20-Hydroxyecdysone

20-Hydroxyecdysone at a Glance

20-Hydroxyecdysone is the principal ecdysteroid — a polyhydroxylated sterol (cholesterol-derived, not a triterpene) that is at once the main moulting hormone of insects and the dominant phytoecdysteroid in plants. It reaches this database as an unquantified constituent of black ant, suma, maca and wireweed (Sida acuta), the molecule usually invoked to explain their “adaptogenic” or “anabolic” reputations.

It is the “non-conventional anabolic” of the supplement world, and unusually for a phytochemical its load-bearing evidence is human: a 2019 resistance-training RCT of the isolated compound reported greater muscle-mass and strength gains ^{1Reference 1Isenmann E et al. · 2019Clinical trialEcdysteroids as non-conventional anabolic agent: performance enhancement by ecdysterone supplementation in humansView study →}. The mechanistic twist is what separates it from anabolic steroids — the muscle effect runs through estrogen receptor beta, not the androgen receptor ^{2,3Reference 2Parr MK et al. · 2014Estrogen receptor beta is involved in skeletal muscle hypertrophy induced by the phytoecdysteroid ecdysteroneView study →Reference 3Tariq S et al. · 2025Molecular insights into the role of estrogen receptor beta in ecdysterone-mediated anabolic activityView study →}.

Two caveats gate the whole story. Oral bioavailability is poor ^{6,7Reference 6Bellahreche Z · 2023Bellahreche Z, Dahmani Y (2023). 20-Hydroxyecdysone bioavailability and pharmacokinetics in Gerbillus tarabuli, a gerbil model for metabolic syndrome studies. Steroids. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37355000/View study →Reference 7Dinan L et al. · 2021AnimalEcdysteroid metabolism in mammals: the fate of ingested 20-hydroxyecdysone in mice and ratsView study →}, and the human trial used a purified capsule — not the ant, suma, maca or Sida that carry 20E into this database. And the supplement market is so unreliable that measured product content diverges widely from labels, prompting WADA to add ecdysterone to its Monitoring Program in 2020 — flagged, not banned ^{1,16Reference 1Isenmann E et al. · 2019Clinical trialEcdysteroids as non-conventional anabolic agent: performance enhancement by ecdysterone supplementation in humansView study →Reference 16U.S · 2020Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)View study →}.

The Ecdysterone Anabolic Claim

The marquee — and unusually human — signal. The Isenmann 2019 RCT is the load-bearing isolate trial: 46 young resistance-trained men, a 10-week strength-training programme, ecdysterone capsules versus placebo, with the ecdysterone group gaining significantly more muscle mass and one-rep-max bench-press strength and showing no rise in liver or kidney toxicity markers ^{1Reference 1Isenmann E et al. · 2019Clinical trialEcdysteroids as non-conventional anabolic agent: performance enhancement by ecdysterone supplementation in humansView study →}. Strikingly, the authors themselves recommended adding ecdysterone to the anti-doping Prohibited List.

The caveats are structural, not incidental, and should travel with the claim:

• Small, single-lab N. One 46-man RCT, no independent human replication.
• Product-label mismatch. The same group documented that commercial ecdysterone products’ actual content deviates widely from the label — so even the trial “dose” is uncertain ^{1Reference 1Isenmann E et al. · 2019Clinical trialEcdysteroids as non-conventional anabolic agent: performance enhancement by ecdysterone supplementation in humansView study →}.
• It belongs to the isolate. The effect was shown for a purified compound, never for black ant, suma, maca or wireweed as consumed.
• Ongoing debate. The anabolic-and-anti-doping question is unsettled, which is precisely why the compound sits on a monitoring list rather than either a clean-bill or a ban.

Beyond this trial, isolate 20E (as the pharmaceutical candidate BIO101) has been pursued in sarcopenia and neuromuscular / cardio-metabolic programmes ^{5Reference 5Dinan L et al. · 2021ReviewDinan L, et al. (2021). 20-Hydroxyecdysone, from plant extracts to clinical use: therapeutic potential for the treatment of neuromuscular, cardio-metabolic and respiratory diseases (Review). Biomedicines. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33947076/View study →}; the source herbs have no controlled anabolic trials of their own.

