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SCN\u2122 Ingredients Guide<\/p>\n
Ecdysterone is the only natural compound to make German anti-doping researchers recommend a WADA review after a controlled human trial. Yet most ecdysterone supplements deliver a fraction of what their label claims. This guide explains how ecdysterone works, what the research shows for endurance, strength, muscle mass and hormones, why Rhaponticum carthamoides extract outperforms spinach and Cyanotis, and how pharmaceutical HPLC standardisation separates a real dose from a marketing dose.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Quick answer: what are the benefits of ecdysterone?<\/p>\n
Ecdysterone (20-hydroxyecdysone) is a phytoecdysteroid \u2013 a plant steroid that increases protein synthesis in muscle cells without touching the androgen receptor or your own hormone production. In a 10-week placebo-controlled trial, trained men taking ecdysterone gained significantly more muscle mass and bench-press strength than placebo, with no change in liver or kidney markers or steroid profile. Decades of earlier research link it to greater physical work capacity, faster recovery and metabolic, bone and stress-resilience benefits. It is not prohibited by WADA. The catch: its effect depends on the extract \u2013 a 20:1 Rhaponticum carthamoides root extract standardised to 90\u201395% ecdysteroids by HPLC is a different product from spinach powder or an unverified “ecdysterone” capsule.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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SCN\u2122 Ecdy-Bol<\/strong> \u2013 135 mg of ecdysterones per day from 20:1 Rhaponticum carthamoides 90% extract, plus Testofen\u00ae and zinc. 90 Vcaps\u00ae.<\/p>\n Shop Ecdy-Bol \u2192<\/a>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n In this guide<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ecdysterone \u2013 also written 20-hydroxyecdysone, 20E, \u03b2-ecdysone or 20-hydroxyecdysterone \u2013 is the best-studied member of the phytoecdysteroids<\/strong>, a family of more than 500 steroid-like molecules that plants produce to defend themselves against insects. In insects the same molecule is the moulting hormone; in plants it is a chemical weapon; in mammals it is neither a hormone nor a toxin, but a signalling molecule with a remarkable effect on muscle protein synthesis.<\/p>\n Chemically, ecdysterone is a polyhydroxylated cholesterol derivative with a four-ring steroid skeleton. The hydroxyl group at carbon 20 is what correlates with anabolic activity \u2013 which is why 20-hydroxyecdysone, not plain ecdysone, is the compound athletes want. Roughly 6% of plant species contain detectable phytoecdysteroids, and a handful accumulate them in useful amounts: Rhaponticum carthamoides<\/em> (maral root, leuzea), Cyanotis arachnoidea<\/em>, Ajuga turkestanica<\/em>, spinach and quinoa.<\/p>\n Ecdysterone has been part of elite sport since the 1970s, when Soviet sports-science institutes began using Rhaponticum preparations with Olympic athletes \u2013 the origin of the “Russian secret” label that Western researchers later attached to it. Since 2020 it has been on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Monitoring Program: WADA tracks its use in sport but has not prohibited it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ecdysterone’s primary action is to increase protein synthesis in skeletal muscle cells<\/strong>. In the landmark cell study by Gorelick-Feldman and colleagues at Rutgers University (2008), 20-hydroxyecdysone increased protein synthesis in human and mouse muscle cells by up to around 20% \u2013 an effect comparable to IGF-1 \u2013 and in rats seven days of ecdysterone produced a measurable increase in grip strength. The effect was blocked by a PI3K inhibitor, pointing to the PI3K\/Akt pathway<\/strong>, the same anabolic signalling route that insulin and IGF-1 use.<\/p>\n Crucially, ecdysterone does not bind the androgen receptor<\/strong>. Work from the Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin group (Parr et al. 2014, 2015) showed that its anabolic effect is mediated through estrogen receptor beta (ER\u03b2)<\/strong> \u2013 a receptor expressed in muscle, bone, brain and fat that is linked to muscle growth and repair but not to the masculinising effects of androgens. In rats, ecdysterone produced muscle-fibre hypertrophy comparable to or greater than the anabolic steroid metandienone and the SARM S-1, while leaving the prostate and seminal vesicles untouched.<\/p>\n Beyond protein synthesis, Soviet and later research describe several supporting actions that matter to athletes:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ecdysterone is a steroid<\/em> in the strict chemical sense \u2013 it has the four-ring sterane skeleton \u2013 but it is not an anabolic-androgenic steroid<\/strong> and it is not a human hormone<\/strong>. The differences are fundamental:<\/p>\n\n
What is ecdysterone?<\/h2>\n
How does ecdysterone work?<\/h2>\n
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Is ecdysterone a steroid? Is it a hormone?<\/h2>\n