AOD-9604 for Health & Longevity - Quick Reference Sheet

AOD-9604 for Health & Longevity

Created on 10/06/2026 – Quick Reference based on Evidence Review created using AI4L / Opus 5.5 – Audit

AOD-9604, a lab-made peptide fragment of growth hormone used mostly by injection for fat loss, rests on thin, mostly old evidence. One company's shorter oral trial suggested a small fat-loss benefit that its own larger, longer trial did not confirm. Short-term side effects resembled placebo at lower oral doses, but injection is untested in humans, products may be impure or mislabeled, and a tumor cluster remains unexplained. (Full Review)

Protocol

Trial regimen (oral)
1 mg once daily
Outperformed 10 mg in the 12-week trial; 0.25 and 0.5 mg daily also tested for 24 weeks
Practitioner regimen (subcutaneous)
250–500 µg daily
Subcutaneous injection split into 2–3 doses, per forum protocols; never tested in a trial
Time of day
Morning, fasted, or before exercise
Per user protocols; trials specified once-daily dosing without timing
Time to effect
Weight change
12 weeks
Measured by the only positive trial; no earlier efficacy timepoint has been published
Blood fat-release markers
Within hours
Rose within hours of a dose

Benefits

Contraindications
  • Women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or of childbearing potential
  • People under 18 years
  • People with active cancer (theoretical)
  • Competitive athletes subject to WADA testing (prohibited at all times)
  • People with known hypersensitivity to the peptide or its inactive ingredients (theoretical)
Key Interactions
  • Growth hormone and secretagogues (drugs that trigger growth hormone release) (somatropin, CJC-1295, ipamorelin, tesamorelin): Caution (theoretical)
  • GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1, an appetite-reducing gut hormone) receptor agonists (semaglutide, liraglutide, tirzepatide): Monitor (theoretical)
  • Beta-blockers (drugs that block adrenaline receptors) (propranolol, nadolol): Monitor (theoretical)
  • Beta-3 agonists (bladder drugs that activate beta-3 receptors) (mirabegron, vibegron): Caution (theoretical)
  • Glucose-lowering drugs (insulin, glipizide, metformin): Monitor (theoretical)
  • Over-the-counter stimulants (caffeine tablets, pseudoephedrine): Caution (theoretical)
  • Supplements with additive fat-mobilizing effects (green tea extract, synephrine, yohimbine): Caution (theoretical)
  • Other peptides (BPC-157, TB-500): Caution (theoretical)

Risk & Side Effects

  • High:
  • Medium:
  • Low: Short-term tolerability events; Tumors reported in the 12-week trial; Injection-site reactions
  • Speculative: Immune reactions to injected product; Contaminated or mislabeled product; Bone-turnover and liver findings in animals; Inconclusive DNA-damage tests

Monitoring

Marker Target Why
Body weight No established target; track change from own baseline Expected to change (efficacy)
Waist circumference No established target; track change from own baseline Expected to change (efficacy)
Body fat (DEXA scan) No established target; track change from own baseline Expected to change (efficacy)
Fasting glucose 70–99 mg/dL Safety check: a rise stops use
IGF-1 Age- and sex-specific laboratory range Safety check: a rise stops use
ALT Laboratory upper limit, often about 33–45 U/L Safety check: a rise stops or pauses use

Cadence: Baseline before starting; weight and waist weekly; fasting glucose and IGF-1 at 4–6 weeks; ALT, glucose and IGF-1 again at 12 weeks; then every 3 months during any continued use

Qualitative Assessment

  • Energy levels and exercise tolerance
  • Hunger and satiety, which AOD-9604 is not expected to change
  • Injection-site redness, lumps or itching
  • Gastrointestinal comfort (diarrhea, flatulence)
  • Mood changes, including unusual euphoria
  • Sleep quality