Adrenosterone, also known as Reichstein's substance G , as well as 11-ketoandrostenedione (11-KA4), 11-oxoandrostenedione (11-OXO), and androst-4-ene-3,11,17-trione, is a
steroid hormone
A steroid hormone is a steroid that acts as a hormone. Steroid hormones can be grouped into two classes: corticosteroids (typically made in the adrenal cortex, hence ''cortico-'') and sex steroids (typically made in the gonads or placenta). Withi ...
with an extremely weak
androgen
An androgen (from Greek ''andr-'', the stem of the word meaning "man") is any natural or synthetic steroid hormone that regulates the development and maintenance of male characteristics in vertebrates by binding to androgen receptors. This in ...
ic effect, and an
intermediate/
prohormone
A prohormone is a committed precursor of a hormone consisting of peptide hormones synthesized together that has a minimal hormonal effect by itself because of its expression-suppressing structure, often created by protein folding and binding additi ...
of
11-ketotestosterone.
It was first isolated in 1936 from the
adrenal cortex by
Tadeus Reichstein
Tadeusz Reichstein (20 July 1897 – 1 August 1996) was a Polish-Swiss chemist and the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate (1950), which was awarded for his work on the isolation of cortisone.
Early life
Reichstein was born into a Po ...
at the Pharmaceutical Institute in the
University of Basel
The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universit ...
. Originally, adrenosterone was called Reichstein's substance G. Adrenosterone occurs in trace amounts in humans as well as most mammals and in larger amounts in fish, where it is a precursor to the primary androgen,
11-ketotestosterone.
Adrenosterone is sold as a
dietary supplement since 2007 as a fat loss and muscle gaining supplement. It is thought to be a competitive selective
11βHSD1 inhibitor, which is responsible for activation of
cortisol from
cortisone
Cortisone is a pregnene (21-carbon) steroid hormone. It is a naturally-occurring corticosteroid metabolite that is also used as a pharmaceutical prodrug; it is not synthesized in the adrenal glands. Cortisol is converted by the action of the enz ...
.
Thus preventing muscle breakdown, and contributing to a majority of its effects.
See also
*
11β-Hydroxyandrostenedione
*
11-Ketodihydrotestosterone
References
{{Androgen receptor modulators
Androgens and anabolic steroids
Androstanes
Hormones of the suprarenal cortex
Sex hormones
Steroid hormones
Triketones