Everything below concerns fatty acid oxidation. We keep the language plain, cite what the science says, and separate well-supported claims from open questions.
Last reviewed on 2026-05-26. Where a claim depends on a specific study, the study is described rather than over-claimed.
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.
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.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Primary target | PPARδ (NR1C2) | Nuclear receptor involved in lipid metabolism |
| Preclinical effect | Increased fatty acid oxidation | Observed in rodent studies |
| Key safety signal | Tumors in rodents after long-term exposure | Contributed to halted clinical development |
| Human trial status | No approved product; development stopped | Limited short-term metabolic data |
| Sport regulatory status | Prohibited at all times | WADA hormone and metabolic modulators class |
The compound is typically described as a laboratory compound rather than a therapeutic product. Published reports have explored its role in lipid disorders, insulin sensitivity, and exercise metabolism, yet no major drug regulator has approved it for medical use. Commercial samples sold under the cardarine name may vary in purity and identity. Analytical confirmation is therefore necessary when the material is discussed in scientific or regulatory contexts. Its classification as a prohibited substance in sport further shapes how it is studied and reported.
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.
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.
Published human data are sparse and mostly come from early-phase trials. Those studies examined short-term changes in lipids, glucose, and exercise capacity, but they were not large enough to establish efficacy or long-term safety. Some animal experiments reported increased running endurance, yet such findings do not prove a performance benefit in people. Anti-doping laboratories detect GW501516 and its metabolites in urine or blood using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Detection windows depend on dose, sample type, and individual metabolism. The method is sensitive enough to identify trace residues in tested samples.
Ultraviolet radiation (UV; sometimes called ultraviolet light) is electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths of 100–400 nanometers, shorter than that of visible light, but longer than vacuum ultraviolet and extreme ultraviolet, radiation bands that overlaps UV but shares some properties with soft X-rays. UV radiation is present in sunlight and constitutes about 10% of the total electromagnetic radiation output from the Sun. It is also produced by electric arcs, Cherenkov radiation, and specialized lights, such as mercury-vapor lamps, tanning lamps, and black lights. The photons of ultraviolet have greater energy than those of visible light, from about 3.1 to 12 electron volts, around the minimum energy required to ionize atoms. Although long-wavelength ultraviolet is not considered an ionizing radiation because its photons lack sufficient energy, it can induce chemical reactions and cause many substances to glow or fluoresce. Many practical applications, including chemical and biological effects, are derived from the way that UV radiation can interact with organic molecules. These interactions can involve exciting orbital electrons to higher energy states in molecules potentially breaking chemical bonds. In contrast, the main effect of longer wavelength radiation is to excite vibrational or rotational states of these molecules, increasing their temperature. UV damages DNA and sterilizes surfaces with which it comes into contact. For humans, suntan and sunburn are familiar effects of exposure of the skin to UV, along with an increased risk of skin cancer.
In June 2012, Riff Raff released the .Summer of Surf mixtape. He signed with Diplo's label Mad Decent in June 2012. The same year he released the album, The Golden Alien, independently in July which feature tracks produced by MikeChekMusic, "Freeze Dried", "Obtuse Angle". It was followed by the release of the mixtape, Birth of an Icon, in August, which was listed by Stereogum as their "Mixtape of the Week".
A May 2021 teaching guide did not feature statements on adverse reactions, precautions and contraindications, while materials in November 2021 and April 2022 were unbalanced and promotional in nature, and consideration was not given to the appropriateness of hiring a trainer to carry out consultations with patients during a pilot training course. That same year, U.S. District Judge Karen Marston issued the first substantive rulings in the multidistrict litigation, dismissing several claims while allowing core allegations - including claims that the manufacturers failed to warn about gastrointestinal risks - to proceed. At that stage, the litigation encompassed more than 2,600 individual lawsuits involving Ozempic, Mounjaro, and related GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs.
