GW501516 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.
Updated 2026-05-24. Numbers and descriptions here follow the published literature rather than marketing material.
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.
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.
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.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| IUPAC name | {4-[({4-methyl-2-[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-1,3-thiazol-5-yl}methyl)sulfanyl]phenoxy}acetic acid | Systematic name for GW501516 |
| CAS Registry Number | 317318-70-0 | Unique identifier for the parent compound |
| Molecular formula | C21H18F3NO3S2 | Includes carbon, hydrogen, fluorine, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur |
| Molecular weight | 453.5 g/mol | Approximate value for the neutral form |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Typical description for purified laboratory material |
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.
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.
Laboratory handling focuses on identity, purity, and stability. Reference standards are typically stored cold and dry, protected from light, because solutions can degrade over time. Analytical checks may use high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection or mass spectrometry. Impurities and related substances can be separated chromatographically and compared with a known standard. Because cardarine is not an approved drug, compendial monographs are absent, and laboratories often rely on in-house methods. Reported purity varies among unregulated products and should not be assumed from a label.
GW501516 binds and activates PPARδ, a nuclear receptor that influences transcription of genes involved in fatty acid oxidation and energy use. Activation shifts some metabolic pathways in preclinical models, which is why the compound has been studied for lipid disorders and exercise-related endpoints. The exact downstream effects in humans are incompletely mapped. PPARδ is expressed in many tissues, including skeletal muscle, liver, and adipose tissue, so broad activation may have varied consequences. Researchers continue to examine how selective or partial activation might alter the balance between benefits and risks.
GW501516 acts on PPARδ, a nuclear receptor that helps regulate fatty acid oxidation and energy homeostasis. In animal studies, activation of this receptor was associated with increased endurance and changes in lipid metabolism. Human trials examined effects on blood lipids and other metabolic markers, but the compound did not advance to approval. Rodent studies later reported tumors in multiple tissues at doses used in those experiments. Whether those findings translate to human risk remains uncertain, and the clinical relevance of the animal data is still debated.
Regulatory bodies treat GW501516 as a prohibited substance in competitive sport. The World Anti-Doping Agency added it to the prohibited list, and it falls under classes covering metabolic modulators and hormone-related agents. It is not approved by drug regulators for human use, and it is not a lawful dietary supplement. Products sold under the cardarine name may contain unlisted ingredients or different compounds. Because no approved product exists, quality and identity are not guaranteed by pharmaceutical manufacturing standards.
The 2000s and 2010s saw significant development in industrial automation of molecules as well as the emergence of general synthesis systems that could synthesise a wide variety of molecules on-demand, whose operation Melanie Trobe and Martin D. Burke compared to that of a 3D printer.
An egg case or egg capsule, often colloquially called a mermaid's purse, is the casing that surrounds the eggs of oviparous chondrichthyans. Living chondricthyans that produce egg cases include some sharks, skates and chimaeras. Egg cases typically contain one embryo, except for big skate and mottled skate egg cases, which contain up to seven embryos. Oviparity is completely absent in the superorder Squalomorphi. Egg cases are also thought to have been produced by some extinct chondrichthyan groups, such as hybodonts and xenacanths.
=== Steroids === Steroid injections have not been shown to have long term benefits for tendonitis, but appear to improve pain and function in the short term more effectively than other treatments except NSAIDs. They appear to have little benefit in tendinitis of the rotator cuff. There are some concerns that they may have negative effects.
There is currently no use for any isotope of berkelium outside basic scientific research. Berkelium-249 is a common target nuclide to prepare still heavier transuranium elements and superheavy elements, such as lawrencium, rutherfordium and bohrium. It is also useful as a source of the isotope californium-249, which is used for studies on the chemistry of californium in preference to the more radioactive californium-252 that is produced in neutron bombardment facilities such as the HFIR. A 22 milligram batch of berkelium-249 was prepared in a 250-day irradiation and then purified for 90 days at Oak Ridge in 2009. This target yielded the first 6 atoms of tennessine at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR), Dubna, Russia, after bombarding it with calcium ions in the U400 cyclotron for 150 days. This synthesis was a culmination of the Russia-US collaboration between JINR and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on the synthesis of elements 113 to 118 which was initiated in 1989.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
=== Obesity === Liraglutide may also be used together with diet and exercise for chronic weight management in adults. Liraglutide led to greater weight loss than some previous glucagon-like peptide analogues, but is less effective than the standard weight loss dose of semaglutide.
