Cardarine comes up often in conversation and rarely with the context attached. Here we lay out the basics in order, then work through the practical considerations.
Last reviewed on 2026-05-20. Where a claim depends on a specific study, the study is described rather than over-claimed.
Clinical development stopped after rodent studies showed tumors at multiple sites. Whether those findings predict human cancer risk remains an open question, but they led sponsors to discontinue programs. Human safety data are limited to small, short-term studies that were not designed to assess cancer risk. Reported effects in those studies included changes in blood lipids, but the evidence is insufficient for medical use. Long-term consequences of nonmedical use are not well characterized. Questions about dose, duration, and individual susceptibility remain unresolved.
Cardarine is a common name for GW501516, an investigational compound developed in the 1990s for metabolic conditions. It acts as an agonist at peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta, a nuclear receptor involved in lipid and energy metabolism. The compound is frequently mislabeled as a selective androgen receptor modulator, or SARM, but its molecular target is different. GW501516 reached early clinical testing before development was discontinued. It has no approved therapeutic use in any country. The name cardarine is not a formal international nonproprietary name.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Common synonyms | GW501516; GW-1516; endurobol | GW501516 is the research code |
| Drug class | PPARδ agonist | Not a selective androgen receptor modulator |
| Molecular formula | C21H18F3NO3S2 | Established chemical formula |
| Molar mass | 453.5 g/mol | Calculated from the formula |
| Regulatory status | Prohibited in sport; not approved as medicine | Status varies by country |
A common misconception is that cardarine has been proven safe for human use. In reality, human clinical data are limited, and long-term animal studies have raised concerns about cancer. Another misconception is that it is a supplement or vitamin-like compound. It is a synthetic research chemical with no approved medical indication. Scientific discussion often focuses on its mechanism and detection rather than therapeutic use. Regulatory and anti-doping literature treats it primarily as a prohibited substance.
Cardarine is explicitly prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency under the class of PPARδ agonists. Its presence in urine or blood samples can be detected using mass spectrometry-based methods, often liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Athletes who test positive may face sanctions, including bans from competition. The compound is also regulated as a prescription-only or unapproved drug in many countries. Enforcement varies by jurisdiction, and some regions treat it as a controlled substance. Online sales may occur despite these restrictions, creating quality and legal risks.
Laboratory detection of cardarine typically involves sample preparation followed by chromatographic separation and mass spectrometric identification. Urine is the most common matrix for anti-doping tests, though blood and hair have also been explored. Methods can target the parent compound or its metabolites, depending on the expected window of detection. Reference standards are required for accurate quantification. Matrix effects and dilution can influence results, so laboratories use internal standards and validation protocols. The exact detection window varies with dose, route, and individual metabolism.
Products sold as cardarine have been found to contain incorrect compounds, variable amounts, or no active ingredient at all. Independent testing is required to verify identity and purity. Common analytical approaches include high-performance liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance for structural confirmation. These methods can distinguish GW501516 from related PPAR agonists and from unrelated steroids. For regulators and researchers, such verification is central to interpreting both biological results and adverse event reports.
Cardarine is prohibited in competitive sport under the World Anti-Doping Agency code, where it is classified as a metabolic modulator. It is not approved as a prescription medicine in the United States, European Union, or other major markets. Regulatory action has focused on its presence in sports and in products marketed as research chemicals. Because it has no accepted medical indication, supply is often unregulated. This status creates legal and safety uncertainties for anyone who encounters the substance.
Anti-doping laboratories detect GW501516 and its metabolites using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Urine is the most common matrix, though blood and dried blood spots may also be used in some programs. Detection depends on factors such as dose, timing, metabolism, and the sensitivity of the assay. Published methods describe limits of detection in the low nanogram per milliliter range for related compounds. Exact detection windows are not fixed for all situations and remain an area of ongoing study.
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.
Laboratory studies indicate that GW501516 activates PPARδ, a nuclear receptor involved in fatty acid oxidation and energy metabolism. In rodent experiments, treated animals often showed increased endurance and reduced fat mass. These effects were observed under controlled conditions and do not establish safe or effective use in humans. The exact dose-response relationship in humans remains poorly characterized. Species differences in metabolism can affect how results translate across animals and people.
== Supporting mass spectrometry == The dashboard provides support for mass spectrometry providing searches against the chemical data contained in the database based on mass and molecular formula. The dashboard has been applied to non-targeted analysis searching for "known unknowns". Both targeted mass spectrometry and non-targeted mass spectrometry are supported. The searches utilize a search based on "MS-Ready" forms of chemical compounds. Individual chemical substances are collapsed into a form that would be detected by mass spectrometry such that salts are desalted and neutralized and multi-component chemicals are separated into their individual components.
In the latter-mentioned definition of "vegetable", which is used in everyday language, the words "fruit" and "vegetable" are sometimes seen as mutually exclusive. "Fruit" has a precise botanical meaning, being a part that developed from the ovary of a flowering plant. This is considerably different from the word's culinary meaning. While peaches, plums, and oranges are "fruit" in both senses, many items that are vegetables in the common definition, such as eggplants, bell peppers, and tomatoes, are botanically fruits. The question of whether the tomato is a fruit or a vegetable found its way into the United States Supreme Court in 1893. The court ruled unanimously in Nix v. Hedden that a tomato is correctly identified as, and thus taxed as, a vegetable, for the purposes of the Tariff of 1883 on imported produce. However, the court acknowledged that, botanically speaking, a tomato is a fruit.
