Cardarine is one of those subjects where the details matter more than the headlines. This page pulls together the background, the mechanisms, and the practical points readers ask about most.
Updated 2026-04-27. Numbers and descriptions here follow the published literature rather than marketing material.
GW501516 acts on PPARδ, a nuclear receptor that helps regulate fatty acid oxidation and energy homeostasis. In animal studies, activation of this receptor was associated with increased endurance and changes in lipid metabolism. Human trials examined effects on blood lipids and other metabolic markers, but the compound did not advance to approval. Rodent studies later reported tumors in multiple tissues at doses used in those experiments. Whether those findings translate to human risk remains uncertain, and the clinical relevance of the animal data is still debated.
Regulatory bodies treat GW501516 as a prohibited substance in competitive sport. The World Anti-Doping Agency added it to the prohibited list, and it falls under classes covering metabolic modulators and hormone-related agents. It is not approved by drug regulators for human use, and it is not a lawful dietary supplement. Products sold under the cardarine name may contain unlisted ingredients or different compounds. Because no approved product exists, quality and identity are not guaranteed by pharmaceutical manufacturing standards.
The compound is typically described as a laboratory compound rather than a therapeutic product. Published reports have explored its role in lipid disorders, insulin sensitivity, and exercise metabolism, yet no major drug regulator has approved it for medical use. Commercial samples sold under the cardarine name may vary in purity and identity. Analytical confirmation is therefore necessary when the material is discussed in scientific or regulatory contexts. Its classification as a prohibited substance in sport further shapes how it is studied and reported.
Cardarine is a common name for GW501516, a synthetic compound studied for its effects on lipid and glucose metabolism. It functions as an agonist at peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta, or PPARδ, a nuclear receptor that influences gene expression. The molecule is not a steroid, nor is it a selective androgen receptor modulator. It is also known in research and sports literature as GW-501516 and endurobol. Early laboratory work examined its metabolic activity in cell cultures and animal models.
Activation of PPARδ changes transcription of genes involved in fatty acid transport, mitochondrial function, and skeletal muscle fuel preference. In rodent studies, pharmacological PPARδ activation was associated with increased endurance and altered body composition. These findings generated interest in performance enhancement, but species differences and study designs limit direct extrapolation to humans. Small human trials were conducted in the 2000s and later discontinued. The extent to which cardarine produces similar metabolic or performance effects in people remains an open question.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Common name | Cardarine | Common internet and media name. |
| Research code | GW501516 | Also written GW-1516. |
| Drug class | PPARδ agonist | Not a selective androgen receptor modulator. |
| Development status | Discontinued | Clinical development halted after rodent cancer findings. |
| Regulatory status | Prohibited in sport | Listed by WADA; not approved as medicine. |
Sporting authorities added GW501516 to prohibited lists after it appeared in athlete samples and online markets. The World Anti-Doping Agency classifies it as a hormone and metabolic modulator, and its use can lead to an anti-doping rule violation. Some early laboratory work suggested effects on fatty acid oxidation and endurance-related metabolism in animals, but those findings do not establish safe or effective use in people. Reports of adverse events in humans are scarce and often anecdotal, which complicates risk assessment.
Legal status varies by country. In some places, cardarine is controlled under medicines or psychoactive substances laws; in others, it may be sold with minimal oversight as a research chemical. Customs agencies have intercepted shipments, and several national health agencies have issued warnings about products marketed for bodybuilding or performance enhancement. The lack of a standardized pharmaceutical supply means identity, purity, and contamination levels can differ widely between samples. These factors make cardarine a regulatory and public health concern rather than a conventional prescription drug.
Cardarine is not approved for human therapeutic use in any major jurisdiction. It appears on the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List as a PPARδ agonist within the hormone and metabolic modulators category. Sports organizations test for it because it has been detected in athlete samples and seized products. Regulatory actions against marketed research chemical versions have occurred in several countries, though enforcement varies. Availability through unregulated channels complicates oversight.
Analytical laboratories typically identify cardarine and its metabolites using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Urine is a common matrix in anti-doping testing, while blood and tissue may be used in research settings. Detection windows depend on the assay, the sample matrix, and the compound's metabolism. Because cardarine is extensively metabolized, laboratories often target specific metabolites to improve sensitivity and confirmation. Reference standards are required for reliable quantification. Method validation includes checks for selectivity, linearity, and carryover.
== Bibliography == Hall, John (2011). Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology (12th ed.). Philadelphia: Saunders/Elsevier. ISBN 978-1-4160-4574-8. Longo, Dan; Fauci, Anthony; Kasper, Dennis; Hauser, Stephen; Jameson, J.; Loscalzo, Joseph (2011). Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine (18th ed.). McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-174889-6. Susan Standring; Neil R. Borley; et al., eds. (2008). Gray's anatomy: the anatomical basis of clinical practice (40th ed.). London: Churchill Livingstone. ISBN 978-0-8089-2371-8. Nicki R. Colledge; Brian R. Walker; Stuart H. Ralston, eds. (2010). Davidson's principles and practice of medicine (21st ed.). Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier. ISBN 978-0-7020-3085-7.
