AICAR Dosage: No Validated Human Protocol Exists
AICAR dosage: no validated human protocol exists. What the animal studies and human cardiac trials actually used, and why sources disagree.
The short version
No validated human dose exists for the endurance or metabolic use AICAR is sold for. The mouse endurance study used roughly 500 mg/kg/day, far above anything given to a human. Human cardiac trials gave a different form, intravenously, at 0.1 mg/kg/min, and that trial failed its endpoint. Research-market pages disagree with each other by roughly an order of magnitude on any extrapolated figure, so this page reports no common protocol.
- No validated human dose exists for endurance, fat-loss or metabolic use. The three sources checked disagree with each other.
- The landmark mouse study used ~500 mg/kg/day, a dose that does not scale to humans by simple bodyweight conversion.
- Human cardiac trials gave a related IV form (acadesine) at 0.1 mg/kg/min, and the largest trial found it did not work for its own endpoint.
- Reconstitution and injection-volume math belongs on a calculator, not a guess, though no established target dose exists to calculate toward.
No validated human dose exists for the endurance, fat-loss or metabolic use AICAR is sold for. This page reports what the mouse study and human cardiac trials used, and why the “human doses” on research-market pages disagree with each other. For the full mechanism and evidence picture, see the main AICAR guide.
US legal status - Unapproved drug
No FDA-approved product for any use. Studied in humans as acadesine for cardiac surgery but never approved. Prohibited at all times in sport under WADA section S4.
AICAR dosage: no common protocol found
Common protocol
No consistent protocol in circulation. No two real sources agree on a usable human protocol for the endurance/metabolic use AICAR is marketed for, and each explicitly disclaims having a validated one. Peptide Mind gives a specific figure (3 mg subcutaneous daily for a 5-week protocol) while in the same breath stating there is 'no established, validated dosing protocol for humans' and that any online figures are 'extrapolations from animal data or informal anecdotal reports.' The Peptide Catalog instead reports only the acute IV cardiac-trial dose (~0.1 mg/kg/min, a failed trial) plus 'unverified anecdote only' community figures of ~5-10 mg, explicitly stating no controlled human study has tested AICAR for endurance or fat loss at any dose. PeptideKey reports only animal doses (250-500 mg/kg SC) and an allometric-scaling estimate of ~25-50 mg/day, stating plainly that 'no human clinical protocols for performance enhancement exist.' Three sources, three different figures, none corroborating another - not a common protocol this site will state.
Three research-market pages I checked give three different figures for the fitness and metabolic use AICAR is sold for, roughly an order of magnitude apart. Each states that no validated human protocol exists. A specific-sounding number paired with a disclaimer that it is not established counts, under this site’s protocol policy, as no usable common practice.
What the mouse study used
The study behind AICAR’s endurance reputation Narkar 2008 - Narkar VA, Downes M, Yu RT et al. AMPK and PPARdelta agonists are exercise mimetics. Cell. 2008;134(3):405-15., in the references below treated sedentary mice with AICAR at a dose researchers describe as roughly 500 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks. It reported a 44% increase in treadmill running endurance with no exercise training at all. That is far higher per kilogram of body weight than anything given to a human in the trials below. No source this page cites has published a validated interspecies conversion for it.
What the human cardiac trials used
| Trial | Dose | Route | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| RED-CABG (n≈3,080) Newman 2012 - Newman MF, Ferguson TB, White JA et al. Effect of adenosine-regulating agent acadesine on morbidity and mortality associated with coronary artery bypass grafting: the RED-CABG randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2012;308(2):157-64., in the references below | ~0.1 mg/kg/min | Continuous IV infusion, ~7 hours, perioperative | Stopped early: did not reduce death, nonfatal stroke or severe cardiac dysfunction vs. placebo |
This was a hospital-administered acute infusion, under continuous clinical monitoring, to test a cardioprotection outcome. It is not a template for self-directed subcutaneous or oral dosing, and it did not test endurance, fat loss or muscle outcomes at all.
How to reconstitute AICAR
This page has no validated dosing target to reconstitute toward. The dosage calculator works through general reconstitution arithmetic for a given vial. It does not supply or endorse a dose for a compound with no established human protocol for the use it is sold for.
