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Research compound — not a dietary supplement
Methandrostenolone (Dianabol) is a research compound, not a regulated dietary supplement. It is sold for research or off-label use. The evidence below is largely preclinical (animal and in-vitro) or early-stage, so no evidence score is assigned. This page is provided for transparency and education — it is not a recommendation to use. Consult a qualified healthcare provider, and be aware that purity, dosing, and legal status vary by jurisdiction.
What the evidence says
Most Methandrostenolone (Dianabol) studies are mechanism or observational rather than RCTs that measure a clinical effect — keep findings provisional.
Most evidence is from mixed-quality randomised trials published 1976–1990 with a typical study size of 11 participants.
Based on 7 studies · 4 RCTs · 30 total participants
Confidence
ModerateBy outcome
Methandrostenolone (Dianabol) has an evidence score of 3.4/10 — emerging evidence based on 7 indexed studies. The original oral anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) — Dianabol / metandienone, synthesised by John Ziegler for US weightlifters in the late 1950s — and the archetypal bulking steroid of mid-century Olympic doping. It is 17α-alkylated (so it survives oral dosing) and strongly estrogenic. Its FDA approval was WITHDRAWN and it is now a DEA Schedule III CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE with no legitimate medical use; it survives only as an illicit bodybuilding drug. There is genuine older controlled evidence that 100 mg/day adds body weight, total body potassium/nitrogen and lean mass in training men (the Hervey crossover trials) — it really was a working 'performance' steroid. But that benefit comes with the defining harms: it is hepatotoxic (cholestasis, peliosis hepatis, liver tumours for AAS as a class), strongly estrogenic (gynecomastia and water retention from aromatization), it crushes HDL and raises LDL cholesterol, and it suppresses the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis. It is NOT a dietary supplement, NOT a longevity drug, and has no approved indication at all. Informational, harm-reduction entry only — not a recommendation. Representative study: PMID 7018798.
Yohimbine
Mostly mechanism / observationalThe purified alkaloid (not crude yohimbe bark) — an alpha-2 adrenoceptor antagonist with modest evidence for erectile dysfunction and fasted fat loss, but real anxiety and cardiovascular risks and notoriously mislabeled supplement potency.
Ephedrine
Mostly mechanism / observationalLast reviewed June 2026 · evidence from 7 studies · how we score
This information is for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before starting, stopping, or changing any supplement or medication.
Methandrostenolone / metandienone (Dianabol) — the classic oral 17α-alkylated anabolic-androgenic steroid; DEA Schedule III controlled substance, approval withdrawn
The original oral anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) — Dianabol / metandienone, synthesised by John Ziegler for US weightlifters in the late 1950s — and the archetypal bulking steroid of mid-century Olympic doping. It is 17α-alkylated (so it survives oral dosing) and strongly estrogenic. Its FDA approval was WITHDRAWN and it is now a DEA Schedule III CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE with no legitimate medical use; it survives only as an illicit bodybuilding drug. There is genuine older controlled evidence that 100 mg/day adds body weight, total body potassium/nitrogen and lean mass in training men (the Hervey crossover trials) — it really was a working 'performance' steroid. But that benefit comes with the defining harms: it is hepatotoxic (cholestasis, peliosis hepatis, liver tumours for AAS as a class), strongly estrogenic (gynecomastia and water retention from aromatization), it crushes HDL and raises LDL cholesterol, and it suppresses the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis. It is NOT a dietary supplement, NOT a longevity drug, and has no approved indication at all. Informational, harm-reduction entry only — not a recommendation.
