This is a working overview of hGH fragment, written for readers who want more than a one-paragraph summary but less than a textbook.
Reviewed 2026-03-31. Anything still debated is marked as such rather than presented as settled.
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.
Regulatory interest in AOD-9604 increased after high-profile anti-doping cases involving peptide products. In some cases, the substance was supplied under alternative names or in compounded preparations, complicating traceability. Sports tribunals and anti-doping panels have discussed whether the peptide was explicitly banned at the time of use, leading to clarifications by the World Anti-Doping Agency. For consumers and researchers, the legal status can vary by jurisdiction, and products marketed as research chemicals may lack independent quality verification.
AOD-9604 is listed as a prohibited substance in sport by the World Anti-Doping Agency. It falls under the peptide hormones, growth factors, related substances, and mimetics class on the prohibited list. Anti-doping organizations treat its presence in an athlete's sample as an adverse finding unless a therapeutic use exemption applies. The prohibition reflects concerns about performance enhancement in competitive settings and the difficulty of distinguishing exogenous peptide use from endogenous hormone fragments.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular class | Synthetic peptide | Fragment analog of human growth hormone |
| Sequence basis | hGH 176–191 region | Modified C-terminal fragment |
| Common synonyms | AOD-9604; AOD9604; hGH fragment | Research and trade names vary |
| Regulatory status | Not approved as a drug | Prohibited in competitive sport |
| Research code | AOD9604 | Used in scientific and patent literature |
In laboratory settings, AOD-9604 is commonly supplied as a lyophilized powder and stored cold to limit degradation. Reconstituted solutions are typically kept refrigerated or frozen, depending on the buffer and concentration, and protected from repeated freeze-thaw cycles. Stability can be influenced by pH, temperature, and the presence of proteases. Purity is usually assessed by high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. These practices support reproducibility, but they do not imply safety or efficacy for any human use.
Regulatory status: AOD-9604 is not approved as a therapeutic drug in the United States, European Union, or other major markets. It is listed by the World Anti-Doping Agency as a prohibited substance in sport, specifically under growth hormone fragments. Many jurisdictions restrict its sale for human consumption. Products marketed online may not meet pharmaceutical quality standards. The legal status varies by country and often depends on whether the material is presented as a research chemical, supplement, or drug.
Identity and purity are usually assessed with reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Reversed-phase HPLC separates the peptide from related impurities and can estimate purity by ultraviolet absorbance, while mass spectrometry confirms the molecular mass and detects modifications. Peptide mapping, amino acid analysis, and disulfide mapping may be used when the sequence or disulfide arrangement must be verified. Because AOD9604 contains cysteine residues, oxidation and disulfide isomers are possible quality concerns in synthetic batches.
Quality varies among research-grade suppliers, so certificates of analysis and independent testing are important for verification. A typical certificate reports purity by HPLC, identity by mass spectrometry, appearance, and sometimes residual solvents or water content. AOD9604 is often sold as a research chemical not intended for human consumption, and labels can be inaccurate. Common misconceptions include treating the peptide as a form of growth hormone, assuming supplement status, or expecting approved-drug quality from unregulated products.
AOD9604 is commonly supplied as a white to off-white lyophilized powder. The powder is typically stored at -20 °C or below, protected from light and moisture, because peptides can degrade through oxidation, hydrolysis, or aggregation. If it is reconstituted for laboratory use, an appropriate aqueous buffer or solvent is chosen, and the solution is kept cold and handled to avoid repeated freeze-thaw cycles. These practices support stability but do not imply suitability for human use.
AOD-9604 is a synthetic peptide modeled on the C-terminal region of human growth hormone. It is often described as hGH fragment 176-191. Research interest arose because it was designed to isolate possible effects on fat metabolism from other actions of growth hormone. It is not a full growth hormone molecule. Its development history includes early laboratory and animal studies followed by human trials. The peptide has been examined in laboratory, animal, and limited human studies.
The compound has been studied as a potential treatment for obesity and related metabolic conditions. Published trials have examined changes in body weight, fat mass, and safety markers over limited durations. Results have been mixed or modest, and no large-scale outcome trials are established. Regulatory agencies in several countries have not approved it as a therapeutic drug. Some commercial products have been marketed outside regulated pharmaceutical channels, which raises questions about quality and claims.
=== Lithuania === Lithuanian Armed Forces field rations are based on the American MRE. They come in 10 menus packed in a dark green plastic bag, and besides the main meal in a retort pouch they also include two small dark chocolate bars, honey or jam, four hard-tack biscuits, a handful of almonds or hazelnuts, instant drink mix, tea or coffee, sugar, an antiseptic wipe, matches, solid fuel tablets, a flat disposable stove, a flameless heater (similar to the US one) and a cable-tie used to seal waste packaging back into the outer bag after use.
Rumbold had a meeting with the Polish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stanisław Patek, who declared that he was disappointed with his people's behaviour and "spoke strongly about the tactlessness and rigidity of the Polish Military authorities". On 10 March, Beaumont wrote of numerous continuing difficulties being made by Polish officials and stressed the "ill-will between Polish and German nationalities and the irritation due to Polish intolerance towards the German inhabitants in the Corridor (now under their rule), far worse than any former German intolerance of the Poles, are growing to such an extent that it is impossible to believe the present settlement (borders) can have any chance of being permanent...". The Poles began to harden their position, and Rumbold reported to Curzon on 22 March 1920 that Count Stefan Przeździecki, an official of the Polish Foreign Office, had told Sir Percy Loraine, First Secretary at the legation at Warsaw, that the Poles questioned the impartiality of the Inter-Allied Commissions and indicated that the Polish government might refuse to recognise the results of the plebiscites. Infiltration attempts of Polish irregulars into the Marienwerder area were checked by Italian troops.
reciprocal translocation A type of chromosomal translocation by which there is a reciprocal exchange of chromosome segments between two or more non-homologous chromosomes. When the exchange of material is evenly balanced, reciprocal translocations are usually harmless.
