The short version of metabolite fits in a sentence. The long version — which is the one that helps — is below.
This page was last updated on 2025-11-24 and is reviewed periodically as new material appears.
Anti-doping laboratories identify GW501516 and related metabolites using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Urine is the most common matrix, though blood and dried blood spots may also be analyzed. The method targets the parent compound and phase I and phase II metabolites, which extend the detection window. Because the substance is prohibited at all times, athletes can be tested outside competition. Detection limits and windows depend on the assay, sample type, and individual metabolism.
Cardarine is frequently described as a fat-burning or endurance-enhancing supplement, but these claims exceed the available evidence. The compound is not a hormone, steroid, or selective androgen receptor modulator. Research articles discuss it as a tool compound for studying PPARδ biology, while anti-doping literature focuses on its abuse and detection. Quality of unapproved products is uncertain, and independent analyses have found impurities or incorrect labeling. Open questions include whether human cancer risk resembles that seen in rodents and how often non-athletes use the substance.
Cardarine has no approved therapeutic indication and is not marketed as a medicine. The World Anti-Doping Agency lists GW501516 as a prohibited substance at all times, covering both in-competition and out-of-competition periods. National laws vary: some countries treat it as an unapproved drug subject to import controls, while others have specific restrictions on sale for human consumption. It is often sold as a research chemical, a label that does not imply safety or legality. Enforcement actions have targeted online vendors and shipments.
A common misconception is that cardarine has been proven safe for human use. In reality, human clinical data are limited, and long-term animal studies have raised concerns about cancer. Another misconception is that it is a supplement or vitamin-like compound. It is a synthetic research chemical with no approved medical indication. Scientific discussion often focuses on its mechanism and detection rather than therapeutic use. Regulatory and anti-doping literature treats it primarily as a prohibited substance.
Cardarine is explicitly prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency under the class of PPARδ agonists. Its presence in urine or blood samples can be detected using mass spectrometry-based methods, often liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Athletes who test positive may face sanctions, including bans from competition. The compound is also regulated as a prescription-only or unapproved drug in many countries. Enforcement varies by jurisdiction, and some regions treat it as a controlled substance. Online sales may occur despite these restrictions, creating quality and legal risks.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Regulatory status | Prohibited in sport; not approved as medicine | Listed by WADA at all times. |
| Common synonyms | GW501516, GW-501516, endurobol | Cardarine is a colloquial name. |
| Typical analytical method | LC-MS/MS | Detects parent compound and metabolites. |
| Common test matrix | Urine | Blood and dried blood spots also possible. |
| Legal classification | Varies by country | Often treated as unapproved drug or research chemical. |
Published human data are sparse and mostly come from early-phase trials. Those studies examined short-term changes in lipids, glucose, and exercise capacity, but they were not large enough to establish efficacy or long-term safety. Some animal experiments reported increased running endurance, yet such findings do not prove a performance benefit in people. Anti-doping laboratories detect GW501516 and its metabolites in urine or blood using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Detection windows depend on dose, sample type, and individual metabolism. The method is sensitive enough to identify trace residues in tested samples.
Laboratory handling focuses on identity, purity, and stability. Reference standards are typically stored cold and dry, protected from light, because solutions can degrade over time. Analytical checks may use high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection or mass spectrometry. Impurities and related substances can be separated chromatographically and compared with a known standard. Because cardarine is not an approved drug, compendial monographs are absent, and laboratories often rely on in-house methods. Reported purity varies among unregulated products and should not be assumed from a label.
Cardarine can be detected in biological samples and product materials using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The method separates compounds by chromatography and identifies them by mass-to-charge transitions, allowing low-level detection in urine or blood. Sample preparation often involves enzymatic hydrolysis, solid-phase extraction, or protein precipitation. Certified reference materials and isotope-labeled internal standards improve quantification. Detection windows depend on metabolism, matrix, and assay sensitivity, so no single universal window applies.
Regulatory treatment of cardarine differs by context and jurisdiction. In competitive sport, the World Anti-Doping Agency lists PPARδ agonists, including GW501516, as prohibited at all times. Outside sport, it lacks approval as a prescription medicine in major drug markets, and products sold for human consumption may be treated as unapproved drugs. Some countries also restrict importation or sale through general consumer protection and medicines laws. These classifications affect availability, testing, and legal risk without establishing therapeutic value.