Estrogen Receptor Beta, Not Androgen

The mechanism is the credibility of the anabolic story and the clean split from testosterone-type anabolics. Ecdysterone induces skeletal-muscle hypertrophy through estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) — the effect is abolished by an ERβ-selective antagonist and, tellingly, not by an androgen-receptor antagonist ^{2Reference 2Parr MK et al. · 2014Estrogen receptor beta is involved in skeletal muscle hypertrophy induced by the phytoecdysteroid ecdysteroneView study →}, a distinction reinforced by a 2025 molecular-docking study of ERβ binding ^{3Reference 3Tariq S et al. · 2025Molecular insights into the role of estrogen receptor beta in ecdysterone-mediated anabolic activityView study →}. Downstream, it increases protein synthesis by roughly 20% in murine C2C12 and human myotubes via a PI3K/Akt pathway ^{4Reference 4Gorelick-Feldman J et al. · 2008Phytoecdysteroids increase protein synthesis in skeletal muscle cellsView study →}. In humans it shows no measurable androgen- or glucocorticoid-receptor activity ^{1,5Reference 1Isenmann E et al. · 2019Clinical trialEcdysteroids as non-conventional anabolic agent: performance enhancement by ecdysterone supplementation in humansView study →Reference 5Dinan L et al. · 2021ReviewDinan L, et al. (2021). 20-Hydroxyecdysone, from plant extracts to clinical use: therapeutic potential for the treatment of neuromuscular, cardio-metabolic and respiratory diseases (Review). Biomedicines. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33947076/View study →}.

This is the point that most distinguishes 20E from anabolic steroids: same broad goal (muscle), entirely different receptor. It is not an androgen. A separate, newer proposal — activation of the Mas1 receptor in the renin–angiotensin system — is offered to unify its wider metabolic and cardioprotective effects ^{5Reference 5Dinan L et al. · 2021ReviewDinan L, et al. (2021). 20-Hydroxyecdysone, from plant extracts to clinical use: therapeutic potential for the treatment of neuromuscular, cardio-metabolic and respiratory diseases (Review). Biomedicines. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33947076/View study →}, but both routes remain preclinical mechanistic claims, not clinically confirmed drug targets.

What It's Used For

Beyond the anabolic headline, 20E’s pharmacology is largely preclinical, and the discipline is the isolate-versus-herb split: the human and mechanistic findings used purified compound, while the herbs that carry it into the database were never the thing tested.

Evidence by IndicationStrength of support · Beta

Support is an experimental score — weighted by study type (human > animal > in vitro) and volume. A beta, not a validated metric. One small isolate human trial plus preclinical work, so scores stay modest by design.

01Anabolic / ergogenicShaky44%One human RCT + ERβ mechanism + myotube protein synthesis ^{1,2,4Reference 1Isenmann E et al. · 2019Clinical trialEcdysteroids as non-conventional anabolic agent: performance enhancement by ecdysterone supplementation in humansView study →Reference 2Parr MK et al. · 2014Estrogen receptor beta is involved in skeletal muscle hypertrophy induced by the phytoecdysteroid ecdysteroneView study →Reference 4Gorelick-Feldman J et al. · 2008Phytoecdysteroids increase protein synthesis in skeletal muscle cellsView study →}

02Metabolic / glycaemicShaky30%Rodent anti-diabetic / hypolipidaemic + metabolic-syndrome models ^{5,13Reference 5Dinan L et al. · 2021ReviewDinan L, et al. (2021). 20-Hydroxyecdysone, from plant extracts to clinical use: therapeutic potential for the treatment of neuromuscular, cardio-metabolic and respiratory diseases (Review). Biomedicines. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33947076/View study →Reference 13Sundaram R et al. · 2012AnimalEfficacy of 20-OH-ecdysone on hepatic key enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism in streptozotocin-induced diabetic ratsView study →}

03Hepatoprotective / adaptogenicShaky24%Preclinical hepatoprotective + “adaptogen” review synthesis ^{5Reference 5Dinan L et al. · 2021ReviewDinan L, et al. (2021). 20-Hydroxyecdysone, from plant extracts to clinical use: therapeutic potential for the treatment of neuromuscular, cardio-metabolic and respiratory diseases (Review). Biomedicines. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33947076/View study →}

