GW501516 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.
Updated 2025-09-21. Numbers and descriptions here follow the published literature rather than marketing material.
In laboratory settings, cardarine is studied as a tool compound for probing PPARδ biology. Published experiments often use cell cultures, rodent models, or isolated tissues. Some investigations focus on metabolic effects, while others assess potential risks such as carcinogenicity observed in long-term animal studies. Because human trials are sparse, most knowledge comes from preclinical work and adverse event reports. Scientific literature frequently notes the gap between animal findings and human outcomes. The compound is not a dietary supplement and is not intended for human consumption.
Cardarine is a common name for GW501516, a synthetic compound developed in the 1990s through research collaborations involving GlaxoSmithKline. It belongs to a class of molecules known as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta agonists. Early studies explored its effects on lipid metabolism and energy expenditure in animal models. The compound was never approved as a human medicine, and clinical development was discontinued. In the years since, it has appeared in fitness and bodybuilding communities as a performance-enhancing substance. Regulatory agencies classify it as an unapproved drug.
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.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CAS Registry Number | 317318-70-0 | Unique identifier for the compound. |
| Chemical class | PPARδ agonist | Synthetic ligand for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta. |
| Appearance | White to off-white solid | Typical form of research-grade material. |
| Solubility | Soluble in DMSO and ethanol | Poorly soluble in water. |
| Typical storage | -20°C | Recommended for long-term storage of stock solutions. |
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.
GW501516 binds and activates PPARδ, a nuclear receptor that influences transcription of genes involved in fatty acid oxidation and energy use. Activation shifts some metabolic pathways in preclinical models, which is why the compound has been studied for lipid disorders and exercise-related endpoints. The exact downstream effects in humans are incompletely mapped. PPARδ is expressed in many tissues, including skeletal muscle, liver, and adipose tissue, so broad activation may have varied consequences. Researchers continue to examine how selective or partial activation might alter the balance between benefits and risks.
Anti-doping laboratories identify GW501516 and its metabolites using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Urine is the usual matrix, and detection can occur after the parent compound has cleared from blood. The exact detection window depends on dose, formulation, individual metabolism, and assay sensitivity. Because the compound is prohibited at all times, athletes are subject to testing in and out of competition. Analytical methods continue to improve as new metabolites and designer analogs are characterized.
GW501516 acts as a ligand for PPAR delta, a nuclear receptor that regulates transcription of genes involved in fatty acid oxidation and energy use. Activation of this receptor in skeletal muscle shifts metabolism toward fat burning in animal models. The compound does not burn fat directly; it changes gene expression over hours to days. Researchers study it to understand metabolic flexibility and exercise adaptation. Effects observed in rodents are not automatically expected in humans.
Handling and quality assessment of cardarine reference material follow general laboratory practices for poorly characterized compounds. It typically appears as a white to off-white powder and is sparingly soluble in water but soluble in organic solvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide and ethanol. Storage recommendations usually specify a cool, dry, dark place, with long-term storage at low temperature and desiccation. Purity may be checked by high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection, while identity is confirmed by mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance. No pharmacopeial monograph exists, so reported purity and stability depend on the supplier’s methods.
GW501516 acts as a selective agonist at PPARδ, a nuclear receptor that regulates transcription of genes involved in lipid handling and energy metabolism. Activation of PPARδ in preclinical models increases fatty acid oxidation, mitochondrial biogenesis, and exercise endurance in rodents. These effects have made the compound a subject of metabolic research and also a target for sport anti-doping rules. In humans, however, controlled studies are limited, and whether similar endurance or metabolic changes occur at tolerated exposures remains an open question. The receptor’s broad tissue distribution also means downstream effects may vary by organ and condition.
=== Harness with buoyancy compensation === The AP Valves Mk4 Jump Jacket is a harness with integral buoyancy jacket specifically designed for commercial diving work with helmets and bells. There is a direct feed to the jacket from the main air supply, via the helmet side-manifold block, from the pneumo line and from bailout, and a system which allows the diver's pneumo to be directly connected to another diver's helmet as an emergency air supply. The harness supports a single or twin cylinder bailout set, allows buoyancy control from slightly negative through neutral, to sightly positive, and has a safety harness for retaining the helmet.The Jump Jacket also serves as a recovery harness for rescues to the bell, and has front and back lifting points.