LBT-3627 is an experimental peptide drug derived from vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) intended to modulate the behavior of immune cells in cases of neurodegenerative disease such that they protect dopamine-producing cells rather than attack them. The drug is currently being studied for its potential use in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
=== Myopathies with central nuclei === Myopathies with central nuclei, such as myotubular myopathy, involves an error in the gene involved in vesicle movement throughout the cell. This creates problems in vesicles reaching the plasma membrane with the cellular components necessary to fuse myoblast, a major step in the formation of the skeletal muscle. This creates structural problems throughout the skeletal muscle and in the Z line of the sarcomere, creating the weakness in the muscle.
1993/1766) South Buckinghamshire National Health Service Trust (Transfer of Trust Property) Order 1993 (S.I. 1993/1767) South Worcestershire Community National Health Service Trust (Transfer of Trust Property) Order 1993 (S.I. 1993/1768) Commons Registration (Disposal of Disputed Registrations) (Amendment) Regulations 1993 (S.I. 1993/1771) Civil Defence (General Local Authority Functions) (Scotland) Regulations 1993 (S.I. 1993/1774) Education (Bursaries for Teacher Training) (Amendment) Regulations 1993 (S.I. 1993/1775) Gipsy Encampments (District of South Cambridgeshire) Order 1993 (S.I. 1993/1776) Local Government Finance Act 1992 (Recovery of Community Charge) Saving Order 1993 (S.I. 1993/1780) Consular Fees (Amendment) Order 1993 (S.I. 1993/1781) Continental Shelf (Designation of Areas) (No. 2) Order 1993 (S.I. 1993/1782) European Communities (Definition of Treaties) (Agreement on Customs Union and Co-operation between the European Economic Community and the Republic of San Marino) Order 1993 (S.I. 1993/1783) Haiti (United Nations Sanctions) Order 1993 (S.I. 1993/1784) Haiti (United Nations Sanctions) (Dependent Territories) Order 1993 (S.I. 1993/1785) Merchant Shipping Act 1979 (Overseas Territories) (Amendment) Order 1993 (S.I. 1993/1786) United Nations Arms Embargoes (Liberia, Somalia and the Former Yugoslavia) Order 1993 (S.I. 1993/1787) Appropriation (No. 2) (Northern Ireland) Order 1993 (S.I. 1993/1788) British Nationality (Hong Kong) (Selection Scheme) (Amendment) Order 1993 (S.I.
=== Treatment === Consumption of Amanita virosa is a medical emergency requiring hospitalization. There are four main categories of therapy for poisoning: preliminary medical care, supportive measures, specific treatments, and liver transplantation. Preliminary care consists of gastric decontamination with either activated carbon or gastric lavage. However, due to the delay between ingestion and the first symptoms of poisoning, it is commonplace for patients to arrive for treatment many hours after ingestion, potentially reducing the efficacy of these interventions. Supportive measures are directed towards treating the dehydration which results from fluid loss during the gastrointestinal phase of intoxication and correction of metabolic acidosis, hypoglycemia, electrolyte imbalances, and impaired coagulation. No definitive antidote for amatoxin poisoning is available, but some specific treatments have been shown to improve survivability. High-dose continuous intravenous penicillin G has been reported to be of benefit, though the exact mechanism is unknown, and trials with cephalosporins show promise. There is some evidence that intravenous silibinin, an extract from the blessed milk thistle (Silybum marianum), may be beneficial in reducing the effects of death cap poisoning. Silibinin prevents the uptake of amatoxins by hepatocytes, thereby protecting undamaged hepatic tissue; it also stimulates DNA-dependent RNA polymerases, leading to an increase in RNA synthesis. N-acetylcysteine has shown promise in combination with other therapies.
