Compound or practice · Supplement
Deer Antler Velvet
An IGF-1 'anabolic' spray whose active hormone is destroyed by digestion — a long-running performance myth.
- Overall grade
- Grade D
- Last revised
- 1
- graded outcome
- 0
- references listed
A structured monograph in Prometheus's bundled library. Its grades are the monograph's own reading of the evidence, not a peer-reviewed review.
1 at grade D — 1 graded row
What is known
Each outcome with its grade (how strong the evidence is, A to D), the size of the effect where the entry records one, and how often studies agree.
- Strength / recoveryEvidence grade D
Null trials
Triviallow
What is uncertain
Read off the same rows as above. Nothing here is added that the entry does not itself record.
- Thin evidence: Strength / recovery (grade D).
The evidence in words
What it is
Deer antler velvet is ground pre-calcified antler, marketed for strength and recovery on the basis of its IGF-1 content.
How it works
The proposed active ingredient is IGF-1, but IGF-1 is a protein degraded by the gut and not absorbed intact from oral/spray products in meaningful amounts.
What the evidence shows
Controlled trials found no meaningful strength or performance benefit, consistent with the fact that oral IGF-1 isn't absorbed. It made headlines mainly as a banned-substance controversy, not for efficacy.
Safety & interactions
Generally tolerated; the concern is anti-doping status (IGF-1) more than toxicity.
Bottom line
The mechanism doesn't survive digestion and the trials are null. A performance myth — skip it.
Related reading
Entries that share this one's tags or conditions.
- ATP (Peak ATP)Oral 'ATP' that doesn't reach muscle as ATP — small, mostly industry-linked performance signals.Evidence grade D
- CordycepsA popular endurance mushroom whose human performance data are weak and inconsistent.Evidence grade D
- Deer Antler Velvet for Strength / recoveryEvidence grade D — Null trialsEvidence grade D
- Deer Antler Velvet: side effects, safety & interactionsGenerally tolerated; the concern is anti-doping status (IGF-1) more than toxicity.Evidence grade D
Sources
This entry lists no references of its own.
Last revised . A grade is this entry's reading of the evidence, not medical advice.