The literature uses IU but this vial is labelled in mg — how do they relate?

Clinical and behavioural trials report intranasal amounts in international units, most commonly 24 IU per session. Synthetic oxytocin has a potency of approximately 500 IU per milligram, so 1 mg corresponds to roughly 500 IU and 24 IU to roughly 48 mcg. Because the vial is mass-labelled, the calculator on this page works in micrograms; apply the conversion when comparing against published protocols.

What dose ranges appear in the research?

Published single-session protocols most commonly investigate 24 IU intranasally, approximately 48 mcg on the standard conversion, with the wider literature spanning roughly 20–40 IU. Repeated-administration designs typically stay within 24–48 IU per day. All figures describe research protocols, not guidance for human use.

How much bacteriostatic water suits the 10 mg vial?

Because the amounts in the literature are small, the draws are tiny: 3 ml of bacteriostatic water in a 10 mg vial gives 3.33 mg/ml, in which 50 mcg occupies 0.015 ml — 1.5 units on a U-100 syringe, which a 0.3 ml syringe reads more precisely. The reconstitution calculator on this page converts any water volume.

How stable is the reconstituted solution?

Once mixed with bacteriostatic water, the solution remains stable for up to 28 days when refrigerated at 2–8 °C and protected from light. Oxytocin is heat-sensitive, so sealed lyophilised vials are best stored at -20 °C and kept out of direct light.

Is this product for human use?

No. All AKH BioLabs products are supplied strictly for laboratory research. They are not approved for human consumption, and nothing on this page is medical advice.

Who tests this product?

A named laboratory outside AKH, on a report ordered by our manufacturer. The laboratory verification section on this page publishes that Certificate unaltered, or shows "Certificate pending" until a matching report has been published.

AKH Signature Oxytocin

Cognitive· AKH Signature

In stock

Oxytocin

Name: Oxytocin
Brand: AKH BioLabs
SKU: oxytocin
Price: 51 USD
Availability: InStock

Oxytocin Acetate

Size10mgPurity99.79%FormulaC43H66N12O12S2

Oxytocin is a naturally occurring nine-amino-acid cyclic neuropeptide produced in the hypothalamus and released by the posterior pituitary. It is one of the most studied molecules in social neuroscience, researched for its role in pair-bonding, maternal behaviour, stress and anxiety circuits, and oxytocin-receptor pharmacology in preclinical models.

€45

Quantity

HPLC verified

9–14 day shipping

Full COA

Worldwide delivery

About this compound

The research profile.

Oxytocin is a nine-amino-acid neuropeptide with an internal disulfide bridge, synthesised in the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei of the hypothalamus. Peripherally it acts on a single identified G-protein-coupled oxytocin receptor in uterine and mammary tissue; centrally, oxytocinergic projections reach the amygdala, hippocampus, striatum, and brainstem, which is the anatomical basis for its use in social-neuroscience research.

The experimental literature is dominated by intranasal administration in healthy volunteers. Landmark studies report changes in trust behaviour in economic games and in performance on emotion-recognition tasks, alongside functional imaging work describing altered amygdala reactivity to emotional faces. The interpretation of these findings is actively contested: a substantial methodological literature questions how much intranasally applied peptide reaches the central nervous system, how reliably the behavioural effects replicate, and whether peripheral or expectancy pathways contribute.

Reviews of the field converge on a set of practical caveats — small sample sizes, publication bias, sex and context dependence of effects, and inconsistent dosing and device protocols. Contemporary guidance for study design emphasises pre-registration and larger samples rather than treating the earlier results as settled.

Published research

21 peer-reviewed studies on Oxytocin are summarised in our research library, including 16 published since 2023 — with study designs, reported findings and what the evidence does not establish.

Read the Oxytocin evidence base

For research purposes only. Not for human consumption, diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of any condition.

Categorised as Cognitive — Neuropeptides for neuroscience research.

Dosing at a glance

What the literature reports.

For research and laboratory use only. Not for human consumption.

Route

Intranasal

Frequency

Single administration per test session

Reported range

40–80 mcg

Protocol duration

Single session

40 mcgper session (equivalent to ~20–40 IU)80 mcg

Intranasal · 1–2x daily (repeated-dosing designs) · 40–96 mcg per day, divided across administrations · 1–8 weeks

Trial literature is written in international units, not mass: the canonical single-session amount is 24 IU intranasally. This vial is mass-labelled, so the calculator works in micrograms. Synthetic oxytocin has a potency of approximately 500 IU per mg, which puts 24 IU at roughly 48 mcg.

