Help improve the information
Suggest a correction, missing detail, or peptide addition by .
Not FDA approved
This peptide is not FDA approved for human use, and because peptides are often incompletely studied you should not use or self-experiment with it outside qualified medical supervision.
Overview
AOD-9604 is a lab-made 17-amino-acid based on the C-terminal region of human growth hormone. The reviewed source set supports older obesity-development literature, plus in isolated cells and animal work on lipolysis (fat breakdown) and antilipogenic signaling, but it does not support an FDA-approved therapeutic product or a validated consumer-use protocol.
Rabbit osteoarthritis data exist, but those findings are preclinical and should not be presented as established human joint treatment.
Reported benefits
- Direct mechanistic and animal literature exists for lipolysis / antilipogenic activity.
- Older obesity-development reporting exists, but the modern human efficacy picture is limited.
- Rabbit osteoarthritis work suggests exploratory cartilage interest only.
- No FDA-approved therapeutic use was identified.
Mechanism of action
Foundational work on the C-terminal growth-hormone fragment identified an antilipogenic domain, and later mouse studies reported reduced adiposity, increased fat oxidation, and changes in beta-adrenergic signaling. Those same mouse data do not support a simplistic claim that AOD-9604 is just a direct beta-3 agonist.
Claims that it categorically avoids GH-axis, IGF-1, or glucose effects should stay tied to the specific study conditions that observed them rather than being treated as universal guarantees.
Reported Use
No FDA dosing guidance
This peptide is not covered by FDA-labeled dosing guidance on this page. Peptides are often investigational or incompletely studied. Do not self-experiment; use only with a doctor or qualified clinician.
Typical dose
No validated consumer dosing protocol was identified; older obesity-development programs used subcutaneous administration, but the reviewed source set does not support a reliable self-use dose
Frequency
Not established for routine self-use
Injection sites
Older development literature used subcutaneous administration; rabbit osteoarthritis work used intra-articular rabbit injections and should not be reframed as human guidance
Best timing
Not established
Effects timeline
Animal and older development programs assessed endpoints over weeks, not days
Storage
No validated consumer storage or mixing protocol was identified
Cycle length
Not established
Break between
Not established
Loading viewer
Preparing 3D peptide scene
Quick Signals
At A Glance
A faster read on evidence, focus, structure, and status.
Evidence
Mostly preclinical
Mixed early human and preclinical evidence.
15 indexed studiesCurrent level
Preclinical
Scale: low evidence to established use
Safety
Side Effects And Safety
Switch between common side-effect notes and stop criteria to keep safety context visible.
Reported or plausible side effects
- Injection-site irritation, swelling, or redness are practical concerns with injectable use.
Key cautions
- No FDA-labeled safety profile exists for AOD-9604.
- Direct human safety data are limited, so broad statements like "generally well tolerated" should be treated cautiously.
- Claims that it never affects glucose, insulin, or IGF-1 should not be treated as unconditional guarantees outside controlled studies.
- Product identity, sterility, and formulation quality are major practical risks outside regulated manufacturing.
Molecule
Molecular Information
Core structure fields that help explain what kind of peptide this is and how much sequence detail is available.
Molecular weight
1815.1 Da
Chain length
17 amino acids
Sequence type
Modified hGH C-terminal fragment analogue
Derived from
C-terminal region of human growth hormone
Amino acid sequence source string
YLRIVQCRSVEGSCGF
N-terminal tyrosine added to the hGH C-terminal fragment analogue
Context
Important Context
The main context that changes how confidently this peptide should be interpreted.
Research status
Mixed early human and preclinical evidence. Older obesity-development reporting exists alongside in isolated cells, mouse, and rabbit work, but no approved product or strong modern human efficacy program was identified.
Regulatory and sport status
FDA review shows it is not FDA approved. Source: openFDA drugsfda API. Sport review shows it is prohibited in sport. under the 2026 list's GH-fragment language.
