See AICAR dosage trends, reconstitution volumes, and vial size patterns from anonymized WPA peptide calculator sessions.
AICAR (5-Aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide) is an AMP-mimetic AMPK activator famously characterized as an "exercise mimetic" in the Narkar / Evans Salk Institute work, with rodent endurance gains in the absence of training. It is on the WADA prohibited list and has limited human clinical data. This data shows the dose amounts, vial sizes, and diluent volumes researchers most commonly select when working with AICAR.
AICAR (5-Aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide) is a small-molecule purine analog that is converted intracellularly to ZMP, an AMP-mimetic that binds and activates AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) — the central cellular energy sensor that drives the metabolic shift to fatty acid oxidation, mitochondrial biogenesis, and glucose uptake when ATP availability falls. Pharmacological AMPK activation through AICAR drives the same downstream transcriptional programs as endurance exercise, which is the mechanistic basis for AICAR's reputation as an "exercise mimetic". The pivotal experimental result is the Narkar et al.
AICAR is a small-molecule AMPK activator (a nucleotide analogue) studied in metabolic and exercise-physiology research. It is a chemical compound, not a peptide, so the certificate of analysis (COA) is about chemical purity and identity rather than a sequence.
AICAR is taken up by cells and phosphorylated to ZMP, which mimics AMP and allosterically activates AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) — the master cellular energy sensor that responds to falling ATP and rising AMP by switching cells from anabolic to catabolic metabolism. AMPK activation triggers downstream effects that include increased fatty-acid oxidation, glucose uptake, mitochondrial biogenesis (via PGC-1α), and inhibition of mTOR-driven anabolic signalling. The Narkar 2008 paper attributed the endurance phenotype in mice to AMPK-driven reprogramming of skeletal muscle toward oxidative fibre type.
AICAR was originally developed as a cardioprotective and anti-leukemic drug (acadesine) and reached Phase 3 in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (the BENDA-Acadesine program), where it did not advance. Its post-2008 prominence is almost entirely driven by the exercise-mimetic claim and its WADA-prohibited status. No registered human trial has tested AICAR for chronic exercise-mimetic use or healthspan extension, and the human pharmacokinetics published from the cardiology era show very short plasma half-life requiring continuous infusion.
AICAR has a reported half-life of ~1 hour, and the dose intervals researchers model most often fall around once daily. Cleared within a couple of hours, so there is essentially no buildup between daily doses. The effect is driven by each individual dose. It is catalogued under Performance Peptides on WPA.
23 AICAR reconstitution calculations have been logged by the WPA community. The most common dose entered is 500mcg (4 calculations). The median dose across all sessions is 1mg. The most common bacteriostatic water volume is 2.5mL. The most popular vial size is 50mg (18 sessions). The most common dosing frequency is daily (7x/week) (1 logged protocols).
These figures come from anonymized WPA peptide calculator sessions.
All figures shown are aggregated from anonymized calculator inputs and are provided strictly for independent laboratory research and educational purposes. They are community usage statistics — not dosing recommendations, and not medical advice.