Methandrostenolone (Dianabol / metandienone) is the original oral anabolic-androgenic steroid and has genuine older controlled evidence that it works as a 'performance' drug — Hervey's double-blind placebo-controlled crossover trials showed 100 mg/day added body weight confined to lean tissue, with rises in total body potassium, total body nitrogen, muscle size and strength in training men, and an osteoporosis RCT and an AAS review echo the lean-mass signal. But it is a 17α-alkylated, hepatotoxic (cholestasis, peliosis hepatis, liver tumours for AAS as a class), strongly estrogenic (gynecomastia, water retention) drug that crushes HDL, raises LDL and suppresses the HPTA. Its FDA approval was WITHDRAWN, it has no legitimate medical indication, and it is a DEA Schedule III controlled substance — not a dietary supplement and not a longevity drug. It sits low, weighted up only modestly by the historical efficacy data and down hard by the harms and its obsolete, illicit status.
Methandrostenolone — generic name metandienone (also spelled methandienone), brand name Dianabol — is the classic oral 17α-alkylated anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS), a synthetic 1-dehydro derivative of methyltestosterone modified at the 17-alpha position so it survives first-pass hepatic metabolism and can be taken by mouth.
It occupies a unique place in doping history: it was developed by CIBA and introduced around 1958-1960 by the American physician John Ziegler explicitly to help US Olympic weightlifters match the androgen-fuelled Soviet teams, and it became the defining oral 'bulking' steroid of the 1960s-70s.
Its US approval was later WITHDRAWN — the FDA removed it from the market and it carries no current approved indication anywhere mainstream — and it is a Schedule III controlled substance under the US Controlled Substances Act; possession or distribution without a (now essentially nonexistent) valid prescription is a federal crime.
Today it exists almost entirely as an illicitly manufactured bodybuilding drug. Unusually for a withdrawn drug, methandrostenolone has genuine older controlled human evidence that it works as a 'performance' steroid.
The best is the pair of double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trials from Hervey's group in Leeds: in the first (Hervey 1976, Lancet) eleven athletic men given 100 mg/day for six weeks gained ~3.3 kg of body weight that was confined to the lean compartment, with a disproportionate accumulation of total body potassium and increased muscle size; in the repeat (Hervey 1981, Clinical Science) in seven trained weight-lifters, body weight, total body potassium, total body nitrogen, muscle size, leg performance and strength all rose significantly on the drug but not on placebo — the increased body nitrogen indicating gain of real lean tissue rather than only intracellular fluid.
A randomized, double-blind osteoporosis trial (Aloia 1981) found methandrostenolone raised total body potassium (a lean-tissue marker) versus placebo over 24 months, though it did not durably increase bone mass.
A review of AAS effects on muscle strength and lean mass in body-building men (Søe 1989) noted that in the placebo-controlled studies where an effect on strength, weight or lean mass was seen, the drug was methandrostenolone or stanozolol — while still concluding that the effects were marginal and the use deprecable.
So the anabolic, lean-mass and strength signal in trained men is real; this was the original working bulking steroid. The honest counterweight defines the compound, and there are several harms.
Because it is 17α-alkylated, methandrostenolone is hepatotoxic: a long-term study of Dianabol in motor-active mice (Stang-Voss 1981) found cholestasis, peliosis hepatis and diffuse hepatitis, and anabolic-androgenic steroids as a class are tied in case reports to peliosis hepatis, hepatic adenoma, hepatocellular carcinoma and even bleeding oesophageal varices from steroid-induced liver disease in bodybuilders (Winwood 1990).
Unlike the more DHT-like oral steroids, methandrostenolone aromatizes appreciably to an estrogenic metabolite, so it is strongly estrogenic — driving gynecomastia and marked water/sodium retention (much of the rapid 'weight gain' is fluid).
It worsens the lipid profile dramatically — a controlled study of power athletes self-administering testosterone and anabolic steroids (Alén 1985) documented HDL and HDL2 cholesterol falling by roughly 55-80% on androgens — and it suppresses the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis (low LH, FSH and endogenous testosterone).
The score reflects genuine older controlled evidence of lean-mass and strength gain set against pronounced hepatotoxicity, strong estrogenicity (gynecomastia and water retention), a severely adverse lipid shift and HPTA suppression, plus the decisive facts that this drug's approval was withdrawn, it has no legitimate medical indication, it is a Schedule III controlled substance, and it is neither a dietary supplement nor a longevity drug — so it sits low, weighted up only modestly by the historical efficacy data and down hard by the harms and obsolete/illicit status.
