Skip to content
yes i take peptides.
Library/For Cognition/Dihexa
RUO · Research Use OnlyFor Cognition+2 more

Dihexa

A synthetic angiotensin IV analog from Washington State University. We read all 17 studies. The protocol is below.

Updated 03 May 2026Read 11 minEvidence ●○○○○Citations 17
+ Add to Stack
⚖ Compare side-by-side⎙ Print companion card

Free — puts Dihexa on your decision board.

The Dihexa Report · $19

Everything you need to start: dose, sourcing, safety, our verdict.

One purchase · yours forever

Built from 17 cited studies.

Status
Research-only
Class
For Cognition
Evidence
1/ 5●○○○○
Published human trials
$19 ↓
Registered trials (clinicaltrials.gov)
$19 ↓
Animal studies
$19 ↓
Read this if
  • you read aggressive nootropics Twitter and saw the angiotensin-IV-derivative pitch
  • you want to understand why the "100x stronger than BDNF" headline is in animals only
  • **identity problem** — community LC-MS spot-checks repeatedly find the powder sold as 'Dihexa' is not Dihexa, or is a degradation product, or is something else entirely. Buying it now means buying an unknown
Skip this if
  • you want any human data at all — there is none (zero registered trials)
  • **you or a first-degree relative has had cancer** — Dihexa's mechanism is activating HGF/c-Met, the same growth-factor pathway tumors hijack to grow and metastasize. The activation is the point of the drug for synaptogenesis and the problem for oncology
  • you have a known brain tumor, glioma history, or active malignancy under surveillance — same reason
  • you're not comfortable with a supply chain where the molecule may not match the label
  • you're on an ACE inhibitor, ARB, or aliskiren and want to add a compound that hits the angiotensin system
The 4 ways you can buy Dihexa
Brand
✗
Not available
No FDA-approved Dihexa exists.
Compounded 503A
✗
Not available
Not meaningfully available
Zero human trials means no compounder has a legitimate prescribing-indication backing.
RUO (research-only)
✓
Sold 'for research only'
$50–$140/mo
Identity-verification problems are documented (community SARMs-style purity tests often find no Di…
Gray market
✓
Unregulated overseas import
Varies — not on user's vendor list
Available via Chinese chem suppliers but identity verification is essentially impossible without L…
Click any lane for the full Sourcing breakdown.
First 90 days · Dihexa
Weeks 1–2
Subjective signal in the first 1–2 weeks if there's going to be one. Cognitive peptides (Selank, Semax) work fast or not at all for a given person.
Weeks 4–8
Either you've noticed a clear, consistent improvement (focus, anxiety reduction, mood stability) or you're imagining it. Track a baseline cognitive task or anxiety scale if you can.
Week 12 — decide
Decide. Cognitive effects are notoriously subject to placebo. If the signal isn't holding without you actively looking for it, it's probably not real.
Quit if
  • Paradoxical anxiety, agitation, or sleep disruption.
  • Two-week proper-dose trial with no perceived benefit.
  • Mood destabilization in either direction.
Identity

What it is.

Dihexa is a small synthetic molecule developed at Washington State University by Joseph Harding's lab, derived from a six-amino-acid fragment of angiotensin IV. It's sometimes called a , more accurately a peptide-derived small molecule. The hook is potency: in cell-culture and rodent assays, Dihexa appears to promote synaptogenesis (the formation of new synapses) at concentrations the original group described as orders of magnitude more potent than BDNF itself.

That headline made it briefly famous in the nootropic world. It was licensed to a small biotech (M3 Biotechnology) targeting Alzheimer's disease. The clinical program did not progress, and the company pivoted away. There is no version. There is no completed human trial in the public record.

It's sold strictly as a research chemical (RUO), and the supply chain is even thinner and weirder than most peptides.

TL;DR

TL;DR. 30-second version.

The compressed verdict — what Dihexa actually is, what the human evidence shows, and the watch-for in three bullets. Locked.

Get the report · $19 ↓
Mechanism

Mechanism.

Mechanism · in the Dihexa report

How the molecule actually works — receptor profile, downstream signaling, what to expect mechanistically.

Get the report · $19 ↓
Evidence

Evidence. What we actually know in humans.

Evidence · in the Dihexa report

The trial breakdown — phase, n, primary endpoint, who funded, what hit, what didn't.

Get the report · $19 ↓
Human-Evidence Factbox
Published human trials
$19 ↓
Registered trials (clinicaltrials.gov)
$19 ↓
Animal studies
$19 ↓
Patent year
$19 ↓
FDA-approved
$19 ↓
Mechanism — what it activates
$19 ↓
Community LC-MS purity-test pass rate
$19 ↓
Community dose record
$19 ↓
Major adverse events flagged
$19 ↓
Dose

Dose. The actual protocol.