== Detection in body fluids == Levamisole may be quantified in blood, plasma, or urine as a diagnostic tool in clinical poisoning situations or to aid in the medicolegal investigation of suspicious deaths involving adulterated street drugs. About 3% of an oral dose is eliminated unchanged in the 24-hour urine of humans. A post mortem blood levamisole concentration of 2.2 mg/L was present in a woman who died of a cocaine overdose.
Steroidogenesis is the biological process by which steroids are generated from cholesterol and changed into other steroids. The pathways of steroidogenesis differ among species. The major classes of steroid hormones, as noted above (with their prominent members and functions), are the progestogens, corticosteroids (corticoids), androgens, and estrogens. Human steroidogenesis of these classes occurs in a number of locations:
In his normal life, he is a quiet programmer for the "respectable software company" Meta Cortex, while in private, he is a computer hacker who penetrates computer systems illicitly and steals information under his hacker alias "Neo". He also sells illegal untraceable computer systems and hacking programs along with controlling computer viruses stashed on CDs and diskettes. During his time as a hacker, Anderson has learned about something known only as "The Matrix". During the years prior to the events of The Matrix, Neo has spent his time trying to find the one man who he thought could tell him what the Matrix was, a supposed terrorist known only as Morpheus. After an encounter with another hacker, Trinity, Anderson is suddenly contacted by Morpheus via a cell phone mailed to his office, but is almost immediately captured by the virtual reality's Agents, led by Agent Smith. After refusing to cooperate with the agents, Neo has an electronic bug implanted within his Matrix-simulated body so that his actions can be tracked, and those seeking to make contact from the free world can be traced and destroyed. He is then contacted by Trinity, freed from the bug, and taken to meet Morpheus. Neo is offered a choice to remain in his everyday life and forget about the Matrix or to learn what the Matrix really is. Choosing the latter option, he takes a drug (commonly called the "red pill"), which is actually a program designed to disrupt his mind's neural connection to the Matrix and make it easier for his real body to be found and awakened in the real world.
== In popular culture == The television medical dramas Heartland (2007) and Three Rivers (2009) were largely based on UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh's Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute. In both cases the hospitals are fictionalized, but in the latter series UPMC is also specifically referred to as another Pittsburgh-area hospital.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Acetyl (Ac), Benzoyl (Bz) groups — common in oligonucleotide synthesis for protection of N4 in cytosine and N6 in adenine. Removed by base, often aqueous or gaseous ammonia or methylamine. Too stable to readily remove from aliphatic amides. Troc (trichloroethoxycarbonyl) group – Removed by Zn insertion in the presence of acetic acid Tosyl (Ts) group – Removed by concentrated acid (HBr, H2SO4) & strong reducing agents (sodium in liquid ammonia or sodium naphthalenide) Other sulfonamide (Nosyl & Nps) groups — Removed by samarium iodide, thiophenol or other soft thiol nucleophiles, or tributyltin hydride Benzylamines:
Opipramol acts as a high affinity sigma receptor agonist, primarily of the σ1 subtype, but also of the σ2 subtype with lower affinity. In one study of σ1 receptor ligands that also included haloperidol, pentazocine, (+)-3-PPP, ditolylguanidine, dextromethorphan, SKF-10,047 ((±)-alazocine), ifenprodil, progesterone, and others, opipramol showed the highest affinity (Ki = 0.2–0.3) for the guinea pig σ1 receptor of all the tested ligands except haloperidol, which it was approximately equipotent with. The sigma receptor agonism of opipramol is thought to be responsible for its therapeutic benefits against anxiety and depression. Unlike other TCAs, opipramol does not inhibit the reuptake of serotonin or norepinephrine. However, it does act as a high affinity antagonist of the histamine H1 receptor and is a low to moderate affinity antagonist of the dopamine D2, serotonin 5-HT2, and α1-adrenergic receptors. H1 receptor antagonism accounts for its antihistamine effects and associated sedative side effects. In contrast to other TCAs, opipramol has very low affinity for the muscarinic acetylcholine receptors and virtually no anticholinergic effects. Sigma receptors are a set of proteins located in the endoplasmic reticulum. σ1 receptors play key role in potentiating intracellular calcium mobilization thereby acting as sensor or modulator of calcium signaling. Occupancy of σ1 receptors by agonists causes translocation of the receptor from endoplasmic reticulum to peripheral areas (membranes) where the σ1 receptors cause neurotransmitter release.
