Why was a ‘peptide party’ banned in Bengaluru | Explained

The story so far: A ‘peptide party’ scheduled for August 29 in Koramangala in Bengaluru was cancelled after Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration officials shut down the gig. It was an invite-only biohacking event that was advertised only online, offering — among other party staples like music and networking — ‘peptide tasting’. This immediately triggered pushback from the medical community, and State health regulators sprung to the act to put an end to the event.

Peptides are the fundamental building blocks of proteins, shorter chains of amino acids. Proteins, on the other hand, are typically long, complex chains of 50 or more amino acids. Peptides are smaller, often containing anywhere from two to 50 amino acids. They serve as biological signalling molecules and instruct cells, including being the starting point for functions including hormone production, tissue repair, immune response and metabolic regulation.