About Turkesterone
Turkesterone is an ecdysteroid extracted from the plant Ajuga turkestanica, marketed as a 'natural anabolic' for muscle growth. It is not an androgenic anabolic steroid and does not bind human androgen receptors. The two small human trials that exist are both null: a 2025 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (24 active men and women, ~4 weeks, commercial Turk Builder product) found no significant difference versus placebo in body composition, handgrip strength, mood (POMS), or sleep (PSQI); and an acute single-dose crossover (11 men, 1,000–2,000 mg) found no effect on IGF-1, resting metabolic rate, or substrate utilization. The 'evidence' marketers cite is otherwise in-vitro and rodent work, plus a single 2019 RCT on a different compound — ecdysterone (not turkesterone) — in 46 resistance-trained men, which reported greater lean-mass gains over 10 weeks. Turkesterone's purported superiority over ecdysterone rests on in-vitro receptor-binding potency never demonstrated to translate to humans. Product quality is a further problem: a 2023 HPLC analysis found none of the turkesterone supplements tested contained even 1% of the labeled amount. Bottom line — popular, but clinically unproven for muscle growth.
What Turkesterone supports
- Marketed for muscle growth, but unproven in humans
- Plant ecdysteroid; not an androgenic steroid
How much Turkesterone to take
The RDA prevents deficiency. The effective range is what clinical trials used to actually move the outcome.
Effective
500–1000
mg
Products market 500–1000 mg/day, typically standardized to 10% turkesterone. There is no clinically validated therapeutic dose — these figures come from marketing, not trials.
Clinical evidence
Limited clinical evidence. Both small human trials of turkesterone (a 4-week RCT and an acute dose study) were null. Positive data is in-vitro/rodent or on a different compound (ecdysterone).
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