6 OXO (R) is no longer on the market and sadly the day of steroid anti-estrogens is approaching twilight, luckily there is a new generation of herbal testosterone boosters that rival these powerful products and even give you a opportunity to 6 OXO. your money. 6 OXO was once the most powerful testosterone booster on the market and was a pioneer in its day. Sadly, like most hormonal items, professional sports were to be the last ruin of this wonderful supplement.
What is 6 OXO?
6 OXO has many names on the market, 6-keto-androstenedione, Androstene3,6,17 trione, 4-Androstene-3,6,17-trione, 4-AT and even 4-etioallocholen – 3,6,17-trione . These all refer to the same chemical compound which is a testosterone stimulating steroid / anti-aromatase agent. First identified in the adrenal glands of cows, it was further found to be a natural metabolite of androstenedione metabolism in humans and most mammals. This makes 6 OXO a perfectly legal dietary supplement under current DSHEA law and since it is not androgenic it is not an anabolic steroid at all. What 6 OXO does is reduce an enzyme in the body that converts your testosterone to estrogen. By blocking this enzyme, two important things happen: first, it makes you retain more testosterone, and second, the body detects a lack of estrogen and causes the testes to release more testosterone.
6 OXO has been well studied in men and the original manufacturer of 6 OXO, Ergopharm Inc, actually paid for quite a few studies in both men and rats. The most revealing was done by Incledon, who studied 6 OXO at 300mg doses in healthy men and then measured the effects. The Incledon study found an increase in testosterone of approximately 200% with a slight reduction in estradiol, meaning it was very effective at increasing testosterone and reducing estrogen. This was the first really well tested testosterone booster on the market. Baylor University did a follow-up study and found very little difference in supplementation with 300 mg of 6 OXO and 600 mg of 6 OXO in the effects of both testosterone and estrogen, meaning the sweet spot for most for men it is around 3-400 mg. 6 OXO came in 100 mg capsules in 60 pill bottles, which means that at 300 mg a single bottle would last only 10 days, making it a very expensive but effective supplement. 6 OXO was shown to occur naturally in humans and many animals used for food, but that did not stop this more effective supplement from being attacked by the FDA and the federal government.
The manufacturer, Proviant / Ergopharm, was constantly harassed by reports of people and athletes testing positive for androstenedione. This makes perfect sense since 6 OXO is made from andro and is also a metabolite of androstenedione. This means 6 OXO contains trace amounts of the Schedule III prohormone and is also checked when a standard blood panel is submitted for the steroid drug test. This 6 OXO misclassification led to it coming under heavy criticism from industry, the anti-doping establishment, and other sports lobbying organizations as an enemy of the state. This safe and effective supplement became the villain as the cause of many failed drug tests. In 2009, the situation came to a head when Phillies baseball player JC Romero tested positive for steroids and claimed he was using only 6 OXOs that he purchased from a local GNC outlet. Even though the bottle contained a very strict warning, Romero still claimed that he had been misled and incorrectly sold the product. Sadly, this was the final straw in a very ugly government crackdown on the ingredient and the FDA and DEA raided Proviant in 2009, resulting in the ultimate demise of the company. Major supplement retailers discontinued the product, further hurting Proviant and Romero’s lawsuit hit the nail on the head. 6 OXO, possibly one of the safest and most effective products on the market, was no more.
Eventually, product 6 OXO was found to contain traces of androstenedione, the famous “andro” in the Mark McGwire controversy. These traces are technically illegal, but it is highly unlikely that the manufacturer intentionally added the product with this ingredient, as it did not produce results even 100 times the contaminated amount. What probably happened is that small amounts of material did not react during manufacture. Charges were threatened against Pat Arnold, the maker of 6 OXO, but as far as I know, no charges were ever brought against him. Pat Arnold was the chemist behind “The Clear” and “The Cream,” which were illegal steroid drugs allegedly administered to professional athletes to help them cheat in sports.
After its own lengthy battle over the main ingredient in 6 OXO, LG Sciences launched a new product designed to take the kidneys of the old product as the king of testosterone boosters. Formadrol Extreme is the product and it has all the glory of the previous 6 OXO product and some new twists that make it possibly even more effective in increasing testosterone. Formadrol Extreme has two aromatase inhibitors similar to 6 OXO but even stronger to reduce this enzyme that kills testosterone. These two aromatase inhibitors are linked by ellagic acid, which in preliminary studies has been shown to be a natural SERM, which means that it can block another form of estrogen’s effect and increase testosterone. Finally, a powerful ginger extract is included to speed up tests and make them produce more testosterone. In reality, this combination has produced results in one person that were even higher than the original 6 OXOs and in an unfunded trial, one person used Formadrol successfully to recover from an anabolic steroid cycle and double their testosterone levels. These preliminary results meant that Formadrol has all the testosterone-boosting effects of 6 OXO, and yet it is non-steroidal, meaning it will not test positive for a drug. Sadly, 6 OXO is gone, but a new challenge has arisen to take its place and, like everything else, nature hates a vacuum. LG Sciences has not only replaced 6 OXO, they have done it better, giving even stronger results by increasing testosterone levels without being a metabolite of androstenedione. This makes Formadrol the new king of testosterone boosters and the only product on the market that meets all of my criteria for reducing estrogen and increasing testosterone.