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Identity And Pharmacological Classification — Research Overview

By Editorial Desk · published 2025-12-18 · last reviewed 2026-01-24 · Data

Laboratory compound 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 2026-01-24. Where a claim depends on a specific study, the study is described rather than over-claimed.

Identity and Pharmacological Classification

Published studies have examined GW501516 in animal models of obesity, insulin resistance, and exercise endurance. Early human trials reportedly ended, and development was discontinued after preclinical findings raised concerns about cancer in some rodent studies. Regulatory agencies have not approved cardarine for any medical use. Its availability through non-pharmaceutical channels raises questions about identity, purity, and legal status that are separate from its laboratory pharmacology. Those questions are often addressed through analytical testing rather than assumptions about product labels.

Cardarine is a common name for GW501516, also GW-1516, a synthetic compound developed as a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta (PPARδ) agonist. It belongs to a class of agents that modulate gene transcription related to lipid and energy metabolism. The compound was studied in preclinical and early clinical research for metabolic and cardiovascular conditions, but it did not progress to approved therapeutic use. Its name appears in fitness and sports contexts despite not being approved as a drug.

PPARδ is a nuclear receptor that influences transcription of genes involved in fatty acid oxidation, lipid transport, and energy homeostasis. GW501516 binds and activates this receptor with high selectivity relative to PPARα and PPARγ in laboratory assays. Activation alters expression of target genes in skeletal muscle, liver, and adipose tissue in animal models. The exact clinical consequences of these changes in humans remain incompletely characterized, and observed effects in animals do not establish therapeutic benefit or safety.

Detection, Regulation, and Quality Context

Because cardarine is not an approved medicine, no pharmacopeial monograph defines its identity, purity, or storage requirements. Laboratories typically rely on in-house methods and reference standards when testing materials labeled as GW501516. Certificates of analysis may report purity and identity for a specific batch, but their scope varies and they do not guarantee safety or legal status. Independent verification can include high-performance liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, and elemental analysis. The distinction between research chemical labeling and human use is significant because quality standards and oversight differ.

Cardarine can be detected in biological samples and product materials using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The method separates compounds by chromatography and identifies them by mass-to-charge transitions, allowing low-level detection in urine or blood. Sample preparation often involves enzymatic hydrolysis, solid-phase extraction, or protein precipitation. Certified reference materials and isotope-labeled internal standards improve quantification. Detection windows depend on metabolism, matrix, and assay sensitivity, so no single universal window applies.

Regulatory treatment of cardarine differs by context and jurisdiction. In competitive sport, the World Anti-Doping Agency lists PPARδ agonists, including GW501516, as prohibited at all times. Outside sport, it lacks approval as a prescription medicine in major drug markets, and products sold for human consumption may be treated as unapproved drugs. Some countries also restrict importation or sale through general consumer protection and medicines laws. These classifications affect availability, testing, and legal risk without establishing therapeutic value.

Cardarine at a glance

PropertyValueNotes
Chemical classPPARδ agonistNot an anabolic steroid.
Common synonymsGW501516, GW-1516Cardarine is an informal name.
AppearanceWhite to off-white powderTypical for research-grade solid.
Solubility classPoorly soluble in water; soluble in some organic solventsSuch as DMSO or ethanol in laboratory settings.
Typical storage temperatureCool, dry, protected from lightSpecific conditions vary by supplier and form.

Mechanism and Detection Methods

Detection of GW501516 in biological samples generally relies on liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Urine is a common matrix in anti-doping analysis, while blood or plasma may be used in research settings. Sample preparation can involve enzymatic hydrolysis, protein precipitation, or solid-phase extraction before instrumental analysis. Because the compound undergoes metabolism, assays may target the parent molecule, one or more metabolites, or both. Detection windows are not fixed; they depend on factors such as dose, route, individual metabolism, and assay sensitivity. Reference standards are required for accurate identification and quantification.

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.

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Identity and Pharmacological Mechanism

Cardarine is a common name for GW501516, a synthetic compound studied for its effects on lipid and glucose metabolism. It functions as an agonist at peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta, or PPARδ, a nuclear receptor that influences gene expression. The molecule is not a steroid, nor is it a selective androgen receptor modulator. It is also known in research and sports literature as GW-501516 and endurobol. Early laboratory work examined its metabolic activity in cell cultures and animal models.