The study of venom evolution has been a high priority for scientists in terms of scientific research, due to the medical relevance of snake venom, in terms of making antivenom and cancer research. Knowing more about the composition of venom and the ways it can potentially evolve is very beneficial. Three main factors that affect venom evolution have been closely studied: predators of the snake that are resistant to snake venom, prey that are in an evolutionary arms race with snakes, and the specific diets that affect the intraspecific evolution of venom. Venoms continue to evolve as specific toxins and are modified to target a specific prey, and toxins are found to vary according to diet in some species. Rapid venom evolution can also be explained by the arms race between venom-targeted molecules in resistant predators, such as the opossum, and the snake venom that targets the molecules. Scientists performed experiments on the opossums and found that multiple trials showed replacement to silent substitutions in the von Willebrand factor (vWf) gene that encodes for a venom-targeted hemostatic blood protein. These substitutions are thought to weaken the connection between vWf and a toxic snake venom ligand (botrocetin), which changes the net charge and hydrophobicity. These results are significant to the venom evolution because it's the first citation of rapid evolution in a venom-targeted molecule. This shows that an evolutionary arms race may be occurring in terms of defensive purposes.
Prodynorphin, also known as proenkephalin B, is an opioid polypeptide hormone involved with chemical signal transduction and cell communication. The gene for prodynorphin is expressed in the endometrium and the striatum, and its gene map locus is 20pter-p12. Prodynorphin is a basic building-block of dynorphins, the chemical messengers in the brain that appear most heavily involved in the anticipation and experience of pain, stress responses, as well appetite and temperature regulation, as well as neoendorphins. The gene is thought to influence perception, as well as susceptibility to drug dependence, and is expressed more readily in human beings than in other primates.
=== Sleeping sickness treatment === The drug was registered for the treatment of gambiense sleeping sickness on 28 November 1990. However, in 1995 Aventis (now Sanofi-Aventis) stopped producing the drug, whose main market was African countries, because it did not make a profit. In 2001, Aventis and the WHO formed a five-year partnership, during which more than 320,000 vials of pentamidine, over 420,000 vials of melarsoprol, and over 200,000 bottles of eflornithine were produced by Aventis, to be given to the WHO and distributed by the association Médecins sans Frontières (also known as Doctors Without Borders) in countries where sleeping sickness is endemic. According to Médecins sans Frontières, this only happened after "years of international pressure," and coinciding with the period when media attention was generated because of the launch of another eflornithine-based product (Vaniqa, for the prevention of facial-hair in women), while its life-saving formulation (for sleeping sickness) was not being produced.
In addition, several viruses, including the AIDS virus HIV, have binding sites for NF-κB that controls the expression of viral genes, which in turn contribute to viral replication or viral pathogenicity. In the case of HIV-1, activation of NF-κB may, at least in part, be involved in activation of the virus from a latent, inactive state. YopP is a factor secreted by Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, that prevents the ubiquitination of IκB. This causes this pathogen to effectively inhibit the NF-κB pathway and thus block the immune response of a human infected with Yersinia.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
=== Executive Overhaul (June 1–2, 2026) === Following a week-long emergency meeting that resulted in severe disciplinary measures against internal dissenters, the council held its 4th Extraordinary Session on June 1, 2026. The assembly unanimously approved an entirely restructured organizational layout for regional bureaus. Debretsion submitted a slate of senior appointments, highlighted by swearing in TPLF Vice Chairperson Amanuel Assefa as Deputy President and Head of the Justice Bureau.
== Digestion and metabolism == As a structural analog of glutamate and glutamine, the theanine in teas or supplements is absorbed in the small intestine after oral ingestion; its hydrolysis to L-glutamate and ethylamine occur both in the intestine and liver, possibly functioning as a donor for glutamate synthesis.
=== Toxicity === TTX is extremely toxic. The material safety data sheet for TTX lists the oral median lethal dose (LD50) for mice as 334 μg per kg. For comparison, the oral LD50 of potassium cyanide for mice is 8,500 μg per kg, demonstrating that even orally, TTX is more poisonous than cyanide. TTX is even more dangerous if administered intravenously; the amount needed to reach a lethal dose by injection is 8 μg per kg in mice. The toxin can enter the body of a victim by ingestion, injection, or inhalation, or through abraded skin. Poisoning occurring as a consequence of consumption of fish from the order Tetraodontiformes is extremely serious. The organs (e.g., liver) of the pufferfish can contain levels of tetrodotoxin sufficient to produce the described paralysis of the diaphragm and corresponding death due to respiratory failure. Toxicity varies between species and at different seasons and geographic localities, and the flesh of many pufferfish may not be dangerously toxic. The mechanism of toxicity is through the blockage of fast voltage-gated sodium channels, which are required for the normal transmission of signals between the body and brain. As a result, TTX causes loss of sensation, and paralysis of muscles including the diaphragm and intercostal muscles, stopping breathing.
