Turinabol, sold as Oral-Turinabol, is an oral anabolic-androgenic steroid. Its chemical name is 4-chlorodehydromethyltestosterone, and anti-doping scientists call it dehydrochloromethyltestosterone (DHCMT). The East German state drug maker VEB Jenapharm developed it in the 1960s (Loke et al., J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 2021).
It is best known as the most frequently used drug in East Germany’s secret state doping program, which from the late 1960s treated several thousand athletes a year, including minors, with androgens (Franke and Berendonk, Clin Chem 1997). It is still one of the steroids most often found in doping tests, and it was behind many of the positive results when samples from the 2008 and 2012 Olympics were retested. No modern controlled human trials of its effects exist. The published human data are a small pharmacokinetic study, old East German clinical reports, doping-control studies and case reports.
This page summarizes what those studies and regulators report. It is for education only and is not medical advice.
| Property | Detail |
|---|---|
| Drug class | 17α-alkylated anabolic-androgenic steroid; a 4-chloro derivative of methandienone |
| Brand / origin | Oral-Turinabol, VEB Jenapharm (East Germany), introduced for clinical use in 1965 |
| Route | Oral tablet (5 mg tablets in the East German doping records) |
| Doses in published human studies | 5–10 mg/day in a 1984 clinical study; single 5 mg or 10 mg doses in kinetic and excretion studies |
| Half-life | About 16 h (terminal half-life after an IV dose in a small radiolabel study) |
| Formula | C₂₀H₂₇ClO₂, molecular weight 334.9 g/mol |
| US status | Schedule III anabolic steroid; no FDA-approved product |
| WADA status | Prohibited at all times (S1, anabolic agents) on the 2026 Prohibited List |
What it is
Chemically, Turinabol is 4-chloro-17β-hydroxy-17α-methylandrosta-1,4-dien-3-one (PubChem; 21 U.S.C. 802). Franke and Berendonk describe it as “a chlor-substituted version of methandrostenolone,” the steroid sold as Dianabol. It differs from testosterone in three ways:
| Change | What it is |
|---|---|
| 1,2 double bond in the A-ring | The same change that turns methyltestosterone into methandienone |
| 4-chloro group | A chlorine atom on carbon 4, the feature it shares with clostebol (4-chlorotestosterone) |
| 17α-methyl group | Slows breakdown in the liver so the drug survives oral dosing. The same group is tied to liver injury across this class of steroids. |
The first clinical description, published in East Germany in 1965, called it “a new effective oral anabolic steroid” (Dörner, Dtsch Gesundheitsw 1965). Only the citation of that paper is indexed, without an abstract, so we could not check its data.
About potency claims. Online sources often quote an anabolic:androgenic ratio for Turinabol, or say it “does not aromatize” to estrogen. We could not trace either claim to a human study we were able to open. The original 1960s potency work was published in German and is not available as an abstract, so we do not repeat these figures here.
Pharmacokinetics
The only published human pharmacokinetic study gave male volunteers tritium-labeled Turinabol by mouth (10 mg) and by IV injection (Schumann, Pharmazie 1991). The paper is in German; the figures below come from its abstract.
| Parameter | Finding |
|---|---|
| Oral absorption | Almost complete after a 10 mg dose |
| Time to peak (parent drug and total radioactivity) | About 3 h |
| First-pass effect | Present; lowers the amount of unchanged drug reaching the circulation |
| Unchanged drug vs metabolites in plasma | AUC ratio about 1:13, so metabolites dominate |
| Terminal half-life (IV dose, unchanged drug) | 16 h |
| Excretion | Mainly by the kidneys; about 60% of the radioactivity in urine |
The authors also saw a marked enterohepatic circulation, meaning the drug and its metabolites are excreted in bile and reabsorbed from the gut. They reported that Turinabol binds SHBG (sex hormone-binding globulin, the protein that carries testosterone in blood). By competing with testosterone for SHBG, it raised the level of free, unbound testosterone.
