What is Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)?

LH-like hormone: sustains the corpus luteum in pregnancy, and a clinical stand-in for LH at the gonad. Structurally it is Glycoprotein hormone (α/β heterodimer).

How strong is the evidence for hCG?

PeptideHormone grades hCG at the "Established" evidence tier — its mechanism and core effects are settled across the peer-reviewed literature. It is catalogued as an endogenous signal the body produces itself, and the tier is an editorial judgment about the public literature that can change as the science does.

What is the half-life of hCG?

The reported circulating half-life of hCG is ~24–36 h.

Yes — as of September 2026, hCG is an approved prescription medicine in the United States. Urinary hCG (Novarel, Pregnyl) and choriogonadotropin alfa (Ovidrel) are approved fertility products. Status is US-centric and can change; check the FDA record for the current position.

Human chorionic gonadotropinhCG

LH-like hormone: sustains the corpus luteum in pregnancy, and a clinical stand-in for LH at the gonad.

EndogenousEstablishedFDA-approved

An embryonic signal that borrows the LH receptor to keep a pregnancy going — biology reusing a channel rather than building one.

Identity

Class: Glycoprotein hormone (α/β heterodimer)
Source: Placental syncytiotrophoblast
Receptor: LH/choriogonadotropin receptor (LHCGR)

Key properties

Evidence floorClinicalREF1CLIN1

Molecular weight

≈ 36,700 Da

REF

Half-life (native)

~24–36 h

CLIN

Model dosing

Approximate values for the native hormone; engineered analogs are often deliberately larger and far longer-acting. Each figure carries its own provenance tier, and the floor is the weakest of them - the Standard.

Mechanism

Produced by the placenta in early pregnancy, hCG acts on the same LHCGR receptor as LH to maintain the corpus luteum and its progesterone output until the placenta takes over. Its presence is the basis of pregnancy testing. Because it reads as an LH signal at the gonad, hCG is also given therapeutically to drive it directly: in men on testosterone therapy it keeps the Leydig cells producing the intratesticular testosterone — and the wider steroid output — that exogenous testosterone suppresses, preserving testis size and, with added FSH activity from hMG or recombinant FSH, fertility.

Reference notes

hCG and LH share the LHCGR receptor — functionally hCG provides an LH-like signal.
Its longer half-life than LH suits the sustained support the corpus luteum needs.
Detection of the hCG beta subunit underlies pregnancy tests.
In men on testosterone therapy, hCG maintains the intratesticular testosterone and testis size that exogenous testosterone suppresses.
Paired with FSH activity (hMG or recombinant FSH), hCG restores the Sertoli-cell arm needed for spermatogenesis.

Regulatory status

United States · reviewed September 2026

FDA-approvedhCG is an approved prescription medicine in the United States.

Basis: Urinary hCG (Novarel, Pregnyl) and choriogonadotropin alfa (Ovidrel) are approved fertility products.

Status describes the molecule as a drug substance under US law and is an editorial reading of the public record — approvals, trial registrations, and the FDA 503A bulk-substances list. It is not legal advice and it changes; the review date above is the last time the table was checked. Other jurisdictions are noted only where they differ materially.

Common questions

What is Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)?: LH-like hormone: sustains the corpus luteum in pregnancy, and a clinical stand-in for LH at the gonad. Structurally it is Glycoprotein hormone (α/β heterodimer).
How does hCG work?: Produced by the placenta in early pregnancy, hCG acts on the same LHCGR receptor as LH to maintain the corpus luteum and its progesterone output until the placenta takes over. Its presence is the basis of pregnancy testing. Because it reads as an LH signal at the gonad, hCG is also given therapeutically to drive it directly: in men on testosterone therapy it keeps the Leydig cells producing the intratesticular testosterone — and the wider steroid output — that exogenous testosterone suppresses, preserving testis size and, with added FSH activity from hMG or recombinant FSH, fertility.
How strong is the evidence for hCG?: PeptideHormone grades hCG at the "Established" evidence tier — its mechanism and core effects are settled across the peer-reviewed literature. It is catalogued as an endogenous signal the body produces itself, and the tier is an editorial judgment about the public literature that can change as the science does.
What is the half-life of hCG?: The reported circulating half-life of hCG is ~24–36 h.
Is hCG FDA-approved?: Yes — as of September 2026, hCG is an approved prescription medicine in the United States. Urinary hCG (Novarel, Pregnyl) and choriogonadotropin alfa (Ovidrel) are approved fertility products. Status is US-centric and can change; check the FDA record for the current position.

In the literature

Live registry counts · retrieved 2026-09-15

Registered trialsREF

51935 recruiting

Ph 129
Ph 266
Ph 380
Ph 4109

Open on ClinicalTrials.gov

PubMed recordsREF

36,897

Since 20224,224 · 11%

Open on PubMed

Searched as Human chorionic gonadotropin, hCG, chorionic gonadotropin. Counts are search hits from the primary registries, not a curated set and not a grade – a measure of how much work exists on hCG, not how it turned out.

Selected literature

Curated peer-reviewed reviews, sourced from PubMed. Selected for relevance, not exhaustive — open any entry on PubMed for the full record and its primary citations.

1.Human Chorionic Gonadotropin and Early Embryogenesis: Review · International journal of molecular sciences, 2022 · PMID 35163303
2.The association between human chorionic gonadotropin and adverse pregnancy outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis · American journal of obstetrics and gynecology, 2024 · PMID 37572838

External references

hCG in the public knowledge graph — the same entity resolved across the authoritative chemistry and protein databases.