Angiotensin-IV-derived peptidomimetic; proposed HGF-system modulator
Dihexa
aka PNB-0408 · N-hexanoyl-Tyr-Ile-(6)-aminohexanoic amide
Goals: Recovery & injury · Cognition & mood Compare with another peptide →
User reports
approximate — combined from two independent Reddit reads
Men 45–60
0 men aged 45–60
No reports in this group yet.
All men
0 men
No reports in this group yet.
Everyone
9 people
small sample · n = 9Outcome unclear 5 of 9 · mixed 2 of 9 · positive 2 of 9 · no effect 1 of 9
Benefits focus / cognition 3 of 9 · mood / anxiety 2 of 9 · energy 1 of 9 · recovery 1 of 9
Side effects other 3 of 9 · anxiety 1 of 9 · insomnia 1 of 9
User reports are anecdata, not evidence: self-selected, unverified, often combined with other compounds.
In their words
“my memory has become somewhat better.”
“But I also noticed that my attentiveness became worse”
“I swear I feel no different at all even now.”
“I was much more agitated than usual and my inner aggression was also much more present.”
“Other than the aforementioned strange experience; I had virtually no gains in working memory, verbal fluency, pattern recognition or any other cognitive domain.”
“I have used dihexa 5 mg daily for the last 2 weeks with occasional moda”
Read summaries and method notes
Read 1. No explicit male 45–60 self-report was found, and sex was not inferred for the three counted reporters. Long-term use was associated by one user with better memory, procedural learning and idea generation but worse attentiveness, yielding a mixed verdict. A two-week user reported strikingly better chess performance while feeling almost no subjective change, but was concurrently using modafinil and eutropoflavin. A first-day report described mood improvement accompanied by increased agitation/aggression while also taking bupropion and NSI-189. The very small, heavily stacked sample makes both benefit and adverse-effect counts highly unstable.
Read 2. No stated man or age. Nine users from 18 threads: 2 strongly positive (one with 6 months at 5 mg/day, better than 20 years of dextroamphetamine), 1 mixed, 1 no effect, 5 early logs. Side effects: insomnia, tolerance after a year, a "strange experience". High-risk experimental compound acting over weeks to months.
Note 1. Extremely small sample with substantial nootropic/polypharmacy confounding. One seed ResearchCompounds URL returned 404 and was skipped.
Note 2. Several Day 1-3 logs without follow-up. Routes vary widely (oral, sublingual, intranasal, transdermal DMSO).
Each read counted people independently. Overlap between the two reads is estimated from shared threads and removed; counts are approximate. How we count.
Summary
Hexapeptide analog of angiotensin IV. Structure: N-hexanoyl-Tyr-Ile-(6)aminohexanoic amide. MW: ~491 Da.
Proposed mechanism
Dihexa was proposed as an HGF-system modulator on the basis of integrity-limited preclinical work. The 2014 Benoist HGF/c-Met paper was retracted in April 2025 after findings of fabricated/falsified data; it cannot support an unqualified mechanism claim. Retraction
- The 2013 McCoy development paper reported synaptogenesis, cognitive effects, brain penetration, oral exposure and animal pharmacokinetics; it has a 2021 notice of concern, not a retraction. Those historical claims do not establish human exposure or efficacy. Paper, notice
- The precise “10⁷× more potent than BDNF” claim lacked a verified primary basis and is withdrawn. A proposed angiotensin/HGF pathway does not establish clinical superiority over Semax/Selank.
Safety
- No established direct human safety profile or pharmacokinetics
- HGF/MET cancer concern is mechanistic, not demonstrated Dihexa carcinogenicity
- Retraction weakens confidence in the proposed mechanism
- No validated screening strategy makes exposure safe
From labels, regulators and trials. No signal in small studies ≠ safe.
Legal status
US FDANot approved
No approval found; nomination withdrawn; future PCAC review announced. Dihexa acetate is formerly Category 2 and now under withdrawn nominations. Not reviewed July 23–24, 2026. FDA announces a separate meeting before the end of February 2027; exact date/outcome not found. Excluded from October HHS policy. Source
checked 2026-11-13WADA 2026Likely prohibited (S0)
Prohibited under S0 inferred for unapproved drug; not named; possible S2 relevance. Source
checked 2026-11-13Re-check pending: HHS interim policy is a draft; re-check after the comment period.
Evidence D nootropic / cognitive repair
D stands. No human data; the key mechanism paper was retracted in 2025 and the development paper carries a notice of concern.
Human trials · 0
No human trials found for the marketed use.
Dose ranges
Reported ranges from labels and studies, with context. Not a recommendation.
No data.
Editorial ratings EDITORIAL
Editors’ judgement, 0–5. Opinion, not data; separate from grade and user score.
Sources
- fda.gov/advisory-committees/pharmacy-compounding-advisory-committee/meeting-pharmacy-compo
- wada-ama.org/sites/default/files/2025-09/2026list_en_final_clean_september_2025.pdf
- ema.europa.eu/en/medicines
- precision.fda.gov/uniisearch/srs/unii/9WYX65A5C2
- pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23055539/
- pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3533412
- pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3533412/
- pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34551989/
- pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25187433/
- pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40312093/
- pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13095468/
- pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27532814/
- ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/4233
- pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41393340/
- fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/certain-bulk-drug-substances-use-compounding-may-pres
- hhs.gov/sites/default/files/hhs-503a-peptide-enforcement-discretion-policy-appendix-b.pdf
Reddit threads read · 9
- r/Nootropics
- r/NooTopics
- r/anhedonia
- r/Biohackers
- r/NooTopics
- r/Nootropics
- r/Biohackers
- r/NooTopics
- r/NooTopics
4 further sources on commercial or non-primary hosts not listed.
Research checked 2026-11-13.