Mechanisms

The ERβ route (Parr 2014 ^{2Reference 2Parr MK et al. · 2014Estrogen receptor beta is involved in skeletal muscle hypertrophy induced by the phytoecdysteroid ecdysteroneView study →}, reinforced by a 2025 molecular-docking study ^{3Reference 3Tariq S et al. · 2025Molecular insights into the role of estrogen receptor beta in ecdysterone-mediated anabolic activityView study →}) is the credibility of the anabolic story and the key distinction from testosterone-type anabolics. The Mas1-receptor proposal ^{5Reference 5Dinan L et al. · 2021ReviewDinan L, et al. (2021). 20-Hydroxyecdysone, from plant extracts to clinical use: therapeutic potential for the treatment of neuromuscular, cardio-metabolic and respiratory diseases (Review). Biomedicines. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33947076/View study →} is newer and mainly explains the broader metabolic effects; both are still preclinical mechanistic claims, not clinically confirmed drug targets.

Pharmacokinetics

Poor oral bioavailability is the central limit — and the big isolate-vs-hype caveat. 20-Hydroxyecdysone is a lipophilic sterol with very low water solubility (~0.084 mg/mL), so gut absorption is limited. Reported oral bioavailability is roughly 1% in laboratory rodents and ~12% in a gerbil model, with a short plasma half-life on the order of ~30 minutes ^{6Reference 6Bellahreche Z · 2023Bellahreche Z, Dahmani Y (2023). 20-Hydroxyecdysone bioavailability and pharmacokinetics in Gerbillus tarabuli, a gerbil model for metabolic syndrome studies. Steroids. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37355000/View study →}. After ingestion 20E reaches the large intestine within ~30 min, where microbiota strip the 14-hydroxyl and reduce the 6-one; a set of poststerone-type metabolites (14-deoxy-20E, poststerone, 14-deoxypoststerone) then forms in the liver and undergoes entero-hepatic recycling (hepatic glucuronidation, intestinal deconjugation), which keeps plasma levels low but non-zero (≤~0.2 µM) — arguably enough for some pharmacology despite the short half-life — before near-total faecal elimination within 48 h ^{7Reference 7Dinan L et al. · 2021AnimalEcdysteroid metabolism in mammals: the fate of ingested 20-hydroxyecdysone in mice and ratsView study →}. Net: a molecule whose in-vitro and injected-rodent potency badly outruns what an oral capsule (let alone a pinch of herb) can plausibly deliver systemically.

Clinical trials

The Isenmann 2019 RCT is the load-bearing isolate human trial: 46 young men, 10-week strength-training intervention, ecdysterone vs. placebo, greater muscle-mass and bench-press gains, no liver/kidney toxicity signal — and the authors themselves recommended adding ecdysterone to the anti-doping Prohibited List ^{1Reference 1Isenmann E et al. · 2019Clinical trialEcdysteroids as non-conventional anabolic agent: performance enhancement by ecdysterone supplementation in humansView study →}. The caveats are structural, not incidental: small single-lab N, the same group’s finding that commercial products’ actual ecdysterone content deviates from the label, and an unsettled anti-doping/efficacy debate. Beyond it, isolate 20E (as pharmaceutical candidate BIO101) has been pursued in sarcopenia and neuromuscular/cardio-metabolic trials ^{5Reference 5Dinan L et al. · 2021ReviewDinan L, et al. (2021). 20-Hydroxyecdysone, from plant extracts to clinical use: therapeutic potential for the treatment of neuromuscular, cardio-metabolic and respiratory diseases (Review). Biomedicines. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33947076/View study →}; the source herbs have no controlled anabolic trials of their own.

Last checked: July 2026.

WADA Status & Supplement Label Accuracy

Two linked realities gate any practical use of 20E, and both point the same way: you often cannot know what you are actually taking.

Anti-doping status — monitored, not banned. Following the human anabolic data, WADA placed ecdysterone on its Monitoring Program in 2020. That is deliberately not the Prohibited List: it means the agency is watching for misuse patterns, not sanctioning use ^{16Reference 16U.S · 2020Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)View study →}. For competitive athletes the practical read is that it is a moving target — legal today, but flagged, and the Isenmann authors themselves argued it belongs among prohibited substances ^{1Reference 1Isenmann E et al. · 2019Clinical trialEcdysteroids as non-conventional anabolic agent: performance enhancement by ecdysterone supplementation in humansView study →}.