Activation of PPARδ changes transcription of genes involved in fatty acid transport, mitochondrial function, and skeletal muscle fuel preference. In rodent studies, pharmacological PPARδ activation was associated with increased endurance and altered body composition. These findings generated interest in performance enhancement, but species differences and study designs limit direct extrapolation to humans. Small human trials were conducted in the 2000s and later discontinued. The extent to which cardarine produces similar metabolic or performance effects in people remains an open question.

Regulation and Analytical Detection

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.

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.

Identity and Regulatory Status

Regulatory treatment varies, but cardarine is not approved as a medicine. Sports authorities list GW501516 as a prohibited substance, and it is banned at all times under the World Anti-Doping Agency code. Many countries restrict sales for human consumption, while online vendors market it as a research chemical. Such products may lack purity data, and their actual contents can differ from the label. Purchasing or possessing cardarine may carry legal consequences depending on jurisdiction. The compound is not a dietary supplement ingredient in regulated markets.

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.

Further detail

Customs and Border Protection, United States Border Patrol, and the United States Coast Guard), state (e.g., Massachusetts State Police Special Investigation Unit, New Jersey State Police organized crime unit, Pennsylvania State Police organized crime unit and the New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation) and city (e.g., New York City Police Department Organized Crime Unit, Philadelphia Police Department Organized crime unit, Chicago Police Organized Crime Unit and the Los Angeles Police Department Special Operations Division) law enforcement agencies.

== Acquisitions == 2000: Icon acquired UK-based regulatory consultancy, YRCR Ltd.; Central Laboratory in New York; and bioanalytical consultancy, Pacific Research 2002: Icon acquired clinical research provider, BPA. 2003: Icon acquired Medieval, a UK-based Phase I facility, and US consulting firm, Globomax 2004: Icon acquired medical imaging specialist, Beacon Bioscience Inc. 2006: Icon acquired outcomes research and health economics specialist, Ovation Research Group 2007: Icon acquired European staffing group, DOCS International 2008: Icon acquired US phase I provider, Healthcare Discoveries and US bioanalytical lab, Prevalere Life Sciences 2009: Icon acquired Veeda Laboratories, a UK biomarker lab 2010: Icon acquired Timaq Medical Imaging Inc.

==== Traumatic brain injury ==== Atomoxetine is sometimes used in the treatment of cognitive impairment and frontal lobe symptoms due to conditions like traumatic brain injury (TBI). It is used to treat ADHD-like symptoms such as sustained attentional problems, disinhibition, lack of arousal, fatigue, and depression, including symptoms from cognitive disengagement syndrome. A 2015 Cochrane review identified only one study of atomoxetine for TBI and found no positive effects. Aside from TBI, atomoxetine was found to be effective in the treatment of akinetic mutism following subarachnoid hemorrhage in a case report.

=== Germany === Germany had two reasons to support Russia. Firstly, it desired to draw Russia's attention to the east, away from itself. Secondly, to enlist Russia's support in establishing German territorial concessions in China. Germany hoped that supporting Russia would encourage Russia, in turn, to support Germany's colonial ambitions, which were especially vexed since Germany had only recently formed itself into a unified nation and had arrived late in the colonial "game". Germany herself had been recently converted to a colonies-seeking Power after the deposition of Bismarck as too conservative and traditionalist by the pro-Weltpolitik and blue-water navy policy Kaiser Wilhelm II, who was also by many accounts taken by a profound anti-Asian racial attitude, fearing the rise of Japanese domination years later after Russia’s defeat in 1905 in the Russo-Japanese War.

