Methasterone

Methasterone

File:Methasterone.png
Systematic (IUPAC) name
17β-Hydroxy-2α,17α-dimethyl-5α-androstane-3-one
Clinical data
Routes of administration	Oral
Identifiers
CAS Number	3381-88-2
ATC code	none
Synonyms	Superdrol, methyldrostanolone
Chemical data
Formula	C21H34O2
Molar mass	318.492 g/mol[[]]

Methasterone (Superdrol, methasteron, and methyldrostanolone) is an oral anabolic steroid that was never marketed through legitimate channels for medicinal purposes. It was brought to market, instead, in a clandestine fashion as a “designer steroid.”

History

The synthesis of methasterone is first mentioned in the literature in 1956 in connection with research conducted by Syntex Corporation in order to discover a compound with anti-tumor properties. This initial mention is elaborated upon in a 1959 research journal article, where its method of synthesis is discussed in greater detail, its tumor inhibiting properties are verified, and it is noted as being a “potent orally active anabolic agent exhibiting only weak androgenic activity.” The results of subsequent assays to determine methasterone’s anabolic and androgenic activity were published in Vida’s Androgens and Anabolic Agents, a dated but still standard reference, where it was noted that methasterone possessed the oral bioavailability of methyl-testosterone while being 400% as anabolic and 20% as androgenic, yielding a Q-ratio (also known as an anabolic to androgenic ratio) of 20, which is considered very high.

Injectable counterpart

Methasterone was never made a commercially available prescription drug. Instead, its injectable (non-17α-alkylated) counterpart, 2α-methyl-17β-hydroxy-5α-androstan-3-one, was introduced into commerce by its manufacturer Syntex Corporation as Masteron (chemical name drostanolone), the same company that brought Anadrol (oxymetholone) to market.

"Designer steroid"

Methasterone resurfaced in 2005 as a “designer steroid”. It was brought to market by Anabolic Xtreme as the primary ingredient of a dietary supplement named Superdrol. Its introduction into commerce may have represented an attempted circumvention of the 1990 Anabolic Steroid Control Act (along with its 2004 revision), since the law is, in part, drug-specific; methasterone, as is the case with many designer steroids, was not declared a Schedule III class anabolic steroid in that act because it was not commercially available at the time the act, and its subsequent revision, were signed into law. Methasterone was therefore being sold as an over-the-counter dietary supplement.

Controversy and FDA involvement

It was in late 2005 that the status of methasterone (Superdrol), in addition to that of four other designer steroids, as a genuine anabolic steroid was brought to public awareness by an article published in the Washington Post. Don Catlin of the UCLA Olympic Laboratory, who conducted the studies, noted methasterone’s similarity to drostanolone. A warning by the FDA was issued soon after to the general public as well as to the distributor, Designer Supplements LLC, for the marketing of this compound. Methasterone was subsequently added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of prohibited substances in sport.

Anabolic efficacy

The anabolic efficacy of this compound can be attested to anecdotally on the many forums online where anabolic drug use practices are openly discussed, as can its hepatoxicity (toxicity to the liver). Many cases of liver damage due to the use of methasterone have been cited in the medical literature. Although the original manufacturer ceased production in the face of possible governmental action, methasterone remains commercially available through over the counter dietary supplement products sometimes referred to as “Superdrol clones” and through domestic or foreign chemical production companies.