The magnetic field in a solar active region above a sunspot can store energy that is suddenly released as a burst of motion, X-rays, and radiation when the main current sheet collapses and reconnects the field.
=== 25 June === The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against former Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov for war crimes and crimes against humanity pertaining to strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities from 2022 to 2023. The HUR claimed to have blown up a Russian ammunition depot in Voronezh Oblast. The governor of Belgorod Oblast claimed that one person was killed in a drone strike. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said that the first batch of artillery ammunition purchased under the Czech-led initiative had been delivered to Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine conducted a prisoner exchange involving 90 POWs from each side. One of the prisoners swapped was a Ukrainian Orthodox priest who had been convicted and sentenced for “justifying Russian armed aggression“.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
== Data analysis == Ions are accelerated through the spectrometer in pulses. The electron cloud generated from a single cell is typically 10-150 pulses. The output of a Helios™ run is a binary integrated mass data (IMD) file that contains electron intensities measured from the ions for each mass channel. The continuous pulses must be resolved into individual cell events corresponding to the ion cloud generated from one cell. Each bin of between 10-150 pulses that passes the user set lower convolution threshold, is considered a cell event by the Helios™ software. The lower convolution threshold is the minimal ion count that must be reached across all ion channels to be considered a cell event. The value for this parameter increases with the number of ions being measured and thus more counts are required to define a cell event when more labels are used. For data analysis, the IMD file is converted into the flow cytometry standard (FCS) format. This file contains the total ion counts for each channel for every cell arranged in a matrix and is the same file generated during flow cytometry. Manual gating of this data can be performed as is done for flow cytometry and most of the tools available for flow cytometry analysis have been ported to CyTOF (See flow cytometry bioinformatics). CyTOF data is typically high dimensional. To delineate relationships between cell populations dimensionality reduction algorithms are often used. Several multidimensional analysis clustering algorithms are common. Popular tools include tSNE, FlowSOM, and the diffusion pseudo time (DPT).
=== Pharmacokinetics === The drug is orally active, in contrast to the poor oral bioavailability of ketamine. Its oral bioavailability is >60%. The time to peak levels of blixeprodil is 1.5 hours and its elimination half-life is 4.3 hours.
Wadden, Thomas A.; Chao, Ariana M.; Machineni, Sriram; Kushner, Robert; Ard, Jamy; Srivastava, Gitanjali; Halpern, Bruno; Zhang, Shuyu; Chen, Jiaxun; Bunck, Mathijs C.; Ahmad, Nadia N.; Forrester, Tammy (2023). "Tirzepatide after intensive lifestyle intervention in adults with overweight or obesity: The SURMOUNT-3 phase 3 trial". Nature Medicine. 29 (11): 2909–2918. doi:10.1038/s41591-023-02597-w. PMC 10667099. PMID 37840095. Wadden, Thomas A.; Chao, Ariana M.; Moore, Molly; Tronieri, Jena S.; Gilden, Adam; Amaro, Anastassia; Leonard, Sharon; Jakicic, John M. (2023). "The Role of Lifestyle Modification with Second-Generation Anti-obesity Medications: Comparisons, Questions, and Clinical Opportunities". Current Obesity Reports. 12 (4): 453–473. doi:10.1007/s13679-023-00534-z. PMC 10748770. PMID 38041774. Wadden, Thomas A.; Brown, Gregory K.; Egebjerg, Christina; Frenkel, Ofir; Goldman, Bryan; Kushner, Robert F.; McGowan, Barbara; Overvad, Maria; Fink-Jensen, Anders (2024). "Psychiatric Safety of Semaglutide for Weight Management in People Without Known Major Psychopathology". JAMA Internal Medicine. 184 (11): 1290–1300. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2024.4346. PMC 11372653. PMID 39226070.
==== IEC/HIC ==== Since IEC and HIC conditions are the closest ones to physiological conditions which are fit for maintaining biological activity, the combinations of them are widely used in the separation of biological products. IEC/HIC MMC has improved separation power and selectivity on the grounds that it applies both electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions.
== Types of comparisons == Because protein structures are composed of amino acids whose side chains are linked by a common protein backbone, a number of different possible subsets of the atoms that make up a protein macromolecule can be used in producing a structural alignment and calculating the corresponding RMSD values. When aligning structures with very different sequences, the side chain atoms generally are not taken into account because their identities differ between many aligned residues. For this reason it is common for structural alignment methods to use by default only the backbone atoms included in the peptide bond. For simplicity and efficiency, often only the alpha carbon positions are considered, since the peptide bond has a minimally variant planar conformation. Only when the structures to be aligned are highly similar or even identical is it meaningful to align side-chain atom positions, in which case the RMSD reflects not only the conformation of the protein backbone but also the rotameric states of the side chains. Other comparison criteria that reduce noise and bolster positive matches include secondary structure assignment, native contact maps or residue interaction patterns, measures of side chain packing, and measures of hydrogen bond retention.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
No. It is a synthetic peptide fragment modeled on part of human growth hormone, not the full hormone. It does not contain the complete sequence or receptor-binding regions of hGH.
It was investigated in clinical trials for obesity, but it did not receive approval for that use in major markets. Results were generally modest or mixed, and it remains an experimental compound.
WADA lists it as a prohibited peptide hormone. Its use can be detected by laboratory methods, and athletes are subject to sanctions if it is found in samples.
Yes, the World Anti-Doping Agency classifies AOD-9604 as a prohibited peptide hormone and related substance. Its use by athletes is banned under the relevant anti-doping code.