HCG vs HMG

HCG

Human chorionic gonadotropin. A placental hormone that mimics LH and tells the testes to keep making testosterone and sperm. The most clinically established HPG-axis tool in this catalogue.

Best for

Best for driving testosterone and, in women, as an ovulation trigger. HCG carries LH-like activity.

HMG

Human menopausal gonadotropin. Extracted from postmenopausal urine and containing both LH and FSH activity. The FSH supply that HCG can't provide.

Best for

Best when spermatogenesis or follicle development is the goal; HMG adds FSH activity.

HCG

HCG is FDA-approved for male hypogonadism and ovulation induction, with decades of clinical use and a deep literature on dosing, fertility outcomes, and TRT-adjunct protocols. The 2013 review (Coviello et al. and others) consolidated the use case for HCG monotherapy and combined HCG+testosterone protocols. This is one of the few entries in this catalogue where the regulatory framework and the off-label community use largely overlap.

HMG

HMG is approved for assisted reproduction and for male infertility associated with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. The male-fertility use case is supported by a long literature base, including the 2009 review on HMG in male infertility (Liu et al.) and decades of WHO-sponsored work. Approved status reflects the fertility indication specifically. Using HMG for testosterone optimisation or HPG-axis recovery outside fertility goals is off-label.