Peer-reviewed evidence, graded and stated plainly

Enobosarm is the most extensively studied SARM in humans, with published phase II data in older adults and cancer-related muscle wasting. Lean mass gains are real but modest, and the safety record in trials does not extend to the doses, durations or unregulated products used recreationally.

3 cited studies · updated 2026-08-14

LGD-4033 has a single well-known phase I safety and tolerability study in healthy men plus a scattering of case reports. It suppresses endogenous testosterone dose-dependently, and published cases link it to drug-induced liver injury.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-08-02

RAD-140 is widely marketed as the strongest SARM, yet the human record consists of an early-phase oncology programme and a growing set of liver injury case reports. Preclinical anabolic potency is real; human safety characterisation is close to absent.

3 cited studies · updated 2026-09-05

Andarine is an early-generation SARM whose defining feature in user reports — yellow-tinted vision and impaired night adaptation — has no adequate human safety study behind it. Development did not progress to late-phase trials.

3 cited studies · updated 2026-09-05

YK-11 is a steroidal androgen receptor ligand studied only in cell culture and marketed on a myostatin-inhibition claim. No human pharmacokinetic, dosing or safety study of any kind has been published.

3 cited studies · updated 2026-09-05

S-23 is a selective androgen receptor modulator studied in rodents as a potential male contraceptive. Its reported muscle effects and hormonal suppression have not been tested for efficacy or long-term safety in people.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-09-23

ACP-105 was characterized in laboratory and animal work. Published studies do not demonstrate that it improves human performance, treats injury or has an acceptable long-term safety profile.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-09-23

LGD-3303 has been evaluated for muscle and bone effects in rats. It should not be confused with LGD-4033, which is a different molecule with a separate human evidence base.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-09-23

Secretagogues reliably raise GH and IGF-1 in short human studies. What they do to body composition, performance or long-term health in healthy adults is far less established, and appetite, water retention and glucose effects are the recurring practical concerns.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-07-29

BPC-157's reputation for tendon, gut and wound healing rests almost entirely on rodent studies, many from a single research group. There are no adequate randomised controlled trials in humans, so both the benefits and the risks are undetermined.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-07-11

These are among the best-evidenced compounds discussed in physique contexts, with large randomised trials for weight reduction. The risks in this setting come from lean mass loss, unsupervised dose escalation and compounded or grey-market product of unknown identity.

3 cited studies · updated 2026-09-06

Thymosin beta-4 has genuine preclinical wound-healing and cardiac repair literature, and reached early-phase trials in specific clinical indications. TB-500 as sold is a fragment, and no trial supports its use for tendon or muscle injury in athletes.

3 cited studies · updated 2026-09-06

Melanotan II reliably darkens skin, and that is the reason it is used. It also has one of the clearest published harm records of any peptide in this space, including melanoma diagnosed after use, rhabdomyolysis and severe systemic reactions.

3 cited studies · updated 2026-09-06

Tesamorelin has randomized human trial evidence for reducing visceral fat in specific HIV-associated abdominal fat accumulation. This does not establish its effectiveness or safety for physique use in otherwise healthy people.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-09-23

Human growth hormone has a clinical evidence base for adults with documented deficiency. Changes in body composition seen during replacement are not proof of meaningful strength gains or acceptable risks in healthy users.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-09-23

Mecasermin is recombinant IGF-1 studied in children with growth disorders. Those clinical outcomes cannot establish muscle-building efficacy or safety in healthy adults.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-09-23

AOD-9604 is a growth-hormone-derived peptide investigated for metabolic effects. Published human safety summaries do not establish that it produces clinically useful fat loss or improves performance.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-09-23

CJC-1295 is a long-acting growth-hormone-releasing hormone analogue. Small studies in healthy adults showed sustained rises in GH and IGF-1, but clinical development stopped and there are no long-term safety or performance data.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-10-02

Ipamorelin is a growth-hormone secretagogue described as selective because it caused less cortisol and prolactin release in animal studies. Human development focused on postoperative bowel recovery and did not show clear benefit.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-10-02

GHRP-6 was one of the first synthetic growth-hormone-releasing peptides. Human studies are short endocrine experiments showing GH release together with increases in appetite, cortisol and prolactin.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-10-02

Sermorelin, a fragment of GHRH, was once approved for diagnosing and treating GH deficiency in children before commercial withdrawal. Small studies in older adults show IGF-1 changes but inconsistent functional benefits.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-10-02

Retatrutide, a triple GIP/GLP-1/glucagon receptor agonist, produced large weight reductions in a phase 2 trial. It remains investigational; 'research' products sold online are not the trial drug and their contents are unverified.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-10-02

Bremelanotide has phase 3 evidence for hypoactive sexual desire disorder in premenopausal women. Effects were modest, nausea was common, and the evidence does not support broader recreational claims.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-10-02

GHK-Cu is a naturally occurring copper-binding peptide studied mainly in cell culture, animal wound models and topical cosmetic products. Injected use for systemic healing or anti-ageing lacks controlled human evidence.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-10-02

MOTS-c is a mitochondria-derived peptide shown to affect insulin sensitivity and exercise capacity in mice. Human studies are observational measurements of circulating levels, not intervention trials.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-10-02

Thymosin alpha-1 has been studied as an immune adjunct in hepatitis, sepsis and oncology, with mixed results. These trials do not establish benefits for training recovery or general immunity in healthy people.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-10-02

AAS is the one PED class with substantial human outcome literature, and it is not reassuring. Imaging studies show reduced left ventricular function in long-term users, and endocrine follow-up shows hypogonadism persisting long after cessation.

