IGF-1 is one of those subjects where the details matter more than the headlines. This page pulls together the background, the mechanisms, and the practical points readers ask about most.
Last reviewed on 2025-08-16. Where a claim depends on a specific study, the study is described rather than over-claimed.
AOD-9604 is a synthetic peptide that corresponds to a short section of human growth hormone. It is commonly identified as hGH fragment 176-191 because its sequence matches residues at the C-terminal end of the hormone. The molecule contains sixteen amino acids and is made by solid-phase peptide synthesis. Researchers study it for metabolic effects rather than for the growth-promoting actions associated with full human growth hormone. Its small size distinguishes it from the complete 191-amino-acid hormone.
Several names appear in scientific and commercial settings. AOD9604 and AOD-9604 are development codes used interchangeably, while hGH fragment 176-191 describes the same region. The peptide includes a disulfide bond between two cysteine residues, which helps shape its three-dimensional structure. Different suppliers may provide acetate or other salt forms, and purity can vary. These differences matter because analytical tests and biological assays can respond to the specific form being studied.
Proposed mechanisms for AOD-9604 focus on fat cells. Laboratory studies suggest the peptide can increase lipolysis, the breakdown of stored fat, and reduce lipogenesis, the formation of new fat. Unlike full human growth hormone, it does not appear to stimulate substantial IGF-1 production in the studies reported so far. Some evidence points to beta-adrenergic signaling, but the precise receptor targets and downstream pathways remain unresolved. The fragment is not thought to act through the classical growth hormone receptor.
Clinical development of AOD-9604 included trials in people with obesity. Reports from early-phase and mid-phase studies described modest or inconsistent changes in body weight. A phase IIb program did not meet its primary endpoint, and the compound was not approved for medical use. Differences in formulation, delivery route, and participant characteristics may explain some of the variation. Later investigations explored whether the peptide might have effects in other tissues, including cartilage.
Regulatory treatment of AOD-9604 is shaped by its classification as a peptide hormone. The World Anti-Doping Agency lists it as a prohibited substance, and many national anti-doping organizations adopt that list. It does not hold approval as a prescription medicine in the United States, the European Union, or other major markets. Products sold online are frequently labeled for research use only and may not undergo independent quality testing. Import and possession rules differ by country, so legal status depends on local law.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Common name | AOD-9604 | Development code used in scientific literature. |
| Chemical class | Synthetic peptide | Fragment of human growth hormone. |
| Amino acid length | 16 residues | Matches hGH region 176-191. |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Typical lyophilized peptide solid. |
| Solubility | Soluble in water | Dissolves in aqueous media; exact behavior depends on salt form. |
AOD-9604 drew attention in the 1990s and 2000s as a potential anti-obesity agent. Early work explored both injectable and oral routes, which is unusual for a peptide of this size. Animal studies reported changes in fat metabolism without the growth-promoting or insulin-like effects associated with full-length growth hormone. Subsequent human trials produced mixed or modest results, and the compound did not obtain regulatory approval for weight management in major markets. It remains known mainly through research literature, sports anti-doping listings, and non-approved supplement advertising.
AOD-9604 is prohibited in sport by the World Anti-Doping Agency under the peptide hormone class. Its presence in a sample can be detected through mass spectrometry-based methods, although the exact assay depends on the laboratory. In research settings, material is often supplied as a lyophilized powder for reconstitution. Buyers and researchers should note that products labeled AOD-9604 may vary in purity and actual peptide content. Analytical certificates and independent testing are common ways to verify identity, but no global harmonized standard exists for all commercial lots.
AOD-9604 is typically supplied as a lyophilized white to off-white powder. In this form, it is relatively stable when kept cool, dry, and protected from light. Common storage recommendations place it at −20 °C or below for long-term retention. Reconstituted solutions are less stable and are often kept at 2–8 °C for short periods. Freeze-thaw cycles should be minimized because they can promote aggregation or loss of peptide content. Vials are usually sealed under inert gas to reduce oxidation.
Identity and purity are commonly checked with reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. RP-HPLC separates the peptide from related impurities and can estimate purity by peak area. Mass spectrometry confirms molecular mass and helps detect sequence variants or truncations. Some laboratories use amino acid analysis or peptide mapping for additional characterization. No single method proves biological activity; these techniques establish chemical identity and purity only. They also require suitable reference standards for confident comparison.
Commercial AOD-9604 may vary in purity, counterion content, and residual moisture. Certificates of analysis often report HPLC purity, mass confirmation, and appearance, but testing methods differ between suppliers. Independent verification is sometimes used because labeled content may not match actual peptide amount. Stability under different pH and temperature conditions is not fully standardized across studies. Researchers generally treat lyophilized material as the reference form for weighing and reconstitution. Moisture content can affect accurate mass measurement.
