# AICAR

acadesine · AICA riboside

https://graded.pl/en/substances/aicar · Checked: Not yet

Preliminary version. The editors have not finished checking this card, and grades may change.

A small molecule, not a peptide, that switches on an enzyme controlling energy in cells (AMPK). Mostly a lab tool. No such medicine exists.

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## Short answers

### Does AICAR work?

A small molecule, not a peptide, that switches on an enzyme controlling energy in cells (AMPK). Mostly a lab tool. No such medicine exists. We have not graded the studies yet. The number of papers in the databases is shown on the page.

### Is AICAR legal?

PL: No approval. The European medicines database (EMA) lists no such medicine in Poland (9 October 2026). The Polish register was down, so we could not check it directly. EU: No approval. The European medicines database (EMA), which covers EU and national approvals, lists no such medicine (9 October 2026). US: No approval. The FDA drug register has no such medicine.

### Is AICAR banned in sport?

Banned in sport, WADA 2026.

### Is AICAR safe?

Little data. In people it was given by drip around heart surgery. We found nothing on use for endurance.

## Is it legal

- PL: No approval. The European medicines database (EMA) lists no such medicine in Poland (9 October 2026). The Polish register was down, so we could not check it directly. https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/other/article-57-product-data_en.xlsx (Checked: Not yet)
- EU: No approval. The European medicines database (EMA), which covers EU and national approvals, lists no such medicine (9 October 2026). https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/other/article-57-product-data_en.xlsx (Checked: Not yet)
- US: No approval. The FDA drug register has no such medicine. https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/daf/ (Checked: Not yet)

## Doping

Banned in sport, WADA 2026. https://zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/trb-2026-25.html

## How much research exists

- Scientific papers: 2552
- Studies with random groups: 12
- Registered studies in people: 5
- These are search results. A count shows how much exists, not how good the studies are. 1 Nov 2026.

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Open data: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/