Metabolism and long detection times
Turinabol is broken down into dozens of metabolites. Using urine from people who had tested positive, a Moscow anti-doping laboratory found about 50 and described six new “long-term” metabolites in 2012 (Sobolevsky and Rodchenkov, J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 2012). These metabolites let laboratories detect use for much longer than older tests.
The first controlled study of these metabolites gave a single 5 mg oral dose to five healthy men and collected urine for 60 days (Loke et al., J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 2021):
- The last clearly positive sample was collected between day 9.9 and day 44.9, depending on the volunteer.
- In one volunteer, the metabolite M3 was still detectable 45 days after the single dose.
- Which metabolite lasted longest differed between people, so the authors recommend screening for all known metabolites.
A separate study applied Turinabol dissolved in a solvent to the skin of male volunteers. The steroids tested, including Turinabol, were detectable in urine, in some cases for up to 10–14 days, so skin contact is a plausible route of exposure (Gessner et al., Drug Test Anal 2022).
In the lab (not in people), three human steroid-making enzymes (CYP11A1, CYP11B1 and CYP11B2, which help produce hormones such as cortisol and aldosterone) metabolized Turinabol. Turinabol also inhibited these enzymes’ normal work (Schiffer et al., Drug Metab Dispos 2016). Whether this matters at doses people take is unknown.
Former medical uses
Turinabol was a prescription drug in East Germany from 1965 (Franke and Berendonk, Clin Chem 1997). Most of its clinical literature is in German, from the 1960s to the 1980s, and only some of it has English abstracts. The reports we could read include:
- Low fibrinolysis (a reduced ability to break down blood clots): 20 patients took 5 or 10 mg/day by mouth. Their clot-dissolving capacity began to rise after four weeks and peaked in months 3–4. Side effects were a rough voice in two patients and slight weight gain in one (Vogel et al., Folia Haematol 1984).
- Clot prevention after hip replacement: two controlled studies in 437 patients from 1980 to 1985 reported that Turinabol corrected low fibrinolysis in most cases. It and the combination of low-dose heparin and dihydroergotamine were the most effective of the drugs tested (Liedloff and Brauckhoff, Z Gesamte Inn Med 1989). The abstract does not give event rates.
We found no current approval of Turinabol as a medicine anywhere, and no modern randomized trials.
What the research shows
Muscle, strength and performance
There are no controlled trials of Turinabol on muscle mass or strength in modern, peer-reviewed literature. The best-documented effects on performance come from the East German doping program’s own secret reports, which became public after 1990. Franke and Berendonk published and analyzed these records (Clin Chem 1997). These are uncontrolled observations from a doping program, not trials, and many of the athletes also received other drugs.
The records show:
- Scale: more than 2,000 athletes preparing for international competition were treated each year, plus many junior athletes, including minors. The program was funded as “State Plan Research Theme 14.25.”
- Start date: Turinabol was given to male athletes from 1966 and to female athletes from the run-up to the 1968 Olympics.
- Effects in women: a 1977 report to the Stasi concluded that women gained the most performance from these drugs, especially at first use.
The paper reproduces the program’s record of one female shot-putter, the first documented case of a woman given androgens in the program:
| Year | Turinabol dose | Recorded result |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 10 mg/day for 11 weeks | Performance rose by about 2 m |
| 1969 | 5–15 mg/day in three courses | World record of 20.10 m; under 18 m off the drug |
| 1972 | Up to 35 mg/day in four courses; 1,450 mg in total for the year | Personal best of 20.22 m |
The same report shows a long jumper who received a total of 935 mg of Turinabol in her first course of treatment, while still a minor.
Doping control
Turinabol remains a common finding in sport. A review of all announced violations from the International Olympic Committee’s retests of 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympic samples found exogenous steroids in 90% of the 142 athletes’ samples. DHCMT and stanozolol accounted for 79% of the substances detected (Kolliari-Turner et al., Sports Med 2021). Of the doping violations that changed Olympic medal results from 1968 to 2012, 57% were identified through these retests.
