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Protocols · Metabolic

AICAR: literature-reported ranges

AICAR is a small-molecule AMP mimetic that activates AMPK, the cell's energy-sensing kinase. It has a real human trial history in cardiac surgery and leukaemia, and a well known rodent exercise-mimetic literature. It is a prohibited substance in sport.

Read this first

Every figure on this page is a range reported in published literature or in a publicly documented study protocol. It is a record of what researchers used, not a recommendation, a therapeutic protocol, or advice. Peptide Intel Hub is an independent publication, sells nothing, and describes these compounds as in-vitro research reagents only.

Compound at a glance

Class
AMP analogue and AMPK activator (small molecule, not a peptide)
Reported half-life
Short; intravenous infusion protocols dominate the human record
Routes used in the literature
Intravenous infusion in human trials; intraperitoneal and oral in animal work
Also written as
Acadesine, AICA riboside

What the published studies reported

Each row below describes one body of work. The model and population are part of the figure — a rodent per-kilogram quantity and a human trial quantity are not comparable.

Cardiac surgery trials (acadesine)

Reported quantity
0.1 mg/kg/min intravenous infusion
Frequency
Continuous infusion during and after surgery
Study duration
Approximately 7 hours perioperatively

This is the largest human dataset and uses continuous infusion, not bolus administration.

Rodent exercise-mimetic studies

Reported quantity
500 mg/kg body weight
Frequency
Once daily
Study duration
4 weeks in the widely cited endurance studies

The per-kilogram quantity is very large and does not scale linearly to other species.

Mixed with 3 ml of bacteriostatic water

The same arithmetic for every vial size AICAR is supplied in, using a fixed 3 ml of bacteriostatic water. One unit on a U-100 insulin syringe is 0.01 ml, so the unit column below is simply the volume that carries the reported amount. Educational arithmetic only — not instructions, and not medical advice.

AICAR · 3 ml bacteriostatic water

Vial sizeConcentrationPer 1 unit
50 mg16.67 mg/ml167 mcg

No single reported amount applies to this compound, so only the concentration and the value of one unit are shown. Only the vial sizes this compound is actually supplied in are shown, and every figure assumes exactly 3 ml of bacteriostatic water. For any other volume, use the reconstitution calculator.

Reconstitution maths

Supplied as a 50 mg vial. In 3 ml of bacteriostatic water that gives 16.67 mg/ml.

Open the reconstitution calculator

How to read these figures

  • AICAR is on the WADA prohibited list as a metabolic modulator.
  • The human evidence uses continuous intravenous infusion in surgical settings — a different exposure profile entirely.
  • Rodent endurance figures are frequently quoted without the per-kilogram context.

Sources and citations

No peer-reviewed primary literature reporting administered quantities exists for this item. Anything circulating online about quantities is anecdote rather than evidence, and this page will not reproduce it. The database links below are kept so you can check for yourself as new work is published.

Search the databases yourself

Other metabolic compounds

All research protocols

Peptide Intel Hub is an independent publication and has no affiliation, ownership or commercial relationship with the suppliers listed. We sell nothing and take no payments — links are editorial references only.

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© 2026 Peptide Intel Hub · Marbella · Educational research reference · For in-vitro research use only
Independent publication — we sell nothing. Supplier disclosure

Peptide Intel Hub is an independent educational publication. We are not affiliated with, owned by, or the same company as Regena Peptides and Regena.app (regena-peptides.com / regena.app). We do not sell, supply, ship or take payment for any compound. Because readers regularly ask where compounds discussed in published studies can be sourced for laboratory work, we list Regena Peptides and Regena.app as suppliers we have verified and trust — every batch is released with a lot-matched third-party certificate of analysis (HPLC purity and mass-spectrometry identity). Outbound links are marked nofollow/sponsored and are provided to help readers, not to sell.