Methandrostenolone is a synthetic 1-dehydro derivative of methyltestosterone that binds and activates the androgen receptor in skeletal muscle and other tissues, driving the anabolic, nitrogen-retaining signalling behind its weight, lean-mass and strength gains.
Androgen-receptor activation increases net protein/nitrogen balance and total body potassium — the lean-tissue gain measured directly in the Hervey crossover trials (increased body nitrogen and potassium, not just fluid), which is why it was the original 'bulking' steroid.
Unlike the DHT-derived oral steroids, methandrostenolone aromatizes appreciably to an estrogenic metabolite, so it is strongly estrogenic — driving gynecomastia and marked sodium/water retention (much of the fast 'weight gain' is fluid).
The 17α-alkyl group that makes it orally active also makes it hepatotoxic (cholestasis, peliosis hepatis and — for AAS broadly — liver tumours). The same androgenic activity sharply lowers HDL and raises LDL cholesterol and suppresses the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis.
How Methandrostenolone (Dianabol) works — from molecular targets to health outcomes. Click an edge to see supporting research.This visualization is in beta — pathways are being refined and expanded.
Tap node to isolate • Pinch to zoom • Tap edge for research
There is no legitimate dose. Methandrostenolone's FDA approval was withdrawn, it has no current approved medical indication, and it is a DEA Schedule III controlled substance; this library does NOT provide a body-composition dosing protocol. For historical context only: the controlled trials that established its anabolic effect used 100 mg/day for six weeks (Hervey), and mid-century clinical use was far lower (~5 mg/day). That is not an endorsement of self-administration.
Can be taken without food
| Form | Type |
|---|---|
| 💊None — approval withdrawn; no legitimate over-the-counter, supplement or prescription form | Recommended |
There is no legitimate form. It is a Schedule III controlled substance with no approved indication; any material is illicitly manufactured and illegal to possess.
Minimum: 4 weeks
Optimal: 6 weeks
Cycling: Not required
Note: No timing is endorsed. It is a controlled substance whose approval was withdrawn, with documented hepatotoxicity, strong estrogenicity, an adverse lipid shift and HPTA suppression. This library does not schedule its use.
Dose-response data unavailable. The current published research for Methandrostenolone (Dianabol) does not provide sufficient dose-specific outcome data to generate reliable dose-response curves.
Refer to the Dosage & Timing section above for recommended dose ranges based on available evidence.
The genuine historical efficacy point: in double-blind crossover trials, 100 mg/day added ~3.3 kg of weight confined to the lean compartment, with rises in total body potassium, total body nitrogen and muscle size in training men — real lean-tissue gain, the original bulking steroid.
Leg strength and performance rose significantly on the drug versus placebo in trained weight-lifters; an AAS review found the placebo-controlled studies that did show a strength effect overwhelmingly used methandrostenolone or stanozolol.
17α-alkylated and hepatotoxic: Dianabol produced cholestasis, peliosis hepatis and hepatitis in animals, and anabolic steroids as a class are tied to peliosis hepatis, hepatic adenoma/hepatocellular carcinoma and bleeding oesophageal varices in long-term users.
It aromatizes strongly to an estrogenic metabolite, so it is markedly estrogenic — causing gynecomastia and pronounced sodium/water retention (much of the rapid weight gain is fluid, with oedema and raised blood pressure).
Severely lowers HDL ('good') cholesterol (HDL/HDL2 fell ~55–80% on androgens in a controlled athlete study) and raises LDL, and suppresses the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis (LH, FSH, endogenous testosterone) with testicular atrophy.
Avoid — a controlled substance with withdrawn approval, not a supplement; documented hepatotoxicity, strong estrogenicity, adverse lipids and HPTA suppression, and illegal to possess.
High caution — virilizing effects (voice deepening, hirsutism, clitoral enlargement) can be permanent; discontinue at the first androgenic sign.