Ranges reflect protocols reported in the published literature on Oxytocin — see research citations.

Calculate a dilution

Reconstitution & storage

From powder to solution.

Step 01
Add 3 ml bacteriostatic water
Aim the stream at the vial wall rather than the powder.
Step 02
Swirl gently — never shake
Rotate the vial until the solution runs clear. Agitation degrades the peptide.
Step 03
Refrigerate at 2–8 °C
Reconstituted vials belong in the fridge, protected from direct light.
Step 04
Use within 28 days
Discard any remainder once the stability window closes.

Lyophilised · −20 °CReconstituted · 2–8 °C, 28 days

A 10 mg vial in 3 ml of bacteriostatic water gives a 3.33 mg/ml solution. The amounts described in the literature are small, so a draw is only a few units on a U-100 syringe; a 0.3 ml insulin syringe reads them more precisely.

Reconstitution calculator

10 mg vial

Vial amount

Bacteriostatic water

Amount per draw

mcg

50 mcg = 0.05 mg

Draw

1.5units · U-100 insulin syringe

Draws under 5 units are difficult to measure accurately. More bacteriostatic water gives a longer, easier draw.

Concentration: 3.33 mg/ml
Draws per vial: 200
Cost per draw: €0.23

For research and laboratory use only. Not for human consumption.

Laboratory arithmetic for Oxytocin — enter the COA-verified vial content for exact figures. Not medical advice.

Open the full calculator for this vial

Effect timeline

Observed across the research window.

Milestones summarise findings reported in the cited studies. Outcomes vary across models and protocols.

Start

Post-administration window

Human study protocols conventionally begin behavioural testing 30–45 minutes after intranasal administration, a convention reviewed in detail in the methodological literature.

Session 1

Single-session behavioural measures

The landmark studies measured trust behaviour in economic games and emotion-recognition performance within a single test session after one administration.

Session 1 (imaging)

Functional imaging comparisons

Imaging work in the same single-session format reports differences in amygdala responsiveness to emotional face stimuli relative to placebo.

Weeks 1–8

Repeated-administration designs

Longer clinical protocols run daily administration over weeks; reviews of this body of work catalogue reported tolerability observations and the wide methodological variation between studies.

Start

Post-administration window

Human study protocols conventionally begin behavioural testing 30–45 minutes after intranasal administration, a convention reviewed in detail in the methodological literature.

Session 1

Single-session behavioural measures

The landmark studies measured trust behaviour in economic games and emotion-recognition performance within a single test session after one administration.

Session 1 (imaging)

Functional imaging comparisons

Imaging work in the same single-session format reports differences in amygdala responsiveness to emotional face stimuli relative to placebo.

Weeks 1–8

Repeated-administration designs

Longer clinical protocols run daily administration over weeks; reviews of this body of work catalogue reported tolerability observations and the wide methodological variation between studies.

For research and laboratory use only. Not for human consumption.

Scientific research

The published evidence.

The dosing ranges and timeline milestones on this page summarise the peer-reviewed publications below.

References

01
Oxytocin increases trust in humans. Nature (2005). PubMed · 15931222
02
Oxytocin improves 'mind-reading' in humans. Biol Psychiatry (2007). PubMed · 17137561
03
Oxytocin attenuates amygdala responses to emotional faces regardless of valence. Biol Psychiatry (2007). PubMed · 17617382
04
A review of safety, side-effects and subjective reactions to intranasal oxytocin in human research. Psychoneuroendocrinology (2011). PubMed · 21429671
05
Advances in the field of intranasal oxytocin research: lessons learned and future directions for clinical research. Mol Psychiatry (2021). PubMed · 32807845

Laboratory verification

One Certificate, published unaltered.

The Certificate is a test report from a named laboratory outside AKH, ordered by our manufacturer and shown here exactly as the laboratory issued it. A printed copy ships in every parcel.

Batch: 26185
Test date: 09 Aug 2026
Task ID: #1812481
Purity: 99.79%

Verified by Brown Institute of Biomolecular Research. Scan the full report for every measurement.

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