Weightlifting was hit hardest. Retests of 2008 and 2012 samples produced violations for 61 weightlifters, including 34 medalists. DHCMT and stanozolol made up 83% of the substances detected and were present in 95% of these samples (Kolliari-Turner et al., Sports Med Open 2021).
Side effects and risks
No trial has measured Turinabol’s side effects in a controlled way. What is known comes from East German records, case reports and the known risks of 17α-alkylated steroids as a class.
Virilization in women and girls
The East German records document hirsutism (male-pattern body hair), severe acne, a deepened voice, increased libido, amenorrhea (loss of periods) and ovarian cysts in women and girls given Turinabol and other androgens (Franke and Berendonk, Clin Chem 1997). A 1977 report described the damage in many women as “irreversible.” One double gold medal winner could no longer work as an interpreter because of her deepened voice.
Even at clinical doses of 5–10 mg/day, 2 of 20 patients developed a rough voice (Vogel et al., 1984).
Liver
Like other 17α-alkylated steroids, Turinabol carries a risk of liver injury. LiverTox notes that many synthetic androgens can cause cholestatic liver injury (reduced bile flow), and that long-term use is linked to liver adenomas, hepatocellular carcinoma and peliosis hepatis (blood-filled cysts in the liver) (LiverTox).
In a 1984 Stasi report, a senior East German sports physician described 10 elite athletes hospitalized for liver tests. Liver damage, including an enlarged liver, was linked to steroid use combined with rising alcohol intake, and in women also with birth control pills. In two athletes the damage was advanced enough that doctors would not let them continue elite sport (Franke and Berendonk, 1997).
Case reports
Single case reports cannot show cause, but they include:
- Testicular tumor: a 32-year-old man developed an intratesticular leiomyosarcoma, a rare tumor, about 9 years after stopping 5 years of high-dose Turinabol that began at age 18. The authors suggested the steroid may have contributed (Froehner et al., Cancer 1999).
- Rhabdomyolysis (rapid muscle breakdown): a 34-year-old bodybuilder who had taken Turinabol with boldenone, trenbolone, clenbuterol and liothyronine (Daniels et al., Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd 2006).
Pregnancy
East German doctors gave female athletes birth control pills alongside the drug because of the risk of fetal malformation. The program ordered an abortion in each pregnancy that occurred despite this (Franke and Berendonk, 1997).
Legal status and quality
- United States: Turinabol (as dehydrochloromethyltestosterone) is named in the federal definition of anabolic steroid (21 U.S.C. 802(41)) and is a Schedule III controlled substance (21 CFR 1308.13(f)). No product containing it appears in FDA’s Drugs@FDA database (openFDA).
- Sport: it is listed by name under S1 anabolic agents, which are prohibited at all times, on the WADA 2026 Prohibited List (official copy, Czech National Sports Agency).
- Hidden in supplements: an anti-doping laboratory review reported that since 2002, products sold as nutritional supplements have been found to contain undeclared high amounts of classic steroids, including DHCMT (Geyer et al., J Mass Spectrom 2008).
Key takeaways
- A chlorinated relative of Dianabol. Turinabol is methandienone with a chlorine atom at carbon 4, and its 17α-methyl group makes it orally active.
- A half-life of about 16 hours. That figure comes from one small radiolabel study; oral absorption was nearly complete, with peak levels at about 3 hours.
- No modern trials. Its effects on performance are documented mainly by East Germany’s secret, uncontrolled doping records.
- Detectable for weeks. Long-term metabolites found in 2012 detected a single 5 mg dose for up to about 45 days, and drove many Olympic retest positives.
- Class risks plus documented harm. Liver injury, irreversible virilization in women and gynecologic problems were recorded in East German athletes