The county borders, going anticlockwise from the west: Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Derbyshire, South Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. The terrain of the county mostly consists of the Pennines and its foothills which dominate the west of the county and gradually descend into the Vale of York and Humberhead Levels in the east. Geologically, it lies almost entirely on rocks of carboniferous age which form the inner Southern Pennine fringes in the west and the Yorkshire coalfield further eastwards. In the extreme east of the metropolitan county there are younger deposits of Magnesian Limestone. Areas in the west such as Bradford and Calderdale are dominated by the scenery of the eastern slopes of the South Pennines, dropping from upland in the west down to the east, and dissected by many steep-sided valleys while a small part of the northern Peak District extends into the south west of Kirklees. Large-scale industry, housing, public and commercial buildings of differing heights, transport routes and open countryside conjoin. The dense network of roads, canals and railways and urban development, confined by valleys creates dramatic interplay of views between settlements and the surrounding hillsides, as shaped the first urban-rural juxtapositions of David Hockney. Where most rural the land crops up in the such rhymes and folklore as On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at, date unknown, the early 19th century novels and poems of the Brontë family often in and around Haworth and long-running light comedy-drama Last of the Summer Wine in the 20th century.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Background from the literature

Thionyl chloride is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula SOCl2. It is a moderately volatile, colourless liquid with an unpleasant acrid odour. Thionyl chloride is primarily used as a chlorinating reagent, with approximately 45,000 tonnes (50,000 short tons) per year being produced during the early 1990s, but is occasionally also used as a solvent. It is toxic, reacts with water, and is also listed under the Chemical Weapons Convention as it may be used for the production of chemical weapons. Thionyl chloride is sometimes confused with sulfuryl chloride, SO2Cl2, but the properties of these compounds differ significantly. Sulfuryl chloride is a source of chlorine whereas thionyl chloride is a source of chloride ions.

==== Psychosis ==== Cocaine has a similar potential to induce temporary psychosis with more than half of cocaine abusers reporting at least some psychotic symptoms at some point. Typical symptoms include paranoid delusions that they are being followed and that their drug use is being watched, accompanied by hallucinations that support the delusional beliefs. Delusional parasitosis with formication ('cocaine bugs') is also a fairly common symptom. Cocaine-induced psychosis shows sensitization toward the psychotic effects of the drug. This means that psychosis becomes more severe with repeated intermittent use.

== Products in development == As of September 2014, Eurogentec Biologics was developing a vaccine against bilharziosis called Bilhvax in partnership with INSERM and researchers from the Pasteur Institute; the vaccine candidate was starting Phase III trials at that time.

Paraxanthine (84%): Increases lipolysis, leading to elevated glycerol and free fatty acid levels in blood plasma. Theobromine (12%): Dilates blood vessels and increases urine volume. Theobromine is also the principal alkaloid in the cocoa bean (chocolate). Theophylline (4%): Relaxes smooth muscles of the bronchi, and is used to treat asthma. The therapeutic dose of theophylline, however, is many times greater than the levels attained from caffeine metabolism. 1,3,7-Trimethyluric acid is a minor caffeine metabolite. 7-Methylxanthine is also a metabolite of caffeine. Each of the above metabolites is further metabolized and then excreted in the urine. Caffeine can accumulate in individuals with severe liver disease, increasing its half-life. A 2011 review found that increased caffeine intake was associated with a variation in two genes that increase the rate of caffeine catabolism. Subjects who had this mutation on both chromosomes consumed 40 mg more caffeine per day than others. This is presumably due to the need for a higher intake to achieve a comparable desired effect, not that the gene led to a disposition for greater incentive of habituation. Caffeine can be easily protonated by strong acids to form corresponding caffenium salts. They are of interest because these cations are one of the main species in an acidic medium.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Frequently asked questions

What is cardarine also known as?

Cardarine is commonly known as GW501516 or GW-1516. These names refer to the same synthetic compound. It is not a brand-name approved medicine.

Is cardarine a steroid?

No, cardarine is not a steroid. It is classified as a PPARδ agonist. Its structure and receptor target differ from anabolic steroids.

Has cardarine been approved for human use?

No regulatory agency has approved cardarine as a medicine. It was investigated in early research but development was discontinued. It is not available as a prescription drug.

How is cardarine detected in anti-doping tests?

Anti-doping laboratories typically use LC-MS/MS to detect GW501516 and its metabolites in urine. The method is sensitive and can identify the compound at low concentrations. Detection depends on sample timing, metabolism, and the specific assay.

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