Rauchfleisch – German term for meat preserved by salting and cold smoking, used for Austrian and Bavarian cuisine Rousong – a dried meat product with a light and fluffy texture similar to coarse cotton, originating from Fujian, China. It also spread to Taiwan. Rousong is used as a topping for many foods, such as congee, tofu, and savory soy milk. Rukuri – A traditional cured meat that originated from Central Kenya which is similar to jerky. It is prepared using thin slices of meat that are cured with honey as a method of preserving it. The meat has a specific taste and can be preserved in the course of several years owing to the special process of making it.
The Schengen rules do not require any other procedures; thus, the Schengen states are free to regulate further details on the content of the registration forms, and identity documents which are to be produced, and may also require the persons exempted from registration by Schengen laws to be registered. A Schengen state is also permitted to reinstate border controls with another Schengen country for a short period where there is a serious threat to that state's "public policy or internal security" or when the "control of an external border is no longer ensured due to exceptional circumstances". When such risks arise out of foreseeable events, the state in question must notify the European Commission in advance and consult with other Schengen states. Since the implementation of the Schengen Agreement, this provision has been invoked frequently by member states, especially in response to the European migrant crisis.
Carefully designing the sequences of the staple strands enables scientists to precisely direct the scaffold strand's folding into a predetermined shape with high precision. On a chemical level, the hydrogen bonds that exist between the complementary base pairs provide strength and stability to the folded DNA origami structures. Additionally, DNA is a relatively stable molecule, offering resilience in physiological conditions. One of the advantages of using a DNA origami nanostructure over an otherwise classified DNA nanostructure is the ease of defining finite structures. In the design of some other DNA nanostructures, it can be impractical to design an extremely large number of individualized strands if the entire structure is composed of smaller strands. One method of bypassing the need for a huge number of different strands is to use repeating units, which comes with the disadvantage of a distribution of sizes and sometimes shapes. DNA Origami, however, forms discrete structures. Applications for DNA origami are primarily focused around the ability to exert fine control on systems, especially by constraining positions of molecules, typically by attachment to the DNA origami nanostructures. Current applications are primarily focused on sensing and drug delivery, but many additional applications have been investigated.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Fulton G. Kitson; Barbara S. Larsen, Charles N. McEwen (1996) Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry: A Practical Guide Academic Press. Barbara S. Larsen; Charles N. McEwen (Eds.) (2014) Mass Spectrometry of Biological Materials. 2nd Edition. CRC Press. Book chapters
=== Ports === Half-Life 2 was released on the Xbox console by Electronic Arts in November 2005. In 2006, Valve partnered with Taito to release Half-Life 2: Survivor, an arcade game, for the Japanese market. Valve re-released Half-Life 2 as part of the 2007 compilation The Orange Box for Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. On May 26, 2010, Half-Life 2, Episode One and Episode Two were released for Mac OS X. In 2013, Valve ported Half-Life 2 to Linux and released a free update adding support for the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. An Nvidia Shield Tablet-exclusive port for Android was released on May 12, 2014.
== Discovery == GnIH was discovered in 2000. It is an RFamide peptide that significantly reduced luteinizing hormone release in Coturnix Japonica (Japanese quail). This peptide emerged as the first tropic hormone known to inhibit gonadotropin secretion in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis of vertebrates. Subsequent research identified GnIH peptide homologs in variety of mammals, including humans.
=== Background === After World War I, the United States pursued a policy of isolationism and declined to join the League of Nations in 1919. Roosevelt had been a supporter of the League of Nations but, by 1935, he told his foreign policy adviser Sumner Welles: "The League of Nations has become nothing more than a debating society, and a poor one at that!". Roosevelt criticized the League for representing the interests of too many nations. He came to favor an approach to global peace secured through the unified efforts of the world's great powers, rather than through the Wilsonian notions of international consensus and collaboration that guided the League of Nations. The idea that great powers should "police" the world had been discussed by President Roosevelt as early as August 1941, during his first meeting with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. When the Atlantic Charter was issued, Roosevelt had ensured that the charter omitted mentioning any American commitment towards the establishment of a new international body after the war. He was reluctant to publicly announce his plans for creating a postwar international body, aware of the risk that the American people might reject his proposals, and he did not want to repeat Woodrow Wilson's struggle to convince the Senate to approve American membership in the League of Nations. Roosevelt's proposal was to create a new international body led by a "trusteeship" of great powers that would oversee smaller countries. In September 1941, he wrote:
The immune system is thought to play an important role in autism. Children with autism have been found by researchers to have inflammation of both the peripheral and central immune systems as indicated by increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and significant activation of microglia. Biomarkers of abnormal immune function have also been associated with increased impairments in behaviors that are characteristic of the core features of autism such as, deficits in social interactions and communication. Interactions between the immune system and the nervous system begin early during the embryonic stage of life, and successful neurodevelopment depends on a balanced immune response. It is thought that activation of a pregnant mother's immune system such as from environmental toxicants or infection can contribute to causing autism through causing a disruption of brain development. This is supported by recent studies that have found that infection during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of autism. Some evidence suggests that gut–brain axis abnormalities may be involved by means of impaired serotonin signaling and inflammation. A 2015 review proposed that immune dysregulation, gastrointestinal inflammation, autonomic nervous system malfunction, gut microbiota alterations, and food metabolites may cause brain neuroinflammation and dysfunction. A 2016 review concluded that enteric nervous system abnormalities might play a role in neurological disorders such as autism.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
No. Cardarine is GW501516, a PPARδ agonist, while SARMs act on androgen receptors. The two classes are often grouped in informal discussions despite different mechanisms.
No. It has no approved medical indication in any country. Regulatory agencies have not cleared it for treatment or prevention of any condition.
Early clinical work stopped after rodent carcinogenicity findings. Those animal results raised concerns about long-term human risk, although direct human evidence is lacking. The human relevance of the tumors remains an open scientific question.
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.