What is not established
- No validated human dose exists for endurance, fat-loss or metabolic use, the use AICAR is marketed for.
- No FDA-approved dose exists for any use. Acadesine was studied for cardiac surgery but never approved.
- The mouse study’s dose has no published, validated human equivalent. It is far higher per kilogram than the human cardiac-trial dose, and no cited source endorses simple bodyweight scaling.
- The largest human trial of this molecule found a negative result for the cardiac outcome it was designed to test.
Who should not use it
No FDA-reviewed contraindication list exists for the research-chemical use of AICAR, because that use has never been studied in a human trial. AICAR is also prohibited at all times in competitive sport. Nobody should self-direct an unapproved research chemical around a current medical condition, medication or pregnancy.
AICAR side effects and risks
The human cardiac trials monitored patients closely in hospital during and after an acute IV infusion. They reported it as generally tolerated at that safety level. That says nothing about the safety of a subcutaneous or oral research-chemical vial, self-administered without clinical monitoring, at any of the doses on vendor pages. No such safety study exists.
Related
- AICAR: not a peptide, and what the research actually shows
- MOTS-c dosage
- SLU-PP-332 dosage
- Dosage calculator
- Research peptides and the law
Where to buy AICAR for research
Each vendor is checked against my vendor checklist.
1.Next Level PharmFeatured
50 mg vial
- No FDA warning letter found
- Names its testing lab
- Batch COAs published
- Takes card payment
Common questions
What is the usual AICAR dose?
There is no usual or validated human dose for the endurance or metabolic use AICAR is marketed for. Three research-market pages I checked give three different figures: 3 mg/day, ~5-10 mg (labelled unverified anecdote), and an allometric estimate of ~25-50 mg/day. Each states that no validated human protocol exists.
What dose did the human cardiac trials use?
Human trials gave the same molecule, under the name acadesine, intravenously during heart bypass surgery. The dose was approximately 0.1 mg per kilogram per minute as a continuous infusion over several hours, under close clinical monitoring. The largest such trial (over 3,000 patients) found it did not reduce death, stroke or cardiac dysfunction and was stopped early for futility. This was a hospital-administered acute infusion for a different purpose, not a template for self-directed subcutaneous or oral use.
What dose did the mouse endurance study use?
The 2008 study that AICAR's fitness reputation traces to dosed sedentary mice at roughly 500 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day for 4 weeks. That is far higher, per kilogram, than the human cardiac-trial dose above. Research-market pages themselves note that mg/kg animal doses do not scale to humans by simple bodyweight conversion.
Is there an FDA-approved AICAR dose?
No. Acadesine (AICAR) was studied in humans for cardiac surgery for decades but was never FDA-approved for that or any other use. No dose has been established for the endurance or metabolic use it is marketed for today.
What are the main risks?
Beyond the absence of a validated human protocol, a vial sold as AICAR carries no verified content, purity or actual concentration. It is made and sold entirely outside any regulated or clinical-trial supply chain. See the main guide for what the cardiac trials did and did not find about safety.
When should I stop and get medical care?
Get emergency care (call 911 in the US) for shortness of breath, chest pain, rapid or unexplained swelling, or signs of a severe allergic reaction. Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 if you have taken an unknown or excessive amount of anything sold as AICAR. This page is not a substitute for a clinician who knows your history.
References (3 sources)
Bibliographic detail is fetched from PubMed, not written by me - so a citation here cannot drift from the paper it names. Study design comes from PubMed's own tags rather than my judgement.
- 1.Narkar VA, Downes M, Yu RT et al. AMPK and PPARdelta agonists are exercise mimetics. Cell. 2008;134(3):405-15.StudyPMID 18674809full text
- 2.Newman MF, Ferguson TB, White JA et al. Effect of adenosine-regulating agent acadesine on morbidity and mortality associated with coronary artery bypass grafting: the RED-CABG randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2012;308(2):157-64.Randomised trialPMID 22782417
- 3.America's Poison Centers - confirms 1-800-222-1222 as the national Poison Control number, free and confidential, 24 hours a day.- America's Poison Centersother