turkesterone

**Turkesterone** is a naturally occurring phytoecdysteroid—a class of steroid-like compounds found primarily in plants and insects. Structurally related to the insect hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone, turkesterone is primarily extracted from *Ajuga turkestanica* and other plant species. It is purported to exert anabolic effects in mammals, often marketed as a "natural anabolic" supplement for muscle growth and recovery, but is fundamentally non-androgenic, lacking direct interaction with the androgen receptor. Evidence supports that turkesterone may influence protein synthesis via non-hormonal pathways, possibly involving estrogen receptor beta and components of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway, but robust human research is lacking. Most in vivo and clinical data show no meaningful improvement in muscle mass or strength versus placebo in human trials, with the safety profile suggesting no suppression of endogenous hormones or liver toxicity[3][9][10][15][16].

Brand names

turkesterone USPturkesterone SHturkesterone BPturkesterone EPBone grass extract

Other names

turkesteronetucosteroneoxysterone(2S,3R,5R,9R,10R,11R,13R,14S,17S)-2,3,11,14-tetrahydroxy-10,13-dimethyl-17-[(2R,3R)-2,3,6-trihydroxy-6-methylheptan-2-yl]-2,3,4,5,9,11,12,15,16,17-decahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-6-one2,3,11,14,20,22,25-Heptahydroxycholestenone