Testosterone Prohormone Supplements
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2006
Abstract
Testosterone Prohormone Supplements. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 38, No. 8, pp. 1451–1461, 2006. Testosterone prohormones such as androstenedione, androstenediol, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) have been heavily marketed as testosterone-enhancing and muscle-building nutritional supplements for the past decade. Concerns over the safety of prohormone supplement use prompted the United States Food and Drug Administration to call for a ban on androstenedione sales, and Congress passed the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004, which classifies androstenedione and 17 other steroids as controlled substances. As of January 2005, these substances cannot be sold without prescription. Here, we summarize the current scientific knowledge regarding the efficacy and safety of prohormone supplementation in humans. We focus primarily on androstenedione, but we also discuss DHEA, androstenediol, 19-nor androstenedione, and 19-nor androstenediol supplements. Contrary to marketing claims, research to date indicates that the use of prohormone nutritional supplements (DHEA, androstenedione, androstenediol, and other steroid hormone supplements) does not produce either anabolic or ergogenic effects in men. Moreover, the use of prohormone nutritional supplements may raise the risk for negative health consequences
Publication Title
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise
Volume
38
Issue
8
First Page
1451
DOI of Published Version
10.1249/01.mss.0000228928.69512.2e
Recommended Citation
Brown, Gregory A.; Vukovich, Matthew D.; and King, Douglas S., "Testosterone Prohormone Supplements" (2006). Health and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications. 19.
https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/hns_pubs/19