Supplement label accuracy — poor. The human-trial group also documented that commercial ecdysterone supplements’ measured content diverges substantially from label claims ^{1Reference 1Isenmann E et al. · 2019Clinical trialEcdysteroids as non-conventional anabolic agent: performance enhancement by ecdysterone supplementation in humansView study →}. That single finding undercuts a lot: it means real-world exposure (and any contaminant load) is poorly controlled, that the studied “dose” is itself uncertain, and that a monitored athlete cannot be confident of what a given capsule delivers. Taken together, the poor label accuracy is why even the trial dose carries an asterisk, and why the doping-monitoring flag matters.

Isolate vs. Plant Studies

This is the decisive distinction for the page. Every human and mechanistic finding above used the isolated molecule — purified/synthetic ecdysterone capsules in the RCT ^{1Reference 1Isenmann E et al. · 2019Clinical trialEcdysteroids as non-conventional anabolic agent: performance enhancement by ecdysterone supplementation in humansView study →}, recombinant-receptor and myotube systems for the ERβ/PI3K mechanism ^{2,4Reference 2Parr MK et al. · 2014Estrogen receptor beta is involved in skeletal muscle hypertrophy induced by the phytoecdysteroid ecdysteroneView study →Reference 4Gorelick-Feldman J et al. · 2008Phytoecdysteroids increase protein synthesis in skeletal muscle cellsView study →}. That is a genuine strength (the anabolic signal is not confounded by a plant matrix), but it cuts the other way for our database: the effect has never been demonstrated for black ant, suma, maca or wireweed as consumed. 20E is a documented isolate from Pfaffia (suma) roots ^{10Reference 10Li J et al. · 2010Triterpenoids from Brazilian ginseng, Pfaffia paniculataView study →} and from Sida acuta (wireweed), where it also serves as an HPTLC quality marker across Sida species ^{11,12Reference 11Kamdoum BC et al. · 2022Chemical constituents of two Cameroonian medicinal plants: Sida rhombifolia L. and Sida acuta Burm. f. (Malvaceae) and their antiplasmodial activityView study →Reference 12Rahate KP et al. · 2024Densitometric method for assessment of six specialized metabolites in four Sida sp. and its congener Abutilon indicumView study →}; in black ant it is repeatedly asserted but not quantified; and in maca it is low or debated — it does not feature in comprehensive maca phytochemical reviews ^{15Reference 15da Silva Leitão Peres N et al. · 2020ReviewMedicinal effects of Peruvian maca (Lepidium meyenii): a reviewView study →}. So the honest read is: strong isolate evidence, real mechanism, but a herb-to-effect chain that is unproven at every link that matters (content, dose delivered, whole-herb testing).

Its Role in Insects

The name is the biology. Ecdysteroid comes from the Greek ékdysis, “moulting,” and 20-hydroxyecdysone is the active moulting hormone of insects and crustaceans — the endogenous signal that triggers ecdysis, the shedding and replacement of the exoskeleton as the animal grows. Invertebrates synthesise it from dietary sterols (they cannot make sterols de novo): cholesterol is converted to the prohormone ecdysone, which peripheral tissues then hydroxylate at C-20 to yield 20E, the principal circulating active form ^{8Reference 8Lafont R · 2003ReviewPractical uses for ecdysteroids in mammals including humans: an update (Review)View study →}.

This animal role is what makes 20E unusual among the phytochemicals here — it is genuinely a hormone, just not a mammalian one. In plants the same molecule is repurposed defensively: phytoecdysteroids are thought to disrupt the moulting and development of invertebrate herbivores that ingest them, which is the leading explanation for why ~5–6% of plant species make ecdysteroids at all ^{5,8Reference 5Dinan L et al. · 2021ReviewDinan L, et al. (2021). 20-Hydroxyecdysone, from plant extracts to clinical use: therapeutic potential for the treatment of neuromuscular, cardio-metabolic and respiratory diseases (Review). Biomedicines. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33947076/View study →Reference 8Lafont R · 2003ReviewPractical uses for ecdysteroids in mammals including humans: an update (Review)View study →}. So the molecule’s two identities — insect hormone and plant defence compound — are two sides of the same insect-facing biology, and neither is a mammalian endocrine signal.

