Ecdysterone is an insect hormone, often sold as a dietary supplement for increasing muscle mass. “Ecdy” has been around for many years, and is one of the more controversial supplements of its category, mainly due to it’s lack of scientific substantiation and tendency to produce mixed results in users (some swear by it and others at it). Thus far only one Western study has been conducted on it with exercising adults. While the results were not favorable, it also used a fairly low dosage. Presently, there is still a glaring lack of data on this ingredient.

Adding to the limited body of evidence on ecdysterone, this month a paper was published that examined the effects of this supplement on female rats. During this investigation ecdysterone was shown to improve body composition and muscle mass, and also improve certain markers of metabolic health. While this is far from a human placebo-controlled study, it does lend some support for further research on this controversial anabolic.

Abstract:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20097286

— William Llewellyn