drtbear1967
Musclechemistry Board Certified Member
theguerillachemist
I want to discuss this really cool androgen with an interesting backstory. Some of you may remember the BALCO scandal from 2004-05 involving the undetectable steroid "the clear." This is it, tetrahydrogestrinone. Well, actually the original "clear" was Norbotelone, which also has an ethyl group on carbon 18. Originally developed by my chemistry idol Patrick Arnold, it was used by many olympic and top-tier athletes(allegedly Barry Bonds) to break all types of records. Believe it or not, THG was produced using a female birth control hormone gestrinone! He simply took gestrinone, which has a triple bond on the 17th carbon(which interacts more with the estrogen and progesterone receptors) and added H2 gas, which made it a single bond(better for androgen receptor)-hence the name "tetra(4) hydro." THG is very similar to everyone's favorite steroid trenbolone, and thus has very similar effects as seen by all the gold medals in the 2004 Olympics and home runs in baseball. THG was used as an oral liquid solution, and was only discovery by the IOC/WADA bc a trainer turned a sample in. Otherwise, it may have never been discovered and baseball would still be exciting. Pretty cool and genius of PA to know chemistry and develop a brand new androgen. Sometimes, all you need is a simple modification to dramatically change a molecule's function in the body.
I want to discuss this really cool androgen with an interesting backstory. Some of you may remember the BALCO scandal from 2004-05 involving the undetectable steroid "the clear." This is it, tetrahydrogestrinone. Well, actually the original "clear" was Norbotelone, which also has an ethyl group on carbon 18. Originally developed by my chemistry idol Patrick Arnold, it was used by many olympic and top-tier athletes(allegedly Barry Bonds) to break all types of records. Believe it or not, THG was produced using a female birth control hormone gestrinone! He simply took gestrinone, which has a triple bond on the 17th carbon(which interacts more with the estrogen and progesterone receptors) and added H2 gas, which made it a single bond(better for androgen receptor)-hence the name "tetra(4) hydro." THG is very similar to everyone's favorite steroid trenbolone, and thus has very similar effects as seen by all the gold medals in the 2004 Olympics and home runs in baseball. THG was used as an oral liquid solution, and was only discovery by the IOC/WADA bc a trainer turned a sample in. Otherwise, it may have never been discovered and baseball would still be exciting. Pretty cool and genius of PA to know chemistry and develop a brand new androgen. Sometimes, all you need is a simple modification to dramatically change a molecule's function in the body.
