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Fat LossLimited human evidence

HGH Fragment 176-191

Synthetic peptide corresponding to amino acids 176-191 of human growth hormone. Stripped of growth-promoting and glucose-modulating effects (theoretically). Originally developed under the AOD-9604 program (see related entry). Marketed as a 'pure lipolytic' but human-trial evidence for clinically meaningful weight loss is weak.

Educational only — not medical advice. SmartPeptide does not prescribe, diagnose, or treat. Always consult a licensed healthcare provider before using any peptide, supplement, medication, or protocol.

What the research shows

Demonstrated lipolytic activity in vitro and in animals. The most rigorous human translation (AOD-9604, the same fragment with a modification) failed Phase 2 obesity trials. No FDA-approved indication.

What's still experimental

Effectively any therapeutic claim. The most relevant human trial (AOD-9604 Phase 2) was negative.

Anecdotal / community reports

Marketed by some clinics as a 'fat-loss peptide.' Anecdotal logs report subjective effects that are not supported by the negative Phase 2 evidence.

Anecdotal reports are NOT scientific evidence. They reflect personal experience and may not generalize.

FDA approval status

Source: openFDA + DailyMed (NIH/NLM)
No FDA-approved drug label exists for “HGH Fragment 176-191”. This peptide is not currently approved by the FDA as a finished pharmaceutical product. Any commercial product claiming FDA approval should be treated with suspicion.

Doses studied in research

No established dose range

What published trials tested or FDA-approved labels specify. Reporting research facts — not a SmartPeptide recommendation.

No FDA-approved or established trial dose range for this peptide. Anecdotal ranges discussed in community forums exist but are not supported by published clinical trials, and SmartPeptide will not publish unverified doses.

This is the honest answer for peptides like BPC-157, IGF-1 LR3, MOTS-c, Epitalon and similar research compounds — robust human dose- ranging studies have not been published. Always work with a licensed clinician familiar with experimental peptides if you are considering any use.

FDA enforcement & recalls

Live · openFDA Drug Enforcement API
No FDA enforcement actions (recalls, market withdrawals, safety alerts) on record for “HGH Fragment 176-191”. This is the expected baseline for most peptides — the absence of recalls does NOT imply general safety, only that no formal FDA enforcement has been initiated against approved formulations.

Mechanism & targets

ChEMBL · UniProt · Open Targets

Molecule (ChEMBL)

View on ChEMBL
Formula
C21H19F3N2O2S

Live research

PubMed · ClinicalTrials.gov · Europe PMC · OpenAlex
PubMed papers
3
total
Human studies
0
MeSH: humans
Clinical trials
0
published
Active trials
9
22 total registered

Clinical trials (ClinicalTrials.gov)

All trials for "HGH fragment"

Europe PMC — 148 additional records

Includes EU/UK studies and PubMed Central full-text articles. Often surfaces research weeks before PubMed indexes it.

Research volume (OpenAlex topic graph)

Total works
415
all years
Last 5 years
143
recent activity
Open access
403
freely readable
OA share
97%
of all works

Human clinical evidence

Semantic Scholar · AI TLDRs · influence-ranked
Semantic Scholar API is currently rate-limited.

Human-study summaries for “HGH fragment 176-191” are available on Semantic Scholar but the shared free-tier API quota is exhausted right now. Try refreshing in a few minutes, or check the PubMed and Europe PMC panels above for the same literature.

Research funding & verification

NIH RePORTER · CrossRef DOI registry

NIH-funded research

U.S. National Institutes of Health
Funded projects
1
all years
Top award sum
$94K
aggregate USD
Years covered
1
research span
Largest active / recent grants

Publication landscape

CrossRef · DOI registry
Indexed works (CrossRef)
932,111
all DOIs registered
Retracted papers
0
no retractions on record
Top funders of indexed research
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China11,967 works
  • National Institutes of Health1,929 works
  • National Science Foundation1,716 works
  • National Key Research and Development Program of China1,487 works
  • Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities1,402 works
  • Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology1,129 works

Funder diversity is a credibility signal. Research concentrated in a single drug company's funding warrants more scrutiny than research funded across NIH, charities, and academic grants.

Preprints — cutting edge

bioRxiv · medRxiv · via Europe PMC
No preprints indexed yet for “HGH fragment 176-191”.

Known risks

Phase 2 obesity development (under AOD-9604) failed to demonstrate clinically meaningful weight loss vs. placebo. Source quality varies. Long-term safety in non-trial use is unestablished.

Reported side effects

Injection-site reactions, mild headache. Generally well-tolerated at studied doses but those doses didn't produce strong weight-loss effects.

FDA adverse event reports (FAERS)

Updated quarterly by FDA
No reports found in the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System for “HGH Fragment 176-191”. This is normal for research-only peptides that are not marketed as FDA-approved drugs.

What requires medical supervision

Not FDA-approved. Discuss with a clinician — be honest about the negative Phase 2 evidence.

Questions for your clinician

  • Given the AOD-9604 Phase 2 was negative, what's the rational case for using this?
  • What FDA-approved obesity options should we discuss instead?
  • What's our stop criteria?

Editorially curated references

Discussions about HGH Fragment 176-191

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