LC-MS/MS 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.
Last reviewed on 2026-08-01. Where a claim depends on a specific study, the study is described rather than over-claimed.
Cardarine is the common name for GW501516, a synthetic compound studied as a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta agonist. Researchers developed it to explore treatments for lipid disorders and metabolic conditions. It is not an approved medicine in any country. Early clinical work examined changes in HDL cholesterol and triglycerides, but development was discontinued after animal studies raised concerns about cancer. The compound remains available as a research chemical and appears in discussions of performance enhancement.
At the molecular level, GW501516 binds and activates PPARδ, a nuclear receptor that regulates transcription. Activation shifts expression of genes involved in fatty acid oxidation, energy expenditure, and lipid transport in skeletal muscle and liver. Animal studies report increased endurance and altered lipid profiles after exposure. Human data are limited to small trials and do not establish long-term safety or efficacy. PPARδ also has roles in cell proliferation, so the relationship between activation and cancer risk remains an open question.
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.
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.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Common name | Cardarine | Also called GW501516 and endurobol. |
| Chemical formula | C21H18F3NO3S2 | Molecular weight about 453.5 g/mol. |
| Appearance | White to off-white solid | Form depends on synthesis and purity. |
| Solubility | Soluble in DMSO and ethanol | Low solubility in water. |
| Typical storage | -20 °C, desiccated, protected from light | Common for research chemicals. |
Safety concerns emerged from long-term animal studies. In rodents given the compound for extended periods, researchers found an increased incidence of certain cancers, including liver and bladder tumors. These findings contributed to the discontinuation of clinical development. Whether similar risks apply to short-term or low-level exposure in humans is not established, and controlled human safety data are limited. The relevance of high-dose rodent carcinogenicity findings to human use remains a subject of debate.
Human trials of GW501516 were small and short in duration. They examined lipid levels, glucose handling, and other metabolic markers, but the programs were halted after the animal cancer findings. No approved therapeutic product exists, and published human data are insufficient for establishing long-term safety. Reports of use for athletic performance come mainly from non-clinical settings and cannot be verified through controlled trials. Independent testing of products sold as cardarine has found inconsistent purity and labeling.
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 a common name for GW501516, a synthetic compound first described in the 1990s as a selective agonist of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta. It was studied in preclinical models for metabolic and cardiovascular conditions, but it has not been approved as a medicine in the United States, Europe, or other major jurisdictions. Retail products labeled as cardarine are generally research chemicals or supplements, not pharmaceutical formulations. Because human safety and efficacy data remain limited, regulatory agencies treat it as an unapproved substance rather than a therapeutic product.
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.
In the fitness and bodybuilding literature, cardarine is frequently discussed as an endurance agent or fat-loss compound, although such claims are not supported by robust clinical evidence. Online descriptions often mix animal data, user anecdotes, and marketing language. Researchers who study PPARδ agonists distinguish between receptor activation in controlled experiments and unsupervised use of unverified products. The latter introduces unknown purity, dose, and interactions, making reported experiences difficult to interpret scientifically.
GW501516 acts as an agonist at peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta, a nuclear receptor involved in transcription of genes related to lipid handling and energy use. Activation of PPARδ can shift skeletal muscle toward greater fatty acid oxidation in animal models, which is one reason it drew interest for metabolic disease and exercise research. The exact downstream effects depend on tissue, species, dose, and duration. Human data are sparse, so many proposed benefits remain hypotheses rather than established clinical outcomes.
PPARδ is a nuclear receptor that influences transcription of genes involved in fatty acid oxidation, lipid transport, and energy homeostasis. GW501516 binds and activates this receptor with high selectivity relative to PPARα and PPARγ in laboratory assays. Activation alters expression of target genes in skeletal muscle, liver, and adipose tissue in animal models. The exact clinical consequences of these changes in humans remain incompletely characterized, and observed effects in animals do not establish therapeutic benefit or safety.
Published studies have examined GW501516 in animal models of obesity, insulin resistance, and exercise endurance. Early human trials reportedly ended, and development was discontinued after preclinical findings raised concerns about cancer in some rodent studies. Regulatory agencies have not approved cardarine for any medical use. Its availability through non-pharmaceutical channels raises questions about identity, purity, and legal status that are separate from its laboratory pharmacology. Those questions are often addressed through analytical testing rather than assumptions about product labels.
Cardarine is a common name for GW501516, also GW-1516, a synthetic compound developed as a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta (PPARδ) agonist. It belongs to a class of agents that modulate gene transcription related to lipid and energy metabolism. The compound was studied in preclinical and early clinical research for metabolic and cardiovascular conditions, but it did not progress to approved therapeutic use. Its name appears in fitness and sports contexts despite not being approved as a drug.