AOD-9604 is a synthetic peptide modeled on the C-terminal region of human growth hormone. It corresponds to residues 176-191 of the 191-amino-acid hGH sequence. The fragment is not the full hormone and lacks the receptor-binding region associated with growth and metabolic effects of hGH. Researchers developed it to isolate a specific portion of hGH for study. Its exact sequence and length are often stated in peptide catalogs and patents.
The peptide is frequently described as a growth hormone fragment, although it is chemically distinct from full-length hGH. AOD-9604 contains 16 amino acids and includes two cysteine residues that can form an intramolecular disulfide bond. In solution, this structural feature can influence folding, aggregation, and stability. Published descriptions sometimes call it hGH 176-191 or AOD9604, with spacing and capitalization varying. Such naming differences can complicate literature searches, database entries, and product verification.
Researchers have studied the fragment in cell and animal models to understand its metabolic actions. Some experiments report effects on fat breakdown and fat storage pathways, but the underlying mechanism remains incompletely defined. AOD-9604 does not appear to stimulate the same broad growth hormone receptor signaling as full-length hGH. Whether its observed activities arise from direct receptor interactions or downstream metabolic changes is an open question. Results from different assays are not always consistent.
AOD-9604 has been investigated primarily as a potential treatment for obesity and related metabolic conditions. Early laboratory work examined its effects on fat cells, and later studies moved into animal models and human clinical trials. Some trials reportedly reached Phase II, but the program did not lead to an approved medicine. Published summaries often note that weight-loss results were modest or inconsistent. The full trial data are not all publicly available in detail.
Regulatory treatment of AOD-9604 has varied. In sports anti-doping, the peptide became widely discussed during a 2013 investigation into an Australian professional sports club. Authorities at the time debated whether it fell under prohibitions on growth hormone and related substances. Later clarifications and updated lists have addressed the compound in different ways. Anyone seeking current status should consult the latest applicable rules, and commercial supply for human use is not authorized in major markets.
== History == Scott Reismanis, a website developer from Melbourne, Australia, first pursued web development as a hobby, creating two websites dedicated to video games. Afterwards, he purchased the ChaosRealm.com domain and formed the Realm Network. The network comprised over twenty websites, one of which was ModDB's predecessor, ModRealm. Launched in 1998, ModRealm was initially dedicated to Counter-Strike cheat codes before becoming a modding website. The website became defunct in December 2001, when its network was shut down after its hosting service, Playnet, filed for bankruptcy. Reismanis was motivated to start a new website by the difficulty of searching for mods on the then-dominant search engine, AltaVista, much less mods released to the public. He began ModDB's development in January 2002, following IMDb's structure in the process. The website was launched as Mod Database in June 2002. It differed from his earlier websites in that its articles were managed by the community, not only the website's founder. By January 2005, ModDB listed 49,539 members and 2,191 mods. In 2006, the ModDB team launched AddonDB, whose aim was to list additional content for games not applicable under the category of game modifications. This includes models, skins and maps. Just one year into service, it was merged into ModDB.
An oxytocin receptor agonist is a compound that acts as an agonist of the oxytocin receptor. They include peptides like oxytocin and carbetocin and small-molecules like LIT-001 and LIT-002. Peptide oxytocin receptor agonists are used medically to induce labor, promote lactation, and for certain other uses. Oxytocin receptor agonists are of theoretical interest for the potential treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders with social symptoms, such as autism, social anxiety, and psychopathy. Small-molecule oxytocin receptor agonists are considered to be more promising for such uses due to better potential pharmacokinetic profiles, such as blood–brain barrier permeability, elimination half-lives, and oral bioavailability. The entactogen MDMA robustly increases oxytocin levels, by 4- to 8-fold, and this is thought to be involved in its entactogenic effects, including its euphoric, anxiolytic, and prosocial effects. In people with arginine vasopressin deficiency (central diabetes insipidus), who also have oxytocin deficiency, MDMA fails to elevate oxytocin levels and shows greatly blunted entactogenic effects. Accordingly, carbetocin partially substitutes for MDMA in drug discrimination tests in rodents, whereas the peptide oxytocin receptor antagonist atosiban interfered with MDMA discrimination. In addition, oxytocin receptor antagonists have been found to block the prosocial effects of MDMA in rodents. Social isolation has been found to decrease oxytocin receptor levels in rodents, whereas levels of oxytocin were unchanged.