Major interaction — anabolic steroids markedly potentiate anticoagulants and raise bleeding risk, compounded by AAS-associated liver disease.
Avoid entirely — androgenic; causes fetal virilization.
17α-alkylated anabolic steroids markedly potentiate warfarin, raising INR and bleeding risk; this danger is compounded by AAS-associated liver disease that can itself cause variceal bleeding.
Methandrostenolone is itself hepatotoxic; combining it with other hepatotoxic agents or alcohol compounds the risk of cholestatic injury, peliosis hepatis and hepatitis.
Tip: 17α-alkylated and hepatotoxic — cholestasis and hepatitis are characteristic. There is no safe self-monitoring framework for illicit use; seek care for jaundice, dark urine or right-upper-quadrant pain.
Tip: Anabolic-androgenic steroids are linked to peliosis hepatis (blood-filled hepatic cavities that can rupture), hepatic adenoma, hepatocellular carcinoma and bleeding oesophageal varices; risk rises with prolonged or high-dose use.
Tip: It aromatizes strongly, so it is markedly estrogenic — gynecomastia and pronounced sodium/water retention (oedema, raised blood pressure). Much of the fast 'weight gain' is fluid that is lost on discontinuation.
Tip: Sharply lowers HDL and raises LDL cholesterol (HDL/HDL2 fell ~55–80% in a controlled study), and suppresses LH, FSH and endogenous testosterone with testicular atrophy; reversibility of the lipid shift depends on discontinuation.
The commonly studied dose of Methandrostenolone (Dianabol) is There is no legitimate dose. Methandrostenolone's FDA approval was withdrawn, it has no current approved medical indication, and it is a DEA Schedule III controlled substance; this library does NOT provide a body-composition dosing protocol. For historical context only: the controlled trials that established its anabolic effect used 100 mg/day for six weeks (Hervey), and mid-century clinical use was far lower (~5 mg/day). That is not an endorsement of self-administration.. Individual needs vary — start at the lower end of the range and adjust based on how you respond.
Timing is flexible for Methandrostenolone (Dianabol) — consistent daily use matters more than the time of day. There is no approved indication and no legitimate administration schedule.
Methandrostenolone (Dianabol) should be used with caution — talk to a healthcare provider before taking it. The most commonly reported side effects are cholestatic liver injury / hepatitis, peliosis hepatis / hepatic tumour (AAS class), gynecomastia & water retention (estrogenic). Use caution if any of these apply to you: Anyone seeking it for body composition or athletic performance — a DEA Schedule III controlled substance whose approval was withdrawn; possession/use is illegal, and it is not a dietary supplement; Pre-existing liver disease or elevated liver enzymes — 17α-alkylated and hepatotoxic (cholestasis, peliosis hepatis, liver tumours); Known or suspected prostate or male breast carcinoma; pre-existing gynecomastia (it is strongly estrogenic).
A sympathomimetic stimulant — the 'E' in the ECA (ephedrine/caffeine/aspirin) fat-loss stack. Ephedrine plus caffeine genuinely produces MODEST fat loss in 6-month RCTs (~0.9 kg/month more than placebo, ~3 kg over a controlled diet trial). But that is the whole upside: ephedra alkaloids were BANNED from US dietary supplements in 2004 after the FDA tied them to cardiovascular and psychiatric harms and deaths (the JAMA meta-analysis found a 2.2–3.6× increase in psychiatric/autonomic/GI symptoms and palpitations). Pharmaceutical ephedrine survives only as a restricted behind-the-counter decongestant/vasopressor. NOT a dietary supplement, NOT a longevity drug — a gated harm-reduction entry.
Anabolic steroids can alter glucose handling and insulin sensitivity, potentially requiring antidiabetic-dose adjustment.
Stacking androgenic/estrogenic agents compounds hepatic burden, HPTA suppression, gynecomastia and the adverse lipid shift; the combined risk is additive and uncharacterised in non-medical use.