==== Elimination ==== Pregabalin is eliminated by the kidneys in the urine, mainly in its unchanged form. It has a relatively short elimination half-life, with a reported value of 6.3 hours. Because of its short elimination half-life, pregabalin is administered 2 to 3 times per day to maintain therapeutic levels. The kidney clearance of pregabalin is 73 mL/minute. As pregabalin clearance is directly proportional to creatinine clearance, renal impairment leads to drug accumulation and elevated plasma concentrations. Dose adjustment is therefore required in patients with a creatinine clearance below 60 mL/min, with progressively greater reductions recommended as renal function declines. Patients undergoing hemodialysis require supplemental dosing following each session, as a standard four-hour treatment reduces plasma pregabalin concentrations by approximately 50%.
==== European Union ==== In February 2016, orphan designation (EU/3/16/1615) was granted by the European Commission to Gilead Sciences International Ltd, United Kingdom, for remdesivir for the treatment of Ebola virus disease. In April 2020, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) provided recommendations on compassionate use of remdesivir for COVID‑19 in the EU. In May 2020, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the EMA recommended expanding the compassionate use of remdesivir to those not on mechanical ventilation. In addition to those undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation, the compassionate use recommendations cover the treatment of hospitalized individuals requiring supplemental oxygen, non-invasive ventilation, high-flow oxygen devices or ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation). The updated recommendations were based on preliminary results from the NIAID-ACTT study, which suggested a beneficial effect of remdesivir in the treatment of hospitalized individuals with severe COVID‑19. In addition, a treatment duration of five days was introduced alongside the longer ten-day course, based on preliminary results from another study (GS-US-540-5773) suggesting that for those not requiring mechanical ventilation or ECMO, the treatment course may be shortened from ten to five days without any loss of efficacy. Individuals who receive a five-day treatment course but do not show clinical improvement will be eligible to continue receiving remdesivir for an additional five days.
=== Biomaterials === Using antibiotic-free alternatives in bone infection treatment may help decrease the use of antibiotics and thus antimicrobial resistance. The bone regeneration material bioactive glass S53P4 has shown to effectively inhibit the bacterial growth of up to 50 clinically relevant bacteria including MRSA and MRSE.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Burroughs found Trump's efforts to freeze billions of dollars of funding for Harvard illegal, writing that the government had infringed upon Harvard's free speech rights and that it was "difficult to conclude anything other than that defendants used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault on this country's premier universities".
== Culinary uses == The bark is used to prepare a spirit from sugar and palm juice, and in times of scarcity it is ground and mixed with flour. The pods are used as a vegetable, and the seeds can be ground and mixed with flour.
ADP-dependent NAD(P)H-hydrate dehydratase (EC 4.2.1.136, (6S)-β-6-hydroxy-1,4,5,6-tetrahydronicotinamide-adenine-dinucleotide hydro-lyase (ADP-hydrolysing), (6S)-6-β-hydroxy-1,4,5,6-tetrahydronicotinamide-adenine-dinucleotide hydro-lyase (ADP-hydrolysing, NADH-forming)) is an enzyme with systematic name (6S)-6β-hydroxy-1,4,5,6-tetrahydronicotinamide-adenine-dinucleotide hydro-lyase (ADP-hydrolysing; NADH-forming). This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction
C1 domains and phorbol esters. C2 domains bind phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylcholine or PtdIns(3,4)P2 or PtdIns(4,5)P2. Pleckstrin homology domains, PX domains, and Tubby domains bind different phosphoinositides FYVE domains are more specific for PtdIns3P. ENTH domains bind PtdIns(3,4)P2 or PtdIns(4,5)P2. ANTH domain binds PtdIns(4,5)P2. Proteins from ERM (ezrin/radixin/moesin) family bind PtdIns(4,5)P2. Other phosphoinositide-binding proteins include phosphotyrosine-binding domain and certain PDZ domains. They bind PtdIns(4,5)P2. Discoidin domains of blood coagulation factors ENTH, VHS and ANTH domains
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Cardarine is a common name for the investigational compound GW501516. It acts as a PPARδ agonist and is not approved for human use. It is prohibited in sport.
It activates PPARδ, a nuclear receptor that influences gene expression related to lipid and energy metabolism. Animal studies show changes in endurance and lipid levels. Human effects and risks are not well established.
No, cardarine is not a steroid. It belongs to a different chemical class, the PPARδ agonists. It is also not a selective androgen receptor modulator.
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.