LTE4 >> LTC4 = LTD4 > α-ketoglutarate = itaconate. It may be difficult to determine if an OXGR1-stimulating agent elicits a functional response by activating OXGR1 as opposed to some other mechanism. To make this distinction, studies have shown that the action of an OXGR1-activating agent on cultured cells, cultured tissues, or animals does not occur or is reduced when these cells, tissues, or animals have been altered so that they do not express or express greatly reduced levels of the OXGR1 protein, or when their actions are inhibited by an OXGR1 receptor antagonists. OXGR1 is inhibited by montelukast, a well-known inhibitor of the cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1, i.e., the receptor for LTD4, LTC4, and LTE4. Montelukast also blocks the binding of these leukotrienes to, and thereby inhibits their activation of, OXGR1. One study presented evidence suggesting that α-ketoglutarate binds to OXGR1. It is assumed that montelukast similarly blocks α-ketoglutarate's binding to, and thereby inhibits its activation of OXGR1.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
== Nomenclature and structure == The terms polyaromatic hydrocarbon, or polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon (abbreviated as PNA) are also used for this concept. By definition, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons have multiple aromatic rings, precluding benzene from being considered a PAH. Sources such as the US EPA and CDC consider naphthalene to be the simplest PAH. Most authors exclude compounds that include heteroatoms in the rings, or carry substituents. A polyaromatic hydrocarbon may have rings of various sizes, including some that are not aromatic. Those that have only six-membered rings are said to be alternant. The following sets of examples illustrate several of the types of variations that are possible.
==== Gastronomy ==== In gastronomy, in situ refers to the art of cooking with the different resources that are available at the site of the event. Here a person is not going to the restaurant, but the restaurant comes to the person's home.
== Engineering == In biochemical engineering, sparging can remove low-boiling liquids from a solution. The low-boiling components evaporate more rapidly, so the gas bubbles remove more of them from the bulk solution containing higher-boiling components. It is an alternative to distillation, and it does not require heat.
Lebanese historian Philip K. Hitti commented on the relationship between the Druze and Christians in Lebanon, noting: "Folty Comte, a French scholar, was astonished by the remarkable similarity between the Druze and the Maronites (Christians) in their way of life, system of governance, dialect, customs, and public morals. Druze and Maronite families coexist harmoniously, and sometimes Maronites accompany their Druze neighbors to church". According to Hitti, the Druze believe in the efficacy of holy water blessed by a priest, and occasionally, if a missionary persists in evangelizing the Druze, they may accept the sacrament of baptism. Maretti, an Italian monk who visited the region in 1760, just before Folty's arrival, observed that the Druze show genuine affection and respect for Christians and their religion. He also noted that Druze pray in Greek Orthodox churches as they do in Turkish mosques. Historian Ray Jabre Mouawad observes that during the Ottoman period, there existed religious symbiosis between the Druze and Christians in Mount Lebanon. This period saw numerous cultural interactions, leading to shared symbols, the veneration of common saints, and the adoption of common terminology to refer to God. Evidence of these interactions can be found in the palaces and mausoleums of Druze leaders, as well as in Maronite and Greek Orthodox churches. According to scholar Pierre-Yves Beaurepaire, due to the Christian influence on the Druze faith, two Christian saints become the Druze's favorite venerated figures: Saint George and the Prophet Elijah.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
== History == The U.S.-India Science & Technology Endowment Fund was established in 2009 with a joint agreement between the United States and India, having an annual budget of approximately $2 to $3 million per year. A board with members from both countries was established to award grants on a semi-annual basis. The board was established through the United States Department of State and the India Department of Science & Technology. In May 2012, then United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Indian Minister of Science and Technology Vilasrao Deshmukh awarded the first grantee of the fund. The first grantees included a partnership between both countries to develop a cold chain storage for produce, a procedure for metabolic screening of newborns, and a shoe specifically built to assist patients with Parkinson's disease.
== History == Asbestos was one material historically used for fireproofing, either on its own, or together with binders such as cement, either in sprayed form or in pressed sheets, or as additives to a variety of materials and products, including fabrics for protective clothing and building materials. Because the material was later proven to cause cancer, a large removal-and-replacement industry has been established. Endothermic materials have also been used to a large extent and are still in use today, such as gypsum, concrete and other cementitious products. More highly evolved versions of these are used in aerodynamics, intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and re-entry vehicles, such as the Space Shuttles.
== Importance == Two pathways appear to exist in L. plantarum for transforming pyruvate into D-lactate. One of them involves the NAD-dependent lactate dehydrogenase that directly produces D-lactate (LdhD), and the other is through the sequential activities of an L-specific lactate dehydrogenase followed by lactate racemase. If the LdhD enzyme is inactivated or inhibited, lactate racemase provides the bacterium with a rescue pathway for the production of D-lactate. This pathway is significant because the production of D-lactate in L. plantarum is linked to the biosynthesis of the cell wall. Mutants lacking LdhD activity that also had the lar operon deleted only produced L-lactate, and peptidoglycan biosynthesis was not able to occur.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
AOD-9604 is a synthetic peptide fragment of human growth hormone. It corresponds to the C-terminal region known as hGH 176-191 and is studied for metabolic effects. It is not an approved therapeutic drug.
No. It contains only a small portion of the human growth hormone sequence. The full hormone has 191 amino acids and many additional actions that the fragment does not share.
The name refers to the amino acid positions in the human growth hormone chain. The fragment spans residues 176 through 191 at the C-terminal end. This naming convention helps distinguish it from full-length hGH.
No. Major drug regulators have not approved AOD-9604 for weight loss or any other therapeutic indication. It remains an investigational compound studied in research settings.