Erbium is a chemical element; it has symbol Er and atomic number 68. A silvery-white solid metal when artificially isolated, natural erbium is always found in chemical combination with other elements. It is a lanthanide, a rare-earth element, originally found in the gadolinite mine in Ytterby, Sweden, which is the source of the element's name. Erbium's principal uses involve its pink-colored Er3+ ions, which have optical fluorescent properties particularly useful in certain laser applications. Erbium-doped glasses or crystals can be used as optical amplification media, where Er3+ ions are optically pumped at around 980 or 1480 nm and then radiate light at 1530 nm in stimulated emission. This process results in an unusually mechanically simple laser optical amplifier for signals transmitted by fiber optics. The 1550 nm wavelength is especially important for optical communications because standard single mode optical fibers have minimal loss at this particular wavelength. In addition to optical fiber amplifier-lasers, a large variety of medical applications (e.g. dermatology, dentistry) rely on the erbium ion's 2940 nm emission (see Er:YAG laser) when lit at another wavelength, which is highly absorbed in water in tissues, making its effect very superficial. Such shallow tissue deposition of laser energy is helpful in laser surgery, and for the efficient production of steam which produces enamel ablation by common types of dental laser.
== Composition == The military was mostly composed of white South Africans, who alone were subject to conscription. The permanent force of the Army was 85% Afrikaans speaking. However, black South Africans were the second largest group, and Asians and Coloured citizens with mixed ancestry were eligible to serve as volunteers, several attaining commissioned rank. From 1971 onwards, several black battalions were raised in the Infantry and Service Corps on a tribal basis, most black soldiers serving in these exclusive tribal battalions, which had black NCOs but white commissioned officers. The first black personnel were accepted into commissioned ranks only from 1986, and then only for serving black soldiers and NCOs. The regular Commission would not be open for Bantus until 1991, and then again they would serve only in black units or Support/Service Support units, to avoid having position of authority over white combat arms personnel. The first black officer to be promoted to lieutenant colonel rank and have command over a battalion sized unit was appointed in February 1994. However, black officer candidates from the various Homeland Forces and from South West Africa/SWATF had been accepted since 1981. Units such as the 32 Battalion incorporated many black volunteers, as did the 101 Battalion. Conscription was opposed by organisations such as the End Conscription Campaign, but overall, white morale remained high—as indicated by the few recruits tried for serious disciplinary offences.
== History == In 1983, pioneers of glutathione research, Mary E. Anderson and Alton Meister, were the first to report on the ability of GGC to augment cellular GSH levels in a rat model. Intact GGC, which was synthesised in their own laboratory, was shown to be taken up by cells, bypassing the rate-limiting step of the GCL enzyme to be converted to glutathione. Control experiments with combinations of the constituent amino acids that make up GGC, including L-glutamic acid and L-cysteine, were ineffective. Since this initial work, only a few studies using GGC were performed due to the fact that there was no commercial source of GGC on the market. Subsequently, GGC has become commercially available and studies investigating its efficacy have commenced.
== History == In screening the GSK compound collection and various libraries, a key consideration was to choose a template with good levels of selectivity over the three vasopressin receptors which are structurally similar to the oxytocin receptor. In addition all templates were also assessed by in silico profiling and suitable templates were evaluated in vitro for predicted CNS penetration. This was to decrease the risk that templates would be chosen that would cross the blood brain barrier and thus block the central effects of oxytocin both in the foetus and in the mother. This identified the small, conformationally constrained, homochiral 2,5-DKP scaffold as the preferred template and lead to the success in designing and developing the highly potent and selective, orally active, peripheral oxytocin antagonist Epelsiban as a clinical candidate.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
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.
It is prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency as a hormone and metabolic modulator. Athletes who test positive for GW501516 can face sanctions, including suspensions and loss of results.
Cardarine is a common or trade-style name, while GW501516 is the research code for the same chemical entity. Some sources also use Endurobol or GSK-516. The names refer to the same compound, not distinct drugs.
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.