Compound or practice · Supplement
Ecdysterone
An insect/plant steroid with one surprisingly positive muscle trial — interesting, under-replicated, and dose-uncertain.
- Overall grade
- Grade C
- 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 C — 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 / lean massEvidence grade C
One trial, unreplicated
Smalllow
What is uncertain
Read off the same rows as above. Nothing here is added that the entry does not itself record.
- Thin evidence: Strength / lean mass (grade C).
The evidence in words
What it is
Ecdysterone (20-hydroxyecdysone) is a steroid hormone from insects and plants like spinach and quinoa, sold as a 'natural anabolic.'
How it works
Proposed to act via estrogen-receptor-beta signaling to increase protein synthesis — a non-androgenic pathway.
What the evidence shows
A single well-known German trial reported meaningful strength/lean-mass gains in trained men, but supplement products often contained far less ecdysterone than labeled, and independent replication is scarce. Enough to be interesting, not enough to rely on.
Safety & interactions
Appears well tolerated short-term; long-term and dosing data are thin. It's on WADA's monitoring list for athletes.
Bottom line
One eye-catching trial and a plausible non-androgenic mechanism, undercut by poor product quality and no replication. Watch this space rather than banking on it.
Related reading
Entries that share this one's tags or conditions.
- Ecdysterone for Strength / lean massEvidence grade C — One trial, unreplicatedEvidence grade C
- Ecdysterone: side effects, safety & interactionsAppears well tolerated short-term; long-term and dosing data are thin. It's on WADA's monitoring list for athletes.Evidence grade C
- TurkesteroneA viral 'natural anabolic' ecdysteroid with essentially no human trials behind the hype.Evidence grade D
- Phosphatidic AcidAn mTOR-signaling lipid with a couple of small muscle-growth studies — promising mechanism, thin evidence.Evidence grade C
Sources
This entry lists no references of its own.
Last revised . A grade is this entry's reading of the evidence, not medical advice.