=== Aerobic exercise protein needs === Endurance athletes differ from strength-building athletes in that endurance athletes do not build as much muscle mass from training as strength-building athletes do. Research suggests that individuals performing endurance activity require more protein intake than sedentary individuals so that muscles broken down during endurance workouts can be repaired. Although the protein requirement for athletes still remains controversial (for instance see Lamont, Nutrition Research Reviews, pages 142 - 149, 2012), research does show that endurance athletes can benefit from increasing protein intake because the type of exercise endurance athletes participate in still alters the protein metabolism pathway. The overall protein requirement increases because of amino acid oxidation in endurance-trained athletes. Endurance athletes who exercise over a long period (2–5 hours per training session) use protein as a source of 5–10% of their total energy expended. Therefore, a slight increase in protein intake may be beneficial to endurance athletes by replacing the protein lost in energy expenditure and protein lost in repairing muscles. One review concluded that endurance athletes may increase daily protein intake to a maximum of 1.2–1.4 g per kg body weight.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Jerry Andrus (1918–2007) – magician Mike Barrett (born 1968) – TV announcer of the NBA Charles B. Bellinger (1839–1905) – federal district court judge, editor of the State Rights Democrat (now the Albany Democrat-Herald) Charles Burggraf Architect that spent most of his professional career in Albany. Dyrol Burleson 1500 m Olympian George Earle Chamberlain (1854–1928) – 11th Governor of Oregon Daveigh Chase (1990-2026) – actress Abigail Scott Duniway (1834–1915) – writer, newspaper publisher, and women's rights advocate Neil Elshire – former NFL defensive end, Minnesota Vikings Members of Falling Up – Christian rock band Alan L. Hart (1890–1962) – physician and novelist, raised in Albany Glenn L. Jackson (1902-1980) - Businessman and Chairman of the Oregon State Highway Commission Dave Johnson (born 1963) – Olympic athlete and former West Albany High School teacher Percy R. Kelly (1870–1949) – American attorney and jurist in the state of Oregon Ardyth Kennelly (1912–2005) – novelist Frank Morse (born 1943) – politician Sam Shoen (1916–1999) – founder of U-Haul Corp., operated a barbershop in the St. Francis Hotel at First Ave. and Ferry St. while a student at Oregon State College in the early 1940s. Delazon Smith (1816–1860) – politician Elmo Smith (1909–1968) – 27th Governor of Oregon Evelyn Waldren (1908–1986) – aviation pioneer James K. Weatherford (1850–1935) – Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives (1876) and State Senator Mae Yih (born 1928) – member of the Oregon Legislative Assembly
The human and animal data consistently indicate a lack of carcinogenicity via the oral route of exposure and limit the carcinogenicity of nickel compounds to respiratory tumours after inhalation. Nickel metal is classified as a suspect carcinogen; there is consistency between the absence of increased respiratory cancer risks in workers predominantly exposed to metallic nickel and the lack of respiratory tumours in a rat lifetime inhalation carcinogenicity study with nickel metal powder. In the rodent inhalation studies with various nickel compounds and nickel metal, increased lung inflammations with and without bronchial lymph node hyperplasia or fibrosis were observed. In rat studies, oral ingestion of water-soluble nickel salts can trigger perinatal mortality in pregnant animals. Whether these effects are relevant to humans is unclear as epidemiological studies of highly exposed female workers have not shown adverse developmental toxicity effects. People can be exposed to nickel in the workplace by inhalation, ingestion, and contact with skin or eye. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set the legal limit (permissible exposure limit) for the workplace at 1 mg/m3 per 8-hour workday, excluding nickel carbonyl. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) sets the recommended exposure limit (REL) at 0.015 mg/m3 per 8-hour workday. At 10 mg/m3, nickel is immediately dangerous to life and health. Nickel carbonyl [Ni(CO)4] is an extremely toxic gas.
=== Production area === India is the largest producer of moringa, with an annual production of 1.2 million tonnes of fruit from an area of 380 km2 (150 sq mi). Among Indian states, Tamil Nadu leads in cultivation area followed by Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Moringa is grown in home gardens and as living fences in South and Southeast Asia, where it is commonly sold in local markets. In the Philippines and Indonesia, it is commonly grown for its leaves, which are used as food. Moringa is also actively cultivated by the World Vegetable Center in Taiwan, a center for vegetable research. More generally, moringa grows in the wild or is cultivated in Central America and the Caribbean, northern countries of South America, Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and various countries of Oceania. As of 2010, cultivation in Hawaii was in the early stages for commercial distribution in the US.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
No. Cardarine is a PPARδ agonist, while selective androgen receptor modulators act on androgen receptors. The two classes differ in receptor target and downstream effects.
Preclinical rodent studies reported cancers, including liver and bladder tumors, at tested doses. The human relevance of those findings is uncertain, but development was discontinued. No approved human product resulted.
No. It remains an investigational compound without approved therapeutic labeling. Sports regulators prohibit its use, and health agencies have warned against consuming it.
Cardarine is a common name for GW501516, a synthetic PPARδ agonist. It is not a steroid or a selective androgen receptor modulator. It was developed and studied as a research compound for metabolic pathways.