Prevalence in Nature

20-Hydroxyecdysone is taxonomically widespread — ecdysteroids occur in an estimated ~5–6% of plant species, where they are thought to deter invertebrate herbivores — and it is almost always the dominant ecdysteroid present ^{5,8Reference 5Dinan L et al. · 2021ReviewDinan L, et al. (2021). 20-Hydroxyecdysone, from plant extracts to clinical use: therapeutic potential for the treatment of neuromuscular, cardio-metabolic and respiratory diseases (Review). Biomedicines. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33947076/View study →Reference 8Lafont R · 2003ReviewPractical uses for ecdysteroids in mammals including humans: an update (Review)View study →}. Richest documented occurrences span several families: Amaranthaceae/Chenopodiaceae (spinach Spinacia oleracea and quinoa Chenopodium quinoa among edible plants — quinoa seed ~184–484 µg/g dry weight, several-fold above spinach ^{9Reference 9Zhu N et al. · 2001Ecdysteroids of quinoa seeds (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.)View study →}; and Pfaffia/suma roots ^{10Reference 10Li J et al. · 2010Triterpenoids from Brazilian ginseng, Pfaffia paniculataView study →}), Asteraceae (Rhaponticum carthamoides, maral/leuzea root — the classic high-yield commercial source, up to ~1–2% dry weight ^{5Reference 5Dinan L et al. · 2021ReviewDinan L, et al. (2021). 20-Hydroxyecdysone, from plant extracts to clinical use: therapeutic potential for the treatment of neuromuscular, cardio-metabolic and respiratory diseases (Review). Biomedicines. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33947076/View study →}), Commelinaceae (Cyanotis arachnoidea, the other major manufacturing source), and Malvaceae (Sida acuta/wireweed ^{11Reference 11Kamdoum BC et al. · 2022Chemical constituents of two Cameroonian medicinal plants: Sida rhombifolia L. and Sida acuta Burm. f. (Malvaceae) and their antiplasmodial activityView study →}). Biosynthetically it is a cholesterol/phytosterol-derived steroid, hydroxylated at C-2, -3, -14, -20, -22 and -25. Content in black ant is unquantified (a gap-tracker item), and the maca attribution is weak/debated ^{15Reference 15da Silva Leitão Peres N et al. · 2020ReviewMedicinal effects of Peruvian maca (Lepidium meyenii): a reviewView study →}.

Source	Level	Notes
Maral root (Rhaponticum carthamoides)	~0.3–2% dry wt	Classic high-yield commercial source 5Reference 5Dinan L et al. · 2021ReviewDinan L, et al. (2021). 20-Hydroxyecdysone, from plant extracts to clinical use: therapeutic potential for the treatment of neuromuscular, cardio-metabolic and respiratory diseases (Review). Biomedicines. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33947076/View study →
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa), seed	~0.02–0.05% dry wt (~184–484 µg/g)	Richest common food source 9Reference 9Zhu N et al. · 2001Ecdysteroids of quinoa seeds (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.)View study →
Spinach (Spinacia oleracea), leaf	~0.03–0.05% dry wt	Dietary source 5Reference 5Dinan L et al. · 2021ReviewDinan L, et al. (2021). 20-Hydroxyecdysone, from plant extracts to clinical use: therapeutic potential for the treatment of neuromuscular, cardio-metabolic and respiratory diseases (Review). Biomedicines. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33947076/View study →
Cyanotis arachnoidea	High (manufacturing source)	Other major extraction feedstock
Suma (Pfaffia paniculata), root	Present (isolate documented)	Not quantified here 10Reference 10Li J et al. · 2010Triterpenoids from Brazilian ginseng, Pfaffia paniculataView study →
Wireweed (Sida acuta)	Present (HPTLC marker)	Quality marker across Sida 11,12Reference 11Kamdoum BC et al. · 2022Chemical constituents of two Cameroonian medicinal plants: Sida rhombifolia L. and Sida acuta Burm. f. (Malvaceae) and their antiplasmodial activityView study →Reference 12Rahate KP et al. · 2024Densitometric method for assessment of six specialized metabolites in four Sida sp. and its congener Abutilon indicumView study →
Black ant (Polyrhachis vicina)	Unquantified	Asserted, not measured