Dose · in the Dihexa report

The specific protocol — dose, titration schedule, cycle pattern, frequency, route.

We read 17 studies to write this report.
Get the report · $19 ↓
Sourcing

Sourcing. Where the cohort actually buys.

Sourcing · in the Dihexa report

Sourcing breakdown — vendor methodology, red flags, our published test results, COA checklist.

We read 17 studies to write this report.
Get the report · $19 ↓
Safety

Safety. Side effects.

Safety · in the Dihexa report

The watch-for list — contraindications, drug interactions, monitoring labs, when to stop.

Get the report · $19 ↓
Editorial Position

Editorial position.

Editorial Position · in the Dihexa report

Our editorial position — explicit yes / no / depends, with the reasoning behind it.

Get the report · $19 ↓
Citations

Citations.

  1. 01Rahman OF, et al. Therapeutic Peptides in Orthopaedics: Applications, Challenges, and Future Directions. Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews. 2026;10(1). PMID: 41490200.
  2. 02Wells RG, et al. Effects of an Angiotensin IV Analog on 3-Nitropropionic Acid-Induced Huntington's Disease-Like Symptoms in Rats. Journal of Huntington's disease. 2024;13(1):55-66. PMID: 38489193.
  3. 03Uribe PM, et al. Hepatocyte growth factor mimetic protects lateral line hair cells from aminoglycoside exposure. Frontiers in cellular neuroscience. 2015;9:3. PMID: 25674052.
  4. 04Weiss JB, et al. Stem cell, Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor and/or Dihexa to promote limb function recovery in a rat sciatic nerve damage-repair model: Experimental animal studies. Annals of medicine and surgery (2012). 2021;71:102917. PMID: 34703584.
  5. 05Bapst JP, et al. Dimeric DOTA-alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone analogs: synthesis and in vivo characteristics of radiopeptides with high in vitro activity. Journal of receptor and signal transduction research. 2007;27(5-6):383-409. PMID: 18097939.
+Show all 17 citations
  1. 06Mathapati S, et al. Small-Molecule-Directed Hepatocyte-Like Cell Differentiation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells. Current protocols in stem cell biology. 2016;38:1G.6.1-1G.6.18. PMID: 27532814.
  2. 07Wright JW, et al. The Brain Hepatocyte Growth Factor/c-Met Receptor System: A New Target for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. 2015;45(4):985-1000. PMID: 25649658.
  3. 08Ho JK, et al. Cognitive benefits of angiotensin IV and angiotensin-(1-7): A systematic review of experimental studies. Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews. 2018;92:209-225. PMID: 29733881.
  4. 09Pan T, et al. Efficiently generate functional hepatic cells from human pluripotent stem cells by complete small-molecule strategy. Stem cell research & therapy. 2022;13(1):159. PMID: 35410439.
  5. 10McCoy AT, et al. Evaluation of metabolically stabilized angiotensin IV analogs as procognitive/antidementia agents. The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics. 2013;344(1):141-54. PMID: 23055539.
  6. 11Sun X, et al. AngIV-Analog Dihexa Rescues Cognitive Impairment and Recovers Memory in the APP/PS1 Mouse via the PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway. Brain sciences. 2021;11(11). PMID: 34827486.
  7. 12Wright JW, et al. The development of small molecule angiotensin IV analogs to treat Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Progress in neurobiology. 2015;125:26-46. PMID: 25455861.
  8. 13Kessel D, et al. Studies on the subcellular localization of the porphycene CPO. Photochemistry and photobiology. 2005;81(3):569-72. PMID: 15745423.
  9. 14Nowotarska SW, et al. Effect of structure on the interactions between five natural antimicrobial compounds and phospholipids of bacterial cell membrane on model monolayers. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland). 2014;19(6):7497-515. PMID: 24914896.
  10. 15Hu SK, et al. Phase segregation of polymerizable lipids to construct filters for separating lipid-membrane-embedded species. Biomicrofluidics. 2014;8(5):052005. PMID: 25332729.
  11. 16Rider ED, et al. Localization of alveolar surfactant clearance in rabbit lung cells. The American journal of physiology. 1992;263(2 Pt 1):L201-9. PMID: 1514645.
  12. 17Siller R, et al. Small-molecule-driven hepatocyte differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells. Stem cell reports. 2015;4(5):939-52. PMID: 25937370.
The Dihexa Report · $19

Everything you need to start.

Dose, sourcing, safety, our verdict. One purchase. Yours forever.

Built from 17 cited studies.

Or get every report. All reports — $99 once · Pro — $29/mo.
Compare tiers →