==== Elimination ==== Mescaline given orally is excreted 87% in urine within 24 hours and 92% in urine within 48 hours. During the first hour after administration, 81.4% of mescaline is excreted unchanged while 13.2% is excreted as its deaminated metabolite 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenylacetic acid (TMPAA). However, after the first hour, the percentage excreted as unchanged mescaline declines and the percentage excreted as TMPAA rises. Ultimately, mescaline is excreted in urine 28 to 60% unchanged, 27 to 30% or more as TMPAA, 5% as N-acetyl-3,4-dimethoxy-5-hydroxyphenylethylamine, and less than 0.1% as N-acetylmescaline. Other minor or trace excreted metabolites have also been observed. In a more modern study published in 2025, mescaline was eliminated in urine 53% as unchanged mescaline and 31% as TMPAA. Mescaline was originally reported to have an elimination half-life of 6 hours based on a study conducted in the 1960s. However, subsequent research published in the 2020s found that its half-life is actually about 3.6 hours (range 2.6–5.3 hours). The previous higher estimate is believed to have been due to small sample numbers and collective measurement of mescaline metabolites. The elimination half-life of mescaline does not appear to be dose-dependent. TMPAA has a half-life of about 3.7 to 4.1 hours, similar to that of mescaline. Mescaline has a similar half-life as LSD yet has a longer duration. This is due to mescaline having slower absorption and onset rather than a longer half-life.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
=== Intrinsically disordered proteins === Intrinsically disordered proteins lack a fixed or ordered three-dimensional structure. IDPs cover a spectrum of states from fully unstructured to partially structured and include random coils, (pre-)molten globules, and large multi-domain proteins connected by flexible linkers. They constitute one of the main types of protein (alongside globular, fibrous and membrane proteins).
== Roles in disease == Diseases related to lysine are a result of the downstream processing of lysine, i.e., the incorporation into proteins or modification into alternative biomolecules. The role of lysine in collagen has been outlined above, however, a lack of lysine and hydroxylysine involved in the crosslinking of collagen peptides has been linked to a disease state of the connective tissue. As carnitine is a key lysine-derived metabolite involved in fatty acid metabolism, a substandard diet lacking sufficient carnitine and lysine can lead to decreased carnitine levels, which can have significant cascading effects on an individual's health. Lysine has also been shown to play a role in anaemia, as lysine is suspected to have an effect on the uptake of iron and, subsequently, the concentration of ferritin in blood plasma. However, the exact mechanism of action is yet to be elucidated. Most commonly, lysine deficiency is seen in non-western societies and manifests as protein-energy malnutrition, which has profound and systemic effects on the health of the individual. There is also a hereditary genetic disease that involves mutations in the enzymes responsible for lysine catabolism, namely the bifunctional AASS enzyme of the saccharopine pathway. Due to a lack of lysine catabolism, the amino acid accumulates in plasma and patients develop hyperlysinaemia, which can present as asymptomatic to severe neurological disabilities, including epilepsy, ataxia, spasticity, and psychomotor impairment.
== Medical uses == Escitalopram is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of major depressive disorder in adolescents and adults, and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in adults, in dosage from 5 to 20 mg. In European countries including the United Kingdom, it is approved for depression and anxiety disorders; these include: generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder (SAD), obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), and panic disorder with or without agoraphobia. In Australia it is approved for major depressive disorder.
=== Others === Blood: Pentamidine frequently causes leukopenia and less often thrombopenia, which may cause symptomatic bleeding. Some cases of anemia, possibly related to folic acid deficiency, have been described. Cardiovascular: Hypotension, which may be severe. Severe or fatal arrhythmias and heart failure are quite frequent. Kidney: 25 percent develop signs of nephrotoxicity ranging from mild, asymptomatic azotemia (increased serum creatinine and urea) to irreversible renal failure. Ample fluids or intravenous hydration may prevent some nephrotoxicity. Liver: Elevated liver enzymes are associated with intravenous use of pentamidine. Hepatomegaly and hepatitis have been encountered with long term prophylactic use of pentamidine inhalation. Neurological: Dizziness, drowsiness, neuralgia, confusion, hallucinations, seizures and other central side effects are reported. Pancreas: Hypoglycemia that requires symptomatic treatment is frequently seen. On the other hand, pentamidine may cause or worsen diabetes mellitus. Respiratory: Cough and bronchospasm, most frequently seen with inhalation. Skin: Severe local reactions after extravasculation of intravenous solutions or following intramuscular injection treatment have been seen. Pentamidine itself may cause rash, or rarely Stevens–Johnson syndrome or Lyell syndrome. Eye discomfort, conjunctivitis, throat irritation, splenomegaly, Herxheimer reaction, electrolyte imbalances (e.g. hypocalcemia).
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Legal status varies by country. It is not approved as a medicine, and it is prohibited in sport. Some jurisdictions restrict import, sale, or possession.
Laboratories use liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to detect GW501516 and its metabolites. Urine is commonly tested, and testing can occur in and out of competition.
No, cardarine is not a SARM. It is a PPARδ agonist, which acts on a different receptor. The two classes are often confused in online discussions.
Yes, WADA prohibits cardarine as a PPARδ agonist. It appears on the prohibited list and can be detected in urine or blood. Athletes using it risk sanctions.