Discovery & Synthesis

Ecdysteroid history begins with the parent hormone. In 1954 Adolf Butenandt and Peter Karlson at the Max Planck Institute isolated ~25 mg of a crystalline moulting hormone from roughly 500 kg of silkworm (Bombyx mori) pupae and named it ecdysone — from the Greek ékdysis, “moulting” ^{8Reference 8Lafont R · 2003ReviewPractical uses for ecdysteroids in mammals including humans: an update (Review)View study →}. Its structure was solved by X-ray crystallography in 1965, and by 1966 the more active 20-hydroxy form (20E) was identified as the principal circulating moulting hormone; phytoecdysteroids were recognised in plants around the same period, at concentrations dwarfing those in insects. Today 20E is not made by total synthesis for commercial use — it is extracted from ecdysteroid-rich plants, chiefly Rhaponticum carthamoides (maral root) and Cyanotis arachnoidea, whose high natural yields make extraction far cheaper than synthesis ^{5Reference 5Dinan L et al. · 2021ReviewDinan L, et al. (2021). 20-Hydroxyecdysone, from plant extracts to clinical use: therapeutic potential for the treatment of neuromuscular, cardio-metabolic and respiratory diseases (Review). Biomedicines. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33947076/View study →}; laboratory total and semi-syntheses exist but are not the manufacturing route. Patents: not yet researched.

Toxicity & Safety

20-Hydroxyecdysone reads as low acute toxicity — no hormonal (androgen/glucocorticoid) activity in humans, no liver/kidney toxicity signal in the 10-week human trial, and a long dietary history via spinach and quinoa ^{1,5Reference 1Isenmann E et al. · 2019Clinical trialEcdysteroids as non-conventional anabolic agent: performance enhancement by ecdysterone supplementation in humansView study →Reference 5Dinan L et al. · 2021ReviewDinan L, et al. (2021). 20-Hydroxyecdysone, from plant extracts to clinical use: therapeutic potential for the treatment of neuromuscular, cardio-metabolic and respiratory diseases (Review). Biomedicines. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33947076/View study →}. But “low acute” is not “clean”: the honest cautions are a preclinical genotoxicity signal, an unreliable supplement market, and unproven efficacy outside one trial.

Safety at a Glance

✅ Low / no toxicity

• Low acute toxicity, non-hormonal. No androgen/glucocorticoid-receptor activity in humans; no liver/kidney toxicity markers in the 10-week RCT; dietary exposure via spinach and quinoa ^{1,5Reference 1Isenmann E et al. · 2019Clinical trialEcdysteroids as non-conventional anabolic agent: performance enhancement by ecdysterone supplementation in humansView study →Reference 5Dinan L et al. · 2021ReviewDinan L, et al. (2021). 20-Hydroxyecdysone, from plant extracts to clinical use: therapeutic potential for the treatment of neuromuscular, cardio-metabolic and respiratory diseases (Review). Biomedicines. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33947076/View study →}.
• A genotoxicity signal exists. Isolated β-ecdysone was genotoxic in rodent bone-marrow micronucleus and Allium cepa assays at therapeutic-equivalent doses — enough to warrant caution, not to confirm human risk ^{14Reference 14Neves CS et al. · 2016AnimalThe phytoecdysteroid β-ecdysone is genotoxic in rodent bone marrow micronuclei and Allium cepa L. assaysView study →}.
• Supplement quality is a real problem. Measured ecdysterone content of commercial products deviates widely from label claims; you often can’t know the dose ^{1Reference 1Isenmann E et al. · 2019Clinical trialEcdysteroids as non-conventional anabolic agent: performance enhancement by ecdysterone supplementation in humansView study →}.
• Monitored in sport. Ecdysterone is on WADA’s Monitoring Program (since 2020) — not banned, but flagged for possible misuse; competitive athletes should treat it as a moving target ^{16Reference 16U.S · 2020Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)View study →}.

Full Safety & Interactions Detail

20-Hydroxyecdysone carries a low flag for acute toxicity, justified by the absence of human hormonal activity, the clean liver/kidney panel in the Isenmann RCT, and centuries of dietary exposure through quinoa and spinach ^{1,5Reference 1Isenmann E et al. · 2019Clinical trialEcdysteroids as non-conventional anabolic agent: performance enhancement by ecdysterone supplementation in humansView study →Reference 5Dinan L et al. · 2021ReviewDinan L, et al. (2021). 20-Hydroxyecdysone, from plant extracts to clinical use: therapeutic potential for the treatment of neuromuscular, cardio-metabolic and respiratory diseases (Review). Biomedicines. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33947076/View study →}.

