-MS All-in-One Workflow for Site-Specific Location, Identification and Quantification of N-/O- Glycosylation in Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Drug Products. AAPS J. 2017.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28247191/) 8. [Huang D, Chen H, Zhang H, et al. Reverse-Phase High-Performance Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (RP-LC-MS/MS, Label-Free Method) for Component Analysis of Gonadotropin Drugs. J Mass Spectrom. 2026.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41952441/) _This page summarises published laboratory research and cites its sources. It is not medical advice and makes no claim that the compound treats, cures or prevents any condition. LotusPeptide sells it for laboratory research use only._ ## Shipping and returns - Orders are processed and shipped within 1 business day. - Returns are not accepted. - Replacements and refunds are offered on damaged or lost items. ## Related products - [BPC-157+TB500 (Blend) 10mg](https://lotuspeptide.com/peptide/bpc-157-tb500-blend.md): from $35 - [GHK-Cu](https://lotuspeptide.com/peptide/ghk-cu.md): from $20 - [Retatrutide](https://lotuspeptide.com/peptide/retatrutide.md): from $25 --- For laboratory research use only. Not for human or veterinary use. 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