Trenbolone: How the Steroid Made a Comeback

By William Llewellyn

Time has a way of changing things. This includes the global steroid market. Since the advent of steroid pharmaceuticals, we’ve seen a gamut of drugs come and go … therapies embraced, and fallen out of favor. And let us not forget that this is a controversial area of medicine. It is not only influenced by internal development and change, but also outside (political) forces. At times, this too has resulted in sweeping changes in drug availability. The volatility of this market is evident in the history of many steroids, but few as vividly as trenbolone. I want to discuss the drastic changes in the supply of this steroid over the years, as well as the potential direction it is going, as evidenced by clinical studies.

Back in the Day (Finajet, Parabolan)

First, a little history for the younger guys. Trenbolone first appeared on the U.S. black market during the early 1980s. Back then, it was mainly found in the form of a veterinary drug called Finajet (trenbolone acetate). The concentration was low (30 milligrams per milliliter). As such, the dosages used by athletes were small (60-150 milligrams per week). In spite of this, trenbolone quickly earned a cult following. It was said to be a powerful androgen, capable of substantive strength gains and hardening of the physique. In these early years, it was most favored by powerlifters and competitive bodybuilders. As quickly as Finajet came, however, it left. By the late ‘80s its manufacturer, Hoechst, discontinued it. The old-time gym vets, however, continued to talk about it for years. The drug left quite an impression.

In France, a pharmaceutical product called Parabolan (trenbolone hexahydrobenzylcarbonate) was also on the market throughout the 1980s. So this wasn’t an entirely dark time for tren. Trenbolone hexahydrobenzylcarbonate is a longer acting form of trenbolone than acetate, and Parabolan was available in a higher dose of roughly 50 milligrams per milliliter. It came in 1.5-milliliter ampules containing 76 milligrams of steroid, with most users taking two to three ampules per week, or 152-228 milligrams. “Para” was the subject of much desire and rumor in the United States. Only those with the strongest European sources could ever obtain the drug. Even in Europe, its demand far outstripped supply, and counterfeits were far more abundant than the real thing. This only added to its mystique. Not much matter. By the early 1990s, this product was also defunct. Its maker probably decided the drug was too controversial.

Finaplix

By the early 1990s, American interest in trenbolone was piqued. Yet availability was at an all-time low. The only legitimate product in manufacture was Finaplix. These are cattle implants pellets containing trenbolone acetate, used for bulking up livestock. Seven or 10 of these hard 20-milligram pellets gunned into the ear fat of bovine, and you’d end up with a bigger (more profitable) animal. Further, these implants were deemed for agricultural use, and exempt from U.S. controlled substance laws. Any rancher could buy them, which meant anyone could buy them! It didn’t take long for these two situations to collide. The mid-1990s saw an abundance of home-brew Finaplix injectable “conversion” kits, and a rash of underground trenbolone acetate products. It was an interesting time. This once scarce drug was starting to make a comeback.

Chinese Floodgates Opened

Things changed more dramatically around the turn of the century. In spite of numerous efforts by law enforcement to shut down various international supply chains, the new millennium saw an era of mass steroid availability. This was largely attributed to Chinese chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing plants. This is an industry that is not tightly regulated in China. Many of these companies will openly sell raw steroid powders to international buyers. As such, this country is the main material supplier for the bulk of the world’s underground and gray-market steroid producers. And whatever this market demands, these companies deliver. In fact, The New York Times reported that United States authorities say 99% of all the materials used to produce anabolic steroids in this country come from China.¹ And one of the big demands today is trenbolone. Trenbolone acetate, hexahydrobenzylcarbonate, enanthate and suspension (no ester) are all readily available now. Trenbolone is one of the most popular drugs sold, and this popularity only seems to be increasing.

Trenbolone: Future SARM?

If you are relatively new to this, you probably have little recognition of the low doses trenbolone was once supplied in, or its periods of cult favor and scarce availability. However, this probably means that you also don’t remember its history as a Western pharmaceutical product. As I said in the intro, things change. This may very well be one of them. Researchers are starting look at trenbolone as a potential hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drug and alternative to testosterone, which currently dominates this market nearly to the point of exclusivity. Trenbolone has been the subject of a couple of studies to this effect. I don’t want to get too lost in the details, but here are some quick points.

One research paper was from Griffith University in Australia, where researchers found trenbolone to improve basic cardiovascular risk factors in treated animals. These included things like serum triglycerides, HDL and LDL cholesterol levels and ratio and insulin sensitivity, all very basic to cardiovascular health. Trenbolone also had a dramatic effect on body composition, both with regard to fat and lean body mass. The study was small, but made some very striking points that run quite contrary to trenbolone’s reputation for being a harsh drug. The paper suggests that, at least at a proper dosage and context, trenbolone might offer some substantive value to patients.

The group came back with a more thorough follow-up investigation.² In it, they examined the effects of trenbolone versus testosterone in an animal model of metabolic syndrome and hypogonadism. To begin with, they found (as expected) that testosterone deficiency was very bad for the health prospects of the animals. Compared to controls they had, there were unfavorable alterations in cholesterol levels, triglycerides, heart muscle composition and insulin sensitivity. Both steroids improved many of the affected variables, though trenbolone was found to be superior. In particular, it resulted in greater reductions in visceral fat, and better protected the animals from changes in prostate volume and myocardial damage. In short, it was at least as clinically effective as testosterone, and presented a significantly lower incidence of adverse effects.

In Closing

I hope you found a brief review of this drug history and future potential to be interesting. In the span of 40+ years, much has changed for trenbolone. It began as an ‘80s cult favorite. A decade later, it was practically unavailable … the subject of myth. Finally, we’ve watched it evolve into one of the most popular drugs on the steroid black market. Yet with all this change, trenbolone remains exceedingly elusive in the most obvious place: pharmaceutical medicine. Trenbolone fell out of favor medically decades ago. For all intents and purposes, we all thought it was dead. But that too might change, as several additional studies have been conducted with this agent.

References:

1. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/02/business/worldbusiness/02steroids.html

2. Donnera D, Elliotta G, et al. Trenbolone improves cardiometabolic risk factors and myocardial tolerance to ischemia-reperfusion in male rats with testosterone-deficient metabolic syndrome. Endocrinology 2015; Nov 19:en20151603.

William Llewellyn is widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost authorities on the use of performance-enhancing substances. He is the author of the bestselling anabolic steroid reference guide ANABOLICS and CEO of Molecular Nutrition. William is an accomplished researcher/developer in the field of anabolic substances, and is also a longtime advocate for harm reduction and legislative change. He built the website anabolic.org, an extensive online database of information on anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.

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