Sports nutrition supplements are back in the news and once again it’s not a positive story. Today CBS News ran a story entitled, “The ‘Legal’ Steroid Danger,” which featured several dietary supplement products that contain the substance 19-Norandrosta 4,9 diene- 3,17 dione (also known as Estra-4,9-dien-3,17-dione), which is purportedly a progestin similar to trenbolone, nandrolone and methyltrienolone.
While this substance is currently found on the dietary supplement market, back on April 25th of last year the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to classify three substances as Schedule III anabolic steroids under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), including 19-Norandrosta 4,9 diene- 3,17 dione. While a final rule has yet to be issued, CBS reported that a final rule is expected by this summer, which will reclassify 19-Norandrosta 4,9 diene- 3,17 dione and any products that contain it to Federal controlled substance status.
Two products which were prominently featured in this piece were “Tren Xtreme” by American Cellular Labs and “Tren 250” by Genetic Edge Technologies. CBS News reported that they had submitted samples of supplements containing this substance to anti-doping sleuth Dr. Don Catlin for testing and that the results will be reported tomorrow. We expect that companies selling supplements that contain this substance will be anxiously awaiting tomorrow’s report. News reports of this type will often garner the attention of FDA, which may conduct its own investigation.