Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a peptide hormone produced in pregnancy, that is made by the embryosoon after conception and later by the syncytiotrophoblast(part of the placenta). Its role is to prevent the disintegration of the corpus luteumof the ovaryand thereby maintain progesterone production that is critical for a pregnancy in humans. hCG may have additional functions, for instance it is thought that it affects the immune tolerance of the pregnancy. Early pregnancy testing generally is based on the detection or measurement of hCG.
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin is produced from a sterile preparation of placental glucoprotein urine of pregnant women having a total molecular mass of 36,700 Dalton. The hCG consists of 237 amino acids, a chain-92 amino acids and b chain-145 amino acids. The hCG is purified by proprietary chromatographic techniques.