Pregnenolone Uses, Side Effects & Safety

Pregnenolone is a hormone that the body produces from cholesterol. Despite a lack of effectiveness and safety data, pregnenolone made its way into some compounding pharmacies and bodybuilding products. However, many users are not told that pregnenolone is not a dietary supplement but an unapproved drug. What is Pregnenolone? Pregnenolone is a steroid hormone that the adrenal glands, brain, and gonads produce from cholesterol. In the body, it’s considered a precursor of other steroid hormones like testosterone, progesterone, cortisol, and estrogen. That’s why it’s sometimes referred to as a “prohormone” [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. There’s been some research on pregnenolone in the past decades, mostly in lab animals. Proper scientific evidence is lacking to determine the effectiveness and safety of pregnenolone. Despite this, some companies advertise pregnenolone as an anti-aging and nootropic compound. It has been marketed for boosting the production of other hormones. Some claim it may make people feel more energetic and youthful. These claims are unsubstantiated. The FDA issued a warning letter to New York-based company called American Hormones for illegally producing pregnenolone [ 5 ]. This is a serious violation. In the letter, the FDA states that pregnenolone is a new unapproved drug since it is not generally recognized as safe and effective for the labeled uses among experts. What’s more, the company in question purported to be a compounding pharmacy, although they were actually operating as a pharmaceutical manufacturer. This poses a major risk to public health . Manufacturers that don’t follow laws and regulations sell potentially dangerous, adulterated, and misbranded compounds to consumers. The same company also made numerous unsubstantiated claims about “bioidentical hormones” such as progesterone . Pregnenolone is not explicitly listed on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List. However, all non-approved substances are on the […]

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