AOD-9604 and HGH Fragment 176-191 are each a fragment of the growth hormone molecule.
| Comparison | AOD-9604 AOD9604 · Anti-Obesity Drug 9604 | HGH Fragment 176-191 HGH Frag · Frag 176-191 |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | How it works AOD-9604 is the tail end of the growth hormone molecule, the fragment linked to fat breakdown, with one amino acid added for stability. The idea was to keep one effect and discard the rest. | How it works The fragment is the last section of the growth hormone molecule, residues 176 to 191, isolated because that region is associated with fat breakdown. |
| What it is | A growth-hormone fragment marketed for fat loss, with weak proof it works. | The fat-burning piece of growth hormone, aimed at stubborn fat. |
| Status | Research only | Research only |
| Typical dose | 0.3 mg per day | 0.25–0.5 mg per day |
| How often | Daily | Daily |
| Stays active | About 3 minutes in animals | Not established |
| Dose comes from | Community practice | Community practice |
| Cycled? | Studied as daily dosing for up to 12 weeks Clinical trial protocol | Studied as daily dosing for up to 12 weeks Clinical trial protocol |
| What it does | ||
| Drug class | HGH fragment (176-191) | HGH fragment |
| Used for | People use it hoping to burn fat without the muscle or blood-sugar effects of full growth hormone. The human proof that it works is weak. | People use it to try to target stubborn fat. Real human evidence is thin. |
| Receptors hit | — | — |
| Numbers | ||
| Full dose line | 0.3 mg per day | 0.25 up to 0.5 mg per day (start low, increase slowly) |
| Why that cycle | The obesity trials gave it daily for up to 12 weeks with no cycling. Worth knowing that those trials did not show weight loss over placebo, so the schedule question is somewhat academic. | The same molecule as AOD-9604, given daily for up to 12 weeks in the obesity trials with no cycling and no benefit over placebo. |
| Weight / effect | Not measured in a trial | Not measured in a trial |
| Chain length | 16 residues | 15 residues |
| Common vial | 5 mg | 5 mg |
| Before you start | ||
| Route | Under the skin (subcutaneous) | Under the skin (subcutaneous) |
| Do not use if | No formal contraindications established Pregnancy | Pregnancy Banned in drug-tested sport |
What separates them
Proof behind the dose. Every dose here comes from community practice. Not one is backed by a published human study, which is worth knowing before you read the numbers as if they were equivalent.
What doesn't differ: They are both taken the same way (under the skin), aimed at the same thing (fat loss) and on the same schedule (daily). Neither has a measured effect size from a published trial, so there is no number to rank them on.
What people actually report
AOD-9604
- Generally well tolerated, but there is little solid evidence it produces real fat loss in people.
- Signs of an allergic reaction
HGH Fragment 176-191
- Generally well tolerated, but weak proof it works.
- Banned in drug-tested sport.
- Signs of an allergic reaction
Side effects are what users and trials report most often, not a complete list. Anything sudden, spreading, or breathing-related is an emergency regardless of which compound caused it.
People also compare
This comparison does not cover cost, long-term safety, or how you personally will respond. Effect figures come from separate trials in different populations and are not always directly comparable to each other. Nothing here is medical advice or a recommendation to use any of these. Talk to a clinician about your own situation.