DHB
Active ingredient: 1-testosterone (dihydroboldenone). The boldenone reduced at position 5, not aromatizable. Also produced in the body from the over-the-counter 1-Andro preparations. Never tested for effect on humans; The circulating ratio is not supported in animal experiments.
Auch bekannt als: Dihydroboldenon, 1-Test Cyp, 1-Testosterone, DHB, 1-TC, 1-Testosteron-Cypionat
What it is
DHB is 1-testosterone, chemically 17β-hydroxy-5α-androst-1-en-3-one. The molecular formula is C₁₉H₂₈O₂. The common name dihydroboldenone describes the relationship correctly: it is the one reduced at position 5 Boldenone, like that Dihydrotestosterone which is reduced testosterone. It is administered as an ester, usually as cypionate.
It was never a medicine. Another way in which this substance gets into people is noteworthy: the over-the-counter preparations of the “1-Andro” series contain 3β-hydroxy-5α-androst-1-en-17-one, and after ingestion it is found 1-Testosterone among the main degradation products in urine. Anyone who takes such a preparation is essentially taking this substance.
How it works
Why it can't be flavored
The aromatase needs a ring A with a keto group on 3 and a double bond between C4 and C5. In 1-testosterone, the ring at position 5 is reduced and the double bond is located between C1 and C2. This material is created from none Estradiol.
The common claim that DHB aromatizes at about half the rate of testosterone is therefore not only unsubstantiated, but structurally impossible. In practical terms, this means: no estrogen-related water retention, no gynecomastia caused by the substance itself, and a aromatase inhibitors has nothing to inhibit. At the same time, it is said that when used alone, the protective estradiol is no longer present, see Estrogen.
What was measured at the nearest relative
There is no effectiveness study on 1-testosterone itself. There is one for methyl-1-testosterone, the same molecule with an additional methyl group at C17, and it is thorough. In the yeast test system, the substance proved to be a potent androgen. In rats it increased after injection under the skin dose-dependent both the weight of the prostate and the levator ani muscle. When swallowed, it had no effect on muscle weight, but it stimulated cell division in the prostate and changed the amount of IGF-1 and androgen receptor in the calf muscle. The measurement of a liver enzyme indicated a strong effect in the liver, and significantly stronger after swallowing.
The first of these findings contradicts the common ratio. A steroid with a clear preference for the muscle would have to make the muscle grow stronger than the prostate in the Hershberger experiment; here both increased dose-dependently. This can only be transferred with caution: it is a rat experiment, and methyl-1-testosterone is not DHB, but its methylated form. What can be transferred is the warning about a number for which no measurement could be found.
The metabolism
Like any anabolic steroid, this one is metabolized in the liver and excreted in the urine; A review of doping control deals with the metabolism of 26 of these substances in humans, including the changes to the individual rings. After taking the precursor, in addition to 1-testosterone, 1-androstenedione and several reduced forms were found in the urine. At the same time, the usual key figures of the steroid profile changed, especially the ratios of androsterone to etiocholanolone and the two androstanediols as well as the concentration of dihydrotestosterone. A characteristic degradation product was still detectable nine days later after a single dose.
What the studies show
There is no effectiveness study in humans. No controlled study, no dose determination, no measurement of strength or muscle mass, no safety data. The search was for 1-testosterone, dihydroboldenone and the precursor preparations; What comes back is doping analysis and an animal experiment on the methylated sibling substance.
The only documented human experiment is a single dose of a confiscated dietary supplement to a volunteer, and its purpose was evidence, not effect. After all, it proves the point that makes this substance interesting beyond its niche use: 1-testosterone is produced in the human body from a preparation that was sold as a dietary supplement.
The observation that DHB causes particularly severe pain at the injection site is widespread among users and has not been proven in the literature. It is also not a property of the active ingredient alone: How much an injection hurts depends on the solvent, the concentration and the processing, and for a substance that is not manufactured medicinally, all of this varies from batch to batch.
For the substance class as a whole, a review article describes short-term administration increases in strength of around 5 to 20 percent of the initial value and 2 to 5 kg of body weight, as well as increased blood pressure, reduced HDL cholesterol and a disruption in one's own hormone production, which can last months after discontinuation. Why some derivatives have a stronger effect on the muscle than on the skin and prostate is not completely clear; The tissue-dependent control of the amount of receptors and the metabolism within the cell are considered to be crucial.
Dosage
- There is no tested dose. The usual 200 to 400 mg per week comes from the scene. There is not a single dose-response measurement on humans for the substance itself.
- An aromatase inhibitor is irrelevant here. No estradiol is produced from DHB; an inhibitor just lowers the estradiol from other sources in the stack and brings its side effects.
- A testosterone base belongs next to it. Without aromatization and with suppressed own production, androgen and estrogen are simultaneously low, with the well-known consequences for joints, libido and mood.
