The AOD-9604 Relative
HGH Fragment 176-191
Also known as Frag 176-191 · hGH Fragment
At a glance
- What it is
- The unmodified fragment AOD-9604 was built from. Same failed premise.
- Evidence
- Practitioner experience onlyHow the tiers workThere is no human efficacy evidence for the unmodified fragment. Why this tier
- Half-life
- Not established in available literature
- Routes
- Subcutaneous
- Category
- Metabolic
- WADA
- Prohibited (S2.2.3)
- Amino acids
- 16
Putting HGH Fragment 176-191 on a schedule, with the vial it comes from and a log of each dose, happens in the app: Claritide for iPhone.
Why this tier
There is no human efficacy evidence for the unmodified fragment. The lipolytic claim behind it is the same one that failed to produce statistically significant weight loss in AOD-9604’s largest human trial, after which AOD-9604 was abandoned as a drug candidate. This record exists as a disambiguation page, which no vendor will ever write: HGH Fragment 176-191 is the unmodified C-terminal fragment, AOD-9604 is a modified analogue of the same fragment with an added tyrosine, and they are sold alongside each other as though they were unrelated products.
What it is
HGH Fragment 176-191 is the unmodified C-terminal fragment of human growth hormone. AOD-9604 is a modified analogue of the same fragment carrying an added tyrosine. They are sold side by side, constantly confused, and no vendor page explains the relationship, which is the reason this record exists.
How it works
The C-terminal 176-191 region of human growth hormone was identified as the part of the molecule associated with fat metabolism rather than with growth. The proposal is that this fragment stimulates lipolysis and inhibits lipogenesis without the growth-promoting and glucose-disrupting effects of the full hormone: no IGF-1 elevation, no insulin resistance. That is the same premise AOD-9604 was built on, and AOD-9604 is the version that was actually taken into large human trials.
Commonly researched ranges
- Vendor protocol · weeks 1–4250 mcg
Vendor-tier. No human efficacy evidence supports any dose of the unmodified fragment.
- Vendor protocol · weeks 5–15250–5000 mcg
Vendor-tier, with cycles reported as capped at two to three months. A twenty-fold range within one protocol tells you how little anchors it.
| Phase | Amount | Frequency | Timing | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vendor protocol · weeks 1–4 | 250 mcg | Twice daily | Before cardio | Vendor-tier. No human efficacy evidence supports any dose of the unmodified fragment. |
| Vendor protocol · weeks 5–15 | 250–5000 mcg | Twice daily | Before cardio | Vendor-tier, with cycles reported as capped at two to three months. A twenty-fold range within one protocol tells you how little anchors it. |
- Cycle guidance
- Vendor pages cap cycles at two to three months. There is no study behind that.
- Goals
- Fat loss
Where this sits with the FDA
The unmodified fragment does not appear on FDA’s Category 1, Category 2 or 503A bulks lists under this name as of August 2026. Its relative AOD-9604 sits on the nominated-but-withdrawn table.
Primary sourceWADA status
The 2026 List names "AOD-9604 and hGH 176-191" together under S2.2.3. Prohibited at all times. The two compounds are named in the same line, which is itself an answer to anyone hoping one substitutes for the other.
Mixing recipes our sources document
Not established in available literature. Use the calculator with the figures printed on your own vial.
Open the calculator
Week by week
Not established in available literature.
Side effects
Not established in available literature. Absence from this page does not mean absence of risk. It means our sources publish no side-effect profile for HGH Fragment 176-191.
Contraindications and interactions
Do not use if
- Drug-tested competition: the 2026 WADA List names "AOD-9604 and hGH 176-191" together under S2.2.3, prohibited at all times
Interactions
Not established in available literature.
Absence from this list does NOT mean safety. It means lack of research.
Storage and cost
- Storage
- Vendor pages direct reconstitution and refrigeration without specifying a vial pairing or a beyond-use window, so we publish neither.
- Cost
- Not established in available literature
Stacks with
HGH Fragment 176-191 in full
Limited coverage: a disambiguation page
Two products sit next to each other on peptide vendor sites, and almost nobody buying them knows they are relatives.
HGH Fragment 176-191 is the unmodified C-terminal fragment of human growth hormone. AOD-9604 is a modified analogue of the same fragment, carrying an added tyrosine.
No vendor page explains the relationship, and the practical consequence is people running both, or switching between them, believing they are different approaches to the same problem.
The premise, and how it went
The 176-191 region was identified as the part of growth hormone associated with fat metabolism rather than growth. The pitch is lipolysis without IGF-1 elevation, without insulin resistance, without the growth effects of the full hormone.
AOD-9604 is the version that was taken into serious human trials, and it failed to produce statistically significant weight loss in its largest one, after which it was abandoned as a drug candidate.
There is no human efficacy evidence for the unmodified fragment either. The premise did not fail because the wrong molecule was tested; the more developed molecule was tested and did not work.
The dosing that circulates
From vendor pages: 0.25 mg per injection twice daily subcutaneously for weeks 1 to 4, then 0.25 to 5.0 mg per injection twice daily for weeks 5 to 15, timed before cardio, with cycles capped at two to three months.
A protocol whose upper bound is twenty times its lower bound is not a protocol. It is a range wide enough to accommodate whatever anyone was already doing.
For athletes
The 2026 WADA Prohibited List names "AOD-9604 and hGH 176-191" together under S2.2.3, prohibited at all times. WADA named them in the same line, which is a fairly direct answer to anyone hoping one is a way around the other.
Sources
Every record in this library is free to read, and it stays free. Your own schedule, vials and log live in the app: Claritide for iPhone.