3 cited studies · updated 2026-08-20

Trenbolone was never developed for human use, so there is no clinical trial evidence at all. What exists in the literature is animal pharmacology plus human case reports and cohort findings on cardiac, renal and psychiatric harm among users.

3 cited studies · updated 2026-09-07

Testosterone has the strongest human evidence base in this field, but almost all of it comes from replacement dosing in men with low testosterone. Physique use typically involves several times those doses, where the trial evidence no longer applies.

3 cited studies · updated 2026-09-07

Nandrolone has randomized human evidence for lean-mass and bone outcomes in defined patient populations. Those findings do not quantify the risks of non-medical or combined steroid use.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-09-23

Oxandrolone has been studied as an adjunct during recovery from severe burns. Clinical gains in a profoundly catabolic condition cannot establish a favourable risk–benefit balance for elective performance use.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-09-23

Modern controlled human performance evidence for stanozolol is sparse. Animal studies provide harm signals, but cannot precisely predict the human risks of non-medical use.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-09-23

Historical controlled studies of methandienone in weightlifters reported changes in strength and body weight, but were small and short. They do not establish long-term safety or the effects of modern combined-drug use.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-09-23

Oxymetholone has randomised trial data in HIV-associated wasting and a long history in certain anaemias. Those supervised settings documented lean-mass gains alongside clear liver-enzyme and lipid changes, which matter more, not less, outside medical care.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-10-02

Drostanolone was historically used in advanced breast cancer. There are no modern controlled trials of its body-composition effects, and claims about 'hardening' or cosmetic benefits rest on anecdote rather than measurement.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-10-02

Methenolone is often described in user communities as a mild or safe androgen. Published human data are sparse and old, and no controlled study establishes a lower-risk profile at physique-oriented exposure.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-10-02

Boldenone is marketed for veterinary use. Human evidence consists of case reports, doping-detection research and animal toxicology; there are no controlled human trials of benefit or safety.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-10-02

Oral-Turinabol is best known from the former East German state doping programme. Historical documentation describes performance effects and serious long-term harms, especially in female athletes, but this is not controlled trial evidence.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-10-02

These are approved medicines with real pharmacology, used off-label in PED contexts to manage oestrogenic effects or restart the hormonal axis. The clinical literature is mostly in other patient populations, so translation to this use is partial at best.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-06-30

GW501516 is a PPARδ agonist, not a SARM. Short human studies showed metabolic and lipid effects, but development was halted after long-term rodent carcinogenicity findings across multiple organ systems.

3 cited studies · updated 2026-09-05

Clenbuterol is a long-acting beta-2 agonist used for fat loss. Human evidence is dominated by poisoning case series describing tachycardia, chest pain, tremor, hypokalaemia and raised cardiac markers, sometimes after a single dose.

3 cited studies · updated 2026-09-06

Ibutamoren is an oral growth-hormone secretagogue, not a SARM. Human studies in older adults and short-term dietary restriction show hormonal or body-composition changes, but do not establish performance benefits for healthy lifters.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-09-23

SR9009 is a synthetic REV-ERB research compound. Published metabolic observations in mice are not evidence of improved endurance, fat loss or safety in humans.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-09-23

2,4-dinitrophenol disrupts cellular energy use and has been implicated in fatal poisonings. Modern evidence is principally toxicological, not a basis for recommending it for weight loss.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-09-23

Human chorionic gonadotropin is used clinically in reproductive endocrinology. Observational reports in men exposed to non-prescribed androgens suggest potential fertility-related benefit, but do not justify unsupervised recovery protocols.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-09-23

Clomiphene and its isomer enclomiphene raise LH, FSH and testosterone in men with secondary hypogonadism. Trials are relevant medically but do not validate self-directed 'post-cycle' use.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-10-02

Cabergoline is a dopamine agonist used for prolactin disorders. It is discussed in PED communities for managing prolactin, but high cumulative doses in Parkinson's disease were linked to valve disease, and impulse-control effects are documented.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-10-02

Insulin is used by some people for anabolic purposes. Case series describe severe and sometimes fatal hypoglycaemia; there are no controlled trials showing net benefit in healthy athletes.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-10-02

Thyroid hormone raises metabolic rate, but excess exposure causes muscle and bone loss, arrhythmia and, when stopped, temporary suppression of thyroid function. Clinical use is for hypothyroidism under monitoring.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-10-02

Meta-analysis of ephedra and ephedrine trials found modest short-term weight loss with increased psychiatric, autonomic and cardiovascular adverse effects. Serious events have been reported in otherwise healthy people.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-10-02

Yohimbine is an alpha-2 antagonist sold in fat-loss supplements. A small trial in athletes reported reduced body fat, but evidence is thin and supplement labels often misstate content.

2 cited studies · updated 2026-10-02