Compare
How Well Documented Is It?
A quick five-point snapshot of how visible and well-documented this peptide is. Higher values mean more coverage or clearer status in that area, not better medical performance.
Research
How much published research coverage this peptide has in the linked sources, with an approval-context floor for clearly established drug products.
Source: PubMed
Regulatory
How clearly the approval or regulatory status is documented for this entry.
Source: openFDA drugsfda API
Sport
How clearly sports or competition status is documented in the linked review sources.
Source: 2026 WADA Prohibited List PDF
Breadth
How broadly this peptide appears across discussion topics and use-case groupings in the catalog.
Source: Curated site taxonomy
Sequence
How much structure or residue-sequence detail is available for this entry.
Source: Catalog seed
Protocols
Research Protocols
Common protocol-style rows shown in a consistent table layout so every peptide page is easy to compare.
| Goal | Dose | Route | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundational lipolysis / antilipogenic research | Study-specific | In vitro, animal, and older development-program contexts | Protocol-specific |
| Rabbit osteoarthritis model | Animal-study-specific | Intra-articular in rabbits | Protocol-specific |
Research
What It Has Been Studied For
Plain-language summaries of the main health areas where this peptide shows up in the linked research.
Stacking
What People Commonly Stack It With
A plain-language view of compounds that are commonly discussed alongside this peptide in the source material.
Practical
Preparation, Quality, And Expectations
Operational checklist blocks designed for quick scanning and repeatable page structure.
How to reconstitute
- •No validated consumer reconstitution protocol was identified for exact AOD-9604.
- •Do not treat generic BAC-water instructions as source-backed medical guidance.
- •Identity, concentration, and stability should be considered unresolved unless independently documented.
Quality indicators
Good signs
- Exact molecular identity is documented
- Source trail clearly separates preclinical work from older human-development reporting
- Regulatory and anti-doping status are checked against official sources
Avoid
- Claims of FDA approval or FDA-granted GRAS status for the peptide itself
- Human dosing copied from gray-market peptide listings
- Rabbit osteoarthritis findings presented as established human therapy
- Unclear formulation, sterility, or concentration claims
What to expect
Biological effects were measured over days to weeks.
Structural outcomes were assessed over weeks.
No validated consumer timeline was identified.
References
Research And Source List
Structured reference cards with source metadata and a direct link so users can inspect the original study/source.
PubMed search
Indexed literature overview
Direct PubMed query used to review the indexed AOD-9604 literature set.
PubChem compound record
Technical identity
PubChem record supporting the molecular formula and molecular-weight fields used for AOD-9604.
Antilipogenic action of synthetic C-terminal sequence 177-191 of human growth hormone
Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications | 1993
Foundational paper identifying an antilipogenic C-terminal growth-hormone domain.
Metabolic studies of a synthetic lipolytic domain (AOD9604) of human growth hormone
Hormone Research | 2000
Indexed AOD9604 metabolic-study record from the early development program.
The effects of human GH and its lipolytic fragment (AOD9604) on lipid metabolism following chronic treatment in obese mice and beta(3)-AR knock-out mice
Endocrinology | 2001
Mouse paper showing adiposity effects and beta-adrenergic-pathway involvement without proving a simple direct beta-3 mechanism.
AOD-9604 Metabolic
Current Opinion in Investigational Drugs | 2004
Older review describing AOD-9604 in obesity-drug development context.
Effect of Intra-articular Injection of AOD9604 with or without Hyaluronic Acid in Rabbit Osteoarthritis Model
Annals of Clinical and Laboratory Science | 2015
Rabbit osteoarthritis paper supporting only a preclinical cartilage/joint claim.
openFDA AOD-9604 query
FDA database
Approval-database query reviewed for AOD-9604; no FDA-approved product match was identified.
2026 WADA Prohibited List PDF
WADA
Current prohibited-list PDF stating that growth hormone and its fragments are prohibited under S2.