== A == AACTG – acquired immunity – acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) – ACT UP/Golden Gate – active immunity – acupuncture – acute HIV infection – Acute HIV Infection and Early Diseases Research Program (AIEDRP) – ADAP – ADC – adenopathy – adherence – adjuvant – administration – Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group (AACTG) – adverse drug reaction – aerosolized – AETC – agammaglobulinemia – Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) – AHRQ – AIDS – AIDS Arms – AIDS dementia complex (ADC) – AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAP) – AIDS education and training centers (AETC) – AIDS orphan – AIDS research advisory committee (ARAC) – AIDS service organization (ASO) – The AIDS Show – AIDS Vaccine 200 – AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition – AIDS wasting syndrome – AIDS-related cancer – AIDS-related complex (ARC) – alkaline phosphatase – alopecia – alpha interferon (INFa) – alternative medicine – alveolar – amebiasis – amino acids – anaphylactic shock – anemia – anergy – angiogenesis – angiomatosis – anorexia – antenatal – antibiotic – antibodies – antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) – antibody-mediated immunity – antifungal medication – antigen – antigen presentation – antigen-presenting cell (APC) – antineoplastic – antiprotozoal – antiretroviral drugs – antisense drugs – antitoxins – Antiviral drug – aphasia – aphthous ulcer – apoptosis – approved drugs – ARC – Armenicum – ART – arthralgia – ASO – aspergillosis – assembly and budding – asymptomatic – ataxia – attenuated – autoantibody – autoimmunization – autoinoculation – autologous – avascular necrosis (AVN) – AVN
==== Molecular interactions ==== As MALS can provide molar mass and size of molecules, it permits study into protein-protein binding, oligomerization and the kinetics of self-assembly, association and dissociation. By comparing the molar mass of a sample to its concentration, one can determine the binding affinity and stoichiometry of interacting molecules.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
=== Wild-type (ATTRwt-CM) === This type has no mutations in the TTR gene but TTR deposits still form in the heart and other tissues. Males are more commonly affected, at ages over 70 years. Carpal tunnel syndrome may form as well as amyloid deposits in the carpal tunnel causing compression of the median nerve. Amyloid deposits in the carpal tunnel or other ligaments (causing tendon rupture) or the spinal canal causing spinal stenosis may precede the development of heart failure by 10-15 years. Wild type ATTR cardiac amyloidosis (and the genetic variant) can be diagnosed with cardiac nuclear scintigraphy to visualize amyloid deposits in the heart walls. Serum free light chains, serum and urine electrophoresis with immunofixation can rule out AL amyloidosis. If the diagnosis is unclear, a biopsy may be obtained. Biopsy with histological evaluation can rule out light chain and genetic testing can rule out familial subtypes. This type is often misdiagnosed. However, greater use of cardiac magnetic resonance has increased the rate of diagnosis. The severity of the disease tends to be less than the light chain and familial variants. This is due to the amount of time that it takes to accumulate the amyloid depositions being longer in the wild-type variant.
== Toxicity == The recommended therapeutic dose is 80-100 mg/m2 body area. Optimal dosage is determined based on measurements of unbound platinum concentration following intravenous infusion, combined with rate of creatine clearance as an assessment of renal function using Ishibashi’s formula: DoseNDP = AUC × CLNDP, where CLNDP = 0.0738 × creatinine clearance + 4.47 The exact mechanism of uptake into the cell is unknown, with information being considerably less available compared to cisplatin. What is known is that nedaplatin does not interact with the Oct2 or apical multidrug and toxin extrusion transporter (MATE) transporters, potentially explaining the difference in nephrotoxicity due to reduced accumulation in the proximal tubules of the kidney. Toxicogenomics has helped elucidate some of the mechanisms behind nephrotoxicity, where oxidative stress has been shown to deregulate gene expression via Hmox1 and other genes.
In the same way that diatoms can regulate the fatty acid composition within their plastid membranes, they can also regulate the plasma membranes surrounding each cell. As temperatures decrease, membranes become less fluid. Both bacteria and sea ice diatoms can alter the fatty acid composition within their membranes to include more unsaturated fatty acids, which allow the plasma membrane to maintain fluidity in extreme cold temperatures.
=== Large-scale analysis === One example of this is a study by Washburn, Wolters, and Yates in which they used shotgun proteomics on the proteome of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain grown to mid-log phase. They were able to detect and identify 1,484 proteins as well as identify proteins rarely seen in proteome analysis, including low-abundance proteins like transcription factors and protein kinases. They were also able to identify 131 proteins with three or more predicted transmembrane domains.
=== Indoor air-quality measurements === Measurement of VOCs from the indoor air is done with sorption tubes e. g. Tenax (for VOCs and SVOCs) or DNPH-cartridges (for carbonyl-compounds) or air detector. The VOCs adsorb on these materials and are afterwards desorbed either thermally (Tenax) or by elution (DNPH) and then analyzed by GC–MS/FID or HPLC. Reference gas mixtures are required for quality control of these VOC measurements. Furthermore, VOC emitting products used indoors, e.g. building products and furniture, are investigated in emission test chambers under controlled climatic conditions. For quality control of these measurements round robin tests are carried out, therefore reproducibly emitting reference materials are ideally required. Other methods have used proprietary Silcosteel-coated canisters with constant flow inlets to collect samples over several days. These methods are not limited by the adsorbing properties of materials like Tenax.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Rodent studies reported increased endurance and fat oxidation after GW501516 exposure. Long-term studies also found higher rates of some tumors, which led to halted development.
Small short-term human trials examined metabolic markers such as lipids and glucose. The trials did not continue after rodent cancer findings, so long-term human safety is unknown.
Controlled human trials have not established a performance benefit. Anecdotal reports exist, but they are not reliable evidence.
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.