Dihexa
Dihexa (N-hexanoic-Tyr-Ile-(6) aminohexanoic amide)
Also called Dihexa, N-hexanoic-Tyr-Ile-(6) aminohexanoic amide, PNB-0408
A preclinical-only compound studied for synapse formation
Dihexa was designed to promote new connections between brain cells. In laboratory work it did so at very low concentrations compared with the natural signal it borrows, which is both the attraction and the concern. Nothing is known from trials about what it does in people, and it is not approved.
An angiotensin-IV-derived compound designed to promote synapse formation through the HGF/c-Met system. The marketing claims are dramatic, but the potency numbers come from laboratory and preclinical models: dihexa has no human clinical data. It is experimental and not approved.
- Half-life
- Not established in humans
- Route studied
- Oral (preclinical studies)
- Status
- Not FDA-approved
Early research, mostly in the lab so far
What Dihexa has been studied for
The reasons people look it up, roughly in order of how often, and what research exists for each. Interest in a use is not evidence that it works; the evidence is stated under each one.
- Memory and learning
- What it was designed for. It was built from a fragment of angiotensin IV to trigger the growth-factor pathway the brain uses to build new connections, and in preclinical models of memory impairment it restored performance.
- Recovery after brain injury
- The original research direction, aimed at Alzheimer's and traumatic injury. It never made it into people.
Mechanism of Action
How Dihexa works
Dihexa works through a growth-factor pathway distinct from the usual nootropics:
- HGF and c-Met. It augments hepatocyte growth factor signalling at its c-Met receptor, the pathway it uses to drive synapse formation in laboratory work.
- Synapse formation. In preclinical models it promotes new dendritic spines and synaptic connections, the basis of its potency claims.
- Not through BDNF. Unlike most compounds discussed for cognition, it does not act through BDNF.
- Unvalidated in humans. The potency figures come from cell and preclinical work; there is no human trial evidence.
Dihexa side effects: what studies reported
There are no human side-effect data, so anything listed here is either anecdotal or predicted from the mechanism, and both deserve scepticism.
Reported outside trials
- Headache
- Irritability or a short fuse
- Trouble sleeping
- Feeling mentally overstimulated
The concern that follows from the mechanism
- It powerfully promotes cell growth and new connections, and it does not restrict that to the brain. Growth signals that strong and that unselective are exactly the ones nobody has checked over a long period in a human
Source: Preclinical studies and scattered reports outside trials. No human trial. This is a summary of published findings, not a complete safety profile and not medical advice. Questions about Dihexa belong with a licensed clinician who knows your history.
Your Genetics & Dihexa
The genes involved in how Dihexa works
Dihexa works through the receptors these genes build, and the genes vary from person to person. Researchers have linked some of that variation to differences in how people respond. A DNA report tells you which versions you carry.
c-Met is the receptor dihexa's action runs through. MET variants have been studied for association with brain development traits. No human data link any genotype to response to dihexa.
HGF is the growth factor dihexa potentiates. Pathway context only; untested.
BDNF · ••
Included for contrast: dihexa does not act through BDNF, so BDNF variants such as Val66Met are not part of its mechanism. Its biology runs through HGF and c-Met instead.
The dots after each gene are where your own result goes. Your report fills them in with the two letters you carry at that position.
Which of these variants do you carry?
Your report reads the DNA file you already have against this research.
Access
Access and legal status
Dihexa is not an FDA-approved drug. Products sold online as “research chemicals” are labelled not for human use, and FDA treats them as unapproved drugs when they are marketed for people. We don't link to any seller, and nothing on this page is a recommendation to obtain or use it.
Your DNA and Dihexa: see which of the variants studied alongside it you carry, and what that research does and does not show. Read my DNA, $99 →
Educational information only, not medical advice. Most peptides are not FDA-approved. Do not start, stop or change any medication or peptide because of this page; talk to a licensed clinician.
Worth knowing about Dihexa
Interactions and situations where there is a specific reason to be careful. Where the honest answer is that nobody has studied something, it says so and says what that leaves open.
- Potency is not the same as safety
- The number people quote, that it is many times stronger than the natural signal, is used as a selling point. It is equally a reason for caution: no human data show what that potency does over months. The c-Met pathway it acts on is also involved in cancer growth.
- No human trial has ever been completed
- Not a small trial, not an old one. There are no human safety data and no long-term follow-up in people.
Last updated
Frequently Asked Questions
What has dihexa been studied for?
Memory and neural repair, in laboratory and preclinical studies only. It promotes synapse formation through the HGF/c-Met pathway in those models. Its potency claims have not been tested in humans, and it is not approved.
Is dihexa really stronger than BDNF?
Those comparisons come from laboratory and preclinical models, not human trials. Dihexa works through HGF/c-Met rather than BDNF, and its effects in people are unknown. The headline numbers are preclinical, not proven.
Is dihexa legal?
Dihexa is not approved as a medicine anywhere, and there are no human clinical data.
Watch
What clinicians and researchers say about Dihexa
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Your DNA and Dihexa
What the research says about your variants.
The report
Which Dihexa variants do you carry?
Your report reads the DNA file you already have against the published research on 31 peptides, marker by marker, and says what that research does and does not show.
Read my DNA, $99