opinions needed

[keasbey]

im thinking of giving muscle pharms battle fuel a shot
Musclepharm: Battle Fuel - Natural Anabolic Pack
i know big bk likes the stuff but was wondering if anyone else had any experience with a product like this before and what they thought about it. or advice in general. Thanks

 

[cal62887]

Guggul 10%


If that's an extract of Guggulesterone I'm sure you can find something without it in it's prop. blend.

Perhaps I'm wrong bec. I've never seen Gugguls abbreviated like that, especially to an extract, but if it is in fact Gugguls than the harm may outweigh the benefits.

 

[keasbey]

hmmm i never heard of that so i did a search and my 1st thing i found was Bodybuilding.com - Guggulsterones Information and Product Listing! Guggulsterones FAQ!
it might be biased since i dont know anything about it so ill continue looking around.. but what is the harm your speaking of? and dont worry about being scientific about it if you dont want to take to much time

*edit well it seems from another thread that BBers hate this stuff.. the product said it helped block the androgen receptor the testosterone making one.. but yet the supplement in question has stuff to boost test production... counterproductive? hmm anyone have a natural test. boosting supp. ?

 

[cal62887]

They have been known to Raise LDL, They are a Progesterone Agonist, Anagen Antagonisht, and Mineralcoticoid agonist....

Author Szapary, PO; Wolfe, ML; Bloedon, LT; Cucchiara, AJ; DerMarderosian, AH; Cirigliano, MD; Rader, DJ

Affiliation Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia 19104-6021, USA. [email protected]

Source JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association, 2003 Aug 13, 290(6):765-72

ISSN 1538-3598
CONTEXT: Herbal extracts from Commiphora mukul (guggul) have been widely used in Asia as cholesterol-lowering agents, and their popularity is increasing in the United States. Recently, guggulsterones, the purported bioactive compounds of guggul, have been shown to be potent antagonists of 2 nuclear hormone receptors involved in cholesterol metabolism, establishing a plausible mechanism of action for the hypolipidemic effects of these extracts. However, there are currently no published safety or efficacy data on the use of guggul extracts in Western populations. OBJECTIVE: To study the short-term safety and efficacy of 2 doses of a standardized guggul extract (guggulipid, containing 2.5% guggulsterones) in healthy adults with hyperlipidemia eating a typical Western diet. DESIGN: Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial using a parallel design, conducted March 2000-August 2001. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: A total of 103 ambulatory, community-dwelling, healthy adults with hypercholesterolemia in the Philadelphia, Pa, metropolitan area. INTERVENTION: Oral, 3 times daily doses of standard-dose guggulipid (1000 mg), high-dose guggulipid (2000 mg), or matching placebo. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Percentage change in levels of directly measured low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) after 8 weeks of therapy. Secondary outcome measures included levels of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides, and directly measured very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C), as well as adverse events reports and laboratory safety measures including electrolyte levels and hepatic and renal function. RESULTS: Compared with participants randomized to placebo (n = 36), in whom levels of LDL-C decreased by 5%, both standard-dose guggulipid (n = 33) and high-dose guggulipid (n = 34) raised levels of LDL-C by 4% (P =.01 vs placebo) and 5% (P =.006 vs placebo), respectively, at 8 weeks, for a net positive change of 9% to 10%. There were no significant changes in levels of total cholesterol, HDL-C, triglycerides, or VLDL-C in response to treatment with guggulipid in the intention-to-treat analysis. While guggulipid was generally well tolerated, 6 participants treated with guggulipid developed a hypersensitivity rash compared with none in the placebo group. CONCLUSIONS: Despite plausible mechanisms of action, guggulipid did not appear to improve levels of serum cholesterol over the short term in this population of adults with hypercholesterolemia, and might in fact raise levels of LDL-C. Guggulipid also appeared to cause a dermatologic hypersensitivity reaction in some patients.

..........


First the study that it raises cholesterol and now this study.

Why are people still putting this in supplements?

Mol Pharmacol. 2005 Mar;67(3):948-54. Epub 2004 Dec 15. Related Articles, Links


The hypolipidemic natural product guggulsterone is a promiscuous steroid receptor ligand.

Burris TP, Montrose C, Houck KA, Osborne HE, Bocchinfuso WP, Yaden BC, Cheng CC, Zink RW, Barr RJ, Hepler CD, Krishnan V, Bullock HA, Burris LL, Galvin RJ, Bramlett K, Stayrook KR.

Lilly Research Laboratories, Lilly Corporate Center, Indianapolis, IN 46285, USA. [email protected]

Guggulsterone (GS) is the active substance in guggulipid, an extract of the guggul tree, Commiphora mukul, used to treat a variety of disorders in humans, including dyslipidemia, obesity, and inflammation. The activity of GS has been suggested to be mediated by antagonism of the receptor for bile acids, the farnesoid X receptor (FXR). Here, we demonstrate that both stereoisomers of the plant sterol, (E)- and (Z)-GS, bind to the steroid receptors at a much higher affinity than to FXR. Both stereoisomers bind to the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) with a Ki value of approximately 35 nM, which is greater than 100 times more potent than their affinity for FXR. Both (E)- and (Z)-GS also displayed high affinity for other steroid receptors, including the androgen (AR), glucocorticoid (GR), and progesterone receptors (PR) with Ki values ranging from 224 to 315 nM. In cell-based functional cotransfection assays, GSs behaved as antagonists of AR, GR, and MR, but as agonists of PR. Agonist activity was also demonstrated with estrogen receptor (ER) alpha; however, the potency was very low (EC50 > 5000 nM). In addition, GS displayed activity in functional assays in cell lines expressing endogenous AR, GR, ER, and PR. These data suggest that the variety of pharmacological effects exhibited by GS may be mediated by targeting several steroid receptors.