The concrete caveats are three. (1) Genotoxicity: isolated β-ecdysone induced micronuclei in rodent bone marrow and chromosomal/aneugenic damage in the Allium cepa assay at doses equivalent to human therapeutic use, prompting the authors to advise caution with Pfaffia (suma) and other β-ecdysone-containing species ^{14Reference 14Neves CS et al. · 2016AnimalThe phytoecdysteroid β-ecdysone is genotoxic in rodent bone marrow micronuclei and Allium cepa L. assaysView study →} — a single-compound preclinical finding, but the clearest hard signal on the page. (2) Product quality: the human-trial group documented that commercial ecdysterone supplements’ actual content diverges substantially from their labels, so real-world exposure and any contaminant risk are poorly controlled ^{1Reference 1Isenmann E et al. · 2019Clinical trialEcdysteroids as non-conventional anabolic agent: performance enhancement by ecdysterone supplementation in humansView study →}.

(3) Anti-doping status: ecdysterone is not prohibited but was placed on the WADA Monitoring Program in 2020 to watch for misuse patterns, following the human anabolic data ^{16Reference 16U.S · 2020Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)View study →}.

No specific CYP/P-gp interaction dataset is established for the isolate; drug-interaction screening has not been done, so absence of listed interactions is untested, not cleared. Poor oral bioavailability further limits real-world isolate exposure from either capsules or herbs.

Dosage

There is no established or recommended human dose for 20-hydroxyecdysone. The one controlled human trial administered commercial ecdysterone capsules over a 10-week resistance-training programme, but the same investigators showed that such products’ measured content deviates widely from the label ^{1Reference 1Isenmann E et al. · 2019Clinical trialEcdysteroids as non-conventional anabolic agent: performance enhancement by ecdysterone supplementation in humansView study →} — so even the trial “dose” is uncertain, and any single-number recommendation would be false precision. Content in the source herbs here (black ant, suma, maca, wireweed) is not quantified, so a herb-based intake cannot be derived either. These are doses studied in research and are not a personal recommendation.

References

1. Isenmann E, et al. (2019). Ecdysteroids as non-conventional anabolic agent: performance enhancement by ecdysterone supplementation in humans. Archives of Toxicology (Clinical trial). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31123801/
2. Parr MK, et al. (2014). Estrogen receptor beta is involved in skeletal muscle hypertrophy induced by the phytoecdysteroid ecdysterone. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24974955/
3. Tariq S, et al. (2025). Molecular insights into the role of estrogen receptor beta in ecdysterone-mediated anabolic activity. PLoS One. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40455734/
4. Gorelick-Feldman J, et al. (2008). Phytoecdysteroids increase protein synthesis in skeletal muscle cells. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18444661/
5. Dinan L, et al. (2021). 20-Hydroxyecdysone, from plant extracts to clinical use: therapeutic potential for the treatment of neuromuscular, cardio-metabolic and respiratory diseases (Review). Biomedicines. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33947076/
6. Bellahreche Z, Dahmani Y (2023). 20-Hydroxyecdysone bioavailability and pharmacokinetics in Gerbillus tarabuli, a gerbil model for metabolic syndrome studies. Steroids. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37355000/
7. Dinan L, Balducci C, Guibout L, et al. (2021). Ecdysteroid metabolism in mammals: the fate of ingested 20-hydroxyecdysone in mice and rats. Steroids. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33819630/
8. Lafont R, Dinan L (2003). Practical uses for ecdysteroids in mammals including humans: an update (Review). Journal of Insect Science. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15844229/
9. Zhu N, Kikuzaki H, Vastano BC, et al. (2001). Ecdysteroids of quinoa seeds (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11368638/
10. Li J, Jadhav AN, Khan IA (2010). Triterpenoids from Brazilian ginseng, Pfaffia paniculata. Planta Medica. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19941264/
11. Kamdoum BC, et al. (2022). Chemical constituents of two Cameroonian medicinal plants: Sida rhombifolia L. and Sida acuta Burm. f. (Malvaceae) and their antiplasmodial activity. Natural Product Research. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34121522/
12. Rahate KP, et al. (2024). Densitometric method for assessment of six specialized metabolites in four Sida sp. and its congener Abutilon indicum. Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38181556/
13. Sundaram R, Naresh R, Shanthi P, et al. (2012). Efficacy of 20-OH-ecdysone on hepatic key enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Phytomedicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22484004/
14. Neves CS, et al. (2016). The phytoecdysteroid β-ecdysone is genotoxic in rodent bone marrow micronuclei and Allium cepa L. assays. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26626488/
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