- Anyone who takes a “1-Andro” preparation is taking this substance. The precursor is converted into 1-testosterone in the body. This is not a mild-effect dietary supplement, but a different presentation of the same anabolic steroid.
- The substance is not an option for tested athletes. A characteristic degradation product was still detectable nine days later after a single dose, and the steroid profile shifted measurably.
- Initial values before the first injection. blood pressure, lipid profile, Hematocrit, testosterone and LH. For a substance without any safety data, your own measurement is the only feedback.
Side effects
Prostate and androgenic effects
What happens: The substance is already reduced at position 5 and is used by the 5-alpha reductase not further reinforced. A favorable profile is usually derived from this. The animal experiment on the methylated sibling substance does not support this: prostate and muscle weight both increased dose-dependently, and after swallowing, the substance stimulated cell division in the prostate without affecting the muscle.
What it depends on: Of dose and route of absorption. The finding comes from rats and from a related, not the same, molecule. What follows from this is: The expectation of a particularly prostate-friendly steroid has no basis. Acne and accelerated androgenetic hair loss are to be expected as with any 5α-reduced androgen. What you can do: A 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor does not help because the substance is already reduced. What remains is local agents, the dose and, for older users, a PSA test before starting.
Liver
What happens: DHB is not alkylated at C17 and is therefore considered liver-friendly. For the methylated sibling substance, the measurement of a liver enzyme indicated a strong effect in the liver, significantly stronger after swallowing than after injection.
What it depends on: On the uptake route and on alkylation. What follows from this is: The finding concerns the methylated form and the oral route, i.e. exactly what DHB as an injected, non-alkylated substance is not. It is therefore more of an argument against the swallowed “1-Andro” preparations than against DHB itself. What you can do: Measure transaminases before the start and during the course, and if there is an increase Bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase have a say before the value is attributed to the training.
Blood lipids, blood pressure and blood count
What happens: For the substance class, a review article mentions increased blood pressure and reduced blood pressure HDL cholesterol together with its sub-factions as the relevant risk changes; Androgens also stimulate blood formation.
What it depends on: Of dose and duration. There are no figures specifically for DHB. What follows from this is: Since no estradiol is produced, the proportion that has a beneficial effect on blood lipids in men is missing; This suggests a less favorable effect than with an aromatizable androgen. This has not been proven for this substance. What you can do: Lipid profile, blood pressure and Hematocrit before the start and after four weeks, see Cardiovascular risks associated with AAS.
Your own axis
What happens: An supplied androgen drives the HPTA axis down, LH and FSH fall. After taking the precursor preparation, the body's steroid profile shifted measurably, including the concentration of dihydrotestosterone.
What it depends on: From the dose and duration, and in the case of cypionate from the long delivery time of the ester. A measurement of LH, FSH and testosterone under DHB could not be found; For this class of substances, the disorder can persist for months after discontinuation. What follows from this is: The suppression does not end with the last injection, and without aromatization the estradiol is eliminated at the same time. What you can do: Determine testosterone and LH before starting and after discontinuation and plan withdrawal. For the restart HCG and Clomiphene the established remedies, both requiring a prescription.
Classification
DHB is a substance with a clean chemical description and no human testing. What can be proven is its origin: it is the 5α-reduced boldenone, It cannot be flavored and is produced in the body from the over-the-counter preparations of the “1-Andro” series. The last point is the most important of this article because it connects two things that are sold separately: a niche injectable steroid and an off-the-shelf capsule.
Two common statements do not hold water. The low aromatization is not low, but none, and that follows from the ring system. And the ratio of 200 to 100 is not supported in the only relevant animal experiment: there, the prostate and muscle both grew dose-dependently.
What the material does in the muscle remains an open question. The user reports describe consistent gains without water retention, and that is exactly what is to be expected with a non-aromatizable androgen. Nobody has tested whether there is more to it than any other non-aromatizable steroid.
What would decide the matter would be the experiment that has already been done with the methylated sibling substance, only with DHB itself: a Hershberger experiment that measures prostate and muscle weight separately. He would answer whether the ratio that gives the substance its reputation actually has an equivalent. As long as it is absent, DHB is an androgen with no known peculiarity other than what is apparent.
Sources
- Parr MK et al. Seized designer supplement named 1-Androsterone: identification as 3beta-hydroxy-5alpha-androst-1-en-17-one and its urinary elimination. Steroids. 2011. PubMed
- Parr MK et al. Endocrine characterization of the designer steroid methyl-1-testosterone: investigations on tissue-specific anabolic-androgenic potency, side effects, and metabolism. Endocrinology. 2011. PubMed
- Schaenzer W. Metabolism of anabolic androgenic steroids. Clin Chem. 1996. PubMed
- Hartgens F, Kuipers H. Effects of androgenic-anabolic steroids in athletes. Sports Med. 2004. PubMed
- Kicman AT. Pharmacology of anabolic steroids. Br J Pharmacol. 2008. PubMed
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