They noted a glycerin-bile-potato mixture grew bacilli that seemed less virulent and changed the course of their research to see if repeated subculturing would produce a strain that was attenuated enough to be considered for use as a vaccine. The BCG strain was isolated after subculturing 239 times during 13 years from a virulent strain on glycerine potato medium. The research continued throughout World War I until 1919 when the now avirulent bacilli were unable to cause tuberculosis disease in research animals. Calmette and Guerin transferred to the Paris Pasteur Institute in 1919. The BCG vaccine was first used in humans in 1921. Public acceptance was slow, and the Lübeck disaster, in particular, did much to harm it. Between 1929 and 1933 in Lübeck, 251 infants were vaccinated in the first 10 days of life; 173 developed tuberculosis and 72 died. It was subsequently discovered that the BCG administered there had been contaminated with a virulent strain that was being stored in the same incubator, which led to legal action against the vaccine's manufacturers. Dr. R. G. Ferguson, working at the Fort Qu'Appelle Sanatorium in Saskatchewan, was among the pioneers in developing the practice of vaccination against tuberculosis. In Canada, more than 600 children from residential schools were used as involuntary participants in BCG vaccine trials between 1933 and 1945. In 1928, the BCG vaccine was adopted by the Health Committee of the League of Nations (predecessor to the World Health Organization (WHO)).
In July 2020, an anti-drug operation coordinated in Italy by the Italian Guardia di Finanza and Customs and Monopolies Agency seized fourteen tonnes of amphetamines, labeled as Captagon, smuggled from Syria and initially thought by the Italian authorities to have been produced by ISIS, which were found in three shipping containers filled with around 84 million pills, in the southern port of Salerno. In November 2020, Egypt seized two shipments of fenethylline pills at Damietta port coming from Syria. The first had over 3.2 million tablets, while the second contained 11 million. In December 2020, Italian authorities seized about 14 tonnes of fenethylline arriving from Latakia, Syria, and heading towards Libya, consisting of about 85 million pills, worth around $1 billion. In January 2021, Egyptian authorities seized eight tons of fenethylline and another eight tons of hashish at Port Said, from a shipment that arrived from Lebanon. In February 2021, Lebanese customs seized at Beirut port a shipment of 5 million fenethylline pills hidden in a tile-making machine, intended for Greece and Saudi Arabia. In April 2021, Saudi authorities discovered 5.3 million fenethylline pills hidden in fruits imported from Lebanon.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Low-certainty evidence indicates that it mitigates worsening of peripheral neuropathy and disability from disease progression. Inotersen blocks gene expression of both wild-type and mutant TTR, reducing amyloid precursor. Moderate-certainty evidence suggests that it mitigates worsening of peripheral neuropathy. Long-term efficacy and safety of inotersen use in people with mutant TTR-related amyloidosis is still be evaluated in a phase-III clinical trial as of 2021. Both diflunisal and inotersen may also mitigate declines in quality-of-life, though the evidence for this effect is unclear. For people with cardiac ATTR the effect of inotersen use is inconclusive and requires further investigation. In 2018, inotersen was approved by the European Medicines Agency to treat polyneuropathy in adults with hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis. It has since been approved for use in Canada, the European Union and in the USA. Patisiran functions similarly to inotersen. Moderate-certainty evidence suggests that patisiran mitigates worsening of peripheral neuropathy and disability from disease progression. Additionally, low-certainty evidence suggests that patisiran mitigates decreases in quality-of-life and slightly reduces the rate of adverse events versus placebo. There is no evidence of an effect on mortality rate. A review of early data from use of patisiran in people with variant cardiac ATTR suggests that it may reduce mortality and hospitalization, however this is still being investigated and requires further investigation.
Most proteins consist of linear polymers built from series of up to 20 L-α-amino acids. All proteinogenic amino acids have a common structure where an α-carbon is bonded to an amino group, a carboxyl group, and a variable side chain. Only proline differs from this basic structure as its side chain is cyclical, bonding to the amino group, limiting protein chain flexibility. The side chains of the standard amino acids have a variety of chemical structures and properties, and it is the combined effect of all amino acids that determines its three-dimensional structure and chemical reactivity. The amino acids in a polypeptide chain are linked by peptide bonds between amino and carboxyl group. An individual amino acid in a chain is called a residue, and the linked series of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen atoms are known as the main chain or protein backbone. The peptide bond has two resonance forms that confer some double-bond character to the backbone. The alpha carbons are roughly coplanar with the nitrogen and the carbonyl (C=O) group. The other two dihedral angles in the peptide bond determine the local shape assumed by the protein backbone. One consequence of the N-C(O) double bond character is that proteins are somewhat rigid. A polypeptide chain ends with a free amino group, known as the N-terminus or amino terminus, and a free carboxyl group, known as the C-terminus or carboxy terminus. By convention, peptide sequences are written N-terminus to C-terminus, correlating with the order in which proteins are synthesized by ribosomes.
=== Symbolic uses === The signs of the Western and Chinese zodiacs are based on animals. In China and Japan, the butterfly has been seen as the personification of a person's soul, and in classical representation the butterfly is also the symbol of the soul.
==== Hydrides and halides ==== The hydride InH3 has at best a transitory existence in ethereal solutions at low temperatures. It polymerizes in the absence of bases. Lewis bases stabilize a rich collection of indium hydrides of the formula LInH3 (L = tertiary phosphine and N-Heterocyclic carbenes). Chlorination, bromination, and iodination of In produce colorless InCl3, InBr3, and yellow InI3. The compounds are Lewis acids, somewhat akin to the better known aluminium trihalides. Again like the related aluminium compound, InF3 is polymeric. Indium halides dissolves in water to give aquo complexes such as [In(H2O)6]3+ and [InCl2(H2O)4]+. Similar complexes can be prepared from nitrates and acetates. Overall, the pattern is similar to that for aluminium(III).
=== Pets === In 1979, the Van Houweling Research Laboratory of the Silliman University Medical Center in Dumaguete in the Philippines developed and produced a dog vaccine that gave a three-year immunity from rabies. The development of the vaccine resulted in the elimination of rabies in many parts of the Visayas and Mindanao Islands. The successful program in the Philippines was later used as a model by other countries, such as Ecuador and the Mexican state of Yucatán, in their fight against rabies conducted in collaboration with the World Health Organization. In Tunisia, a rabies control program was initiated to give dog owners free of charge vaccination to promote mass vaccination which was sponsored by their government. The vaccine is known as Rabisin (Mérial), which is a cell based rabies vaccine only used countrywide. Vaccinations are often administered when owners take in their dogs for check-ups and visits at the vet. Oral rabies vaccines (see below for details) have been trialled on feral/stray dogs in some areas with high rabies incidence, as it could potentially be more efficient than catching and injecting them. However these have not been deployed for dogs at large scale yet.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Cardarine is a common name for GW501516, a synthetic PPARδ agonist developed for research. It has not been approved as a medication in any country. It is classified as an unapproved drug and a prohibited substance in sport.
No. Cardarine is not an anabolic steroid; it belongs to a different chemical class that targets PPARδ. Steroids act primarily through androgen receptors, while cardarine acts through a nuclear receptor involved in metabolism.
Some rodent studies reported increased endurance and changes in fat metabolism after cardarine exposure. Long-term studies in animals also raised concerns about cancer in certain tissues. Human trial data are limited, so these findings cannot be directly translated to people.
No. Major drug regulators have not approved GW501516 for treating any medical condition. Products sold as cardarine are typically unapproved research chemicals or supplements, so their contents and safety are not assured.