Compound research hub

HCG: Research, Handling and Batch Documentation

Human chorionic gonadotropin is a two-subunit glycoprotein hormone that binds the LH/CG receptor, and is an approved medicine for several reproductive indications.

Part of Volta's wellness research peptides catalogue.

Identity and research status

Also referred to as: Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, Pregnyl, Novarel, Ovidrel, Choriogonadotropin alfa
Class: Heterodimeric glycoprotein hormone, not a synthetic peptide
Molecular Weight: Approximately 36,700 g/mol for the intact heterodimer
Carbohydrate Content: Roughly 30 percent of total mass
Alpha Subunit: 92 amino acids, identical to that of LH, FSH and TSH
Beta Subunit: 145 amino acids, carrying all specificity and a glycosylated C-terminal extension
Subunit Association: Non-covalent. The subunits are not held together by a disulfide bond between them
CAS Number: 9002-61-3
Receptor Target: Luteinising hormone and choriogonadotropin receptor (LHCGR)
Potency Unit: International Units of biological activity, not milligrams of mass
Appearance: White lyophilised powder

Evidence level: FDA Approved (grade A)

Regulatory status: FDA-approved for anovulation/infertility, hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, prepubertal cryptorchidism.

Evidence grades describe the published literature on the compound, not a property of the material Volta supplies, and are not a statement that any use is approved. See how these grades are assigned.

Mechanism, in brief

Human chorionic gonadotropin is not a peptide in the sense that the rest of this catalogue uses the word. It is a heterodimeric glycoprotein hormone of roughly 36.7 kilodaltons, built from two non-covalently associated subunits, and about a third of its mass is carbohydrate rather than protein. That composition is not incidental packaging: the sugar chains determine how long the hormone survives in circulation and how it behaves at its receptor.

Heterodimer assembly. A 92 residue alpha subunit shared with LH, FSH and TSH associates non-covalently with a 145 residue beta subunit that carries all the specificity.
Glycosylation. Roughly a third of the molecule's mass is carbohydrate. N-linked and O-linked chains, including those on the beta subunit C-terminal extension, govern circulating half-life and receptor behaviour.
LHCGR binding. Binds the luteinising hormone and choriogonadotropin receptor, the same receptor LH uses, signalling principally through Gs and cyclic AMP.
Gonadal steroidogenesis. In testicular Leydig cells the signal drives testosterone production; in the ovary it drives follicular maturation and luteinisation.
Duration as the distinguishing property. The beta subunit C-terminal extension and its glycosylation give hCG a far longer circulating half-life than LH, so it acts as a sustained rather than pulsatile signal at a shared receptor.

The full research write-up, including the findings behind each claim and the model each came from, is on the HCG 5,000iu 5,000iu page.

Vial sizes available

Every size of HCG Volta lists, in stock or not. Each is a separate catalogue page with its own batch number and specification table.

HCG 5,000iu 5,000iuBatch #: VPHC5000100
In stock

Purity and batch documentation

Volta's release specification is >99% (HPLC). That is a threshold we set. >99% is the specification every batch is released to. The figure on a certificate is what a laboratory measured for one lot.

No third-party certificate has been published for HCGyet. The certificates Volta does publish, with the laboratory's own verification link on each, are in the certificate archive.

the complete batch history dataset how each batch is tested laboratories that test peptides independently

Research on HCG

Concentrations used in the literature

the concentrations used in the published HCG literature

Comparisons

Handling and stability

Laboratory guides

Calculators

Regulatory context

United States: FDA-approved (Pregnyl, Novarel, Ovidrel). Compounding restricted since 2020 (FDA biologics reclassification). Brand products remain available.
Europe: EMA-approved for reproductive indications.
Australia: TGA-approved. Schedule 4 (prescription only).

Primary sources

Fournier T. Human chorionic gonadotropin: Different glycoforms and biological activity depending on its source of production. Annales d'Endocrinologie (2016). PMID 27177499
Querat B. Unconventional Actions of Glycoprotein Hormone Subunits: A Comprehensive Review. Frontiers in Endocrinology (2021). PMID 34671318
Perri C, Casarini L, et al.. LHCGR pharmacodynamic effects during follicular maturation. Frontiers in Endocrinology (2026). PMID 42657199
Manohar RO, Nagarajappa VH, et al.. Evaluation of Leydig cell activity using single-dose hCG stimulation in prepubertal children. Annals of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism (2026). PMID 42099114
Mann ON, Kong CS, et al.. Expression and function of the luteinizing hormone choriogonadotropin receptor in human endometrium. Scientific Reports (2022). PMID 35597810
Esteves SC. Hormonal Therapy Before Sperm Retrieval in Men With Non-Obstructive Azoospermia. Reproductive Medicine and Biology (2026). PMID 42494822
Stavros S, Zikopoulos A, et al.. Empty Follicle Syndrome: Current Therapeutic Approaches and the Role of Triggering Agents in Assisted Reproduction. Medical Sciences (Basel) (2026). PMID 42506338

More wellness research peptides

HCG sits in Volta's wellness research peptides catalogue, alongside the other compounds studied in this area. The whole range is on the full research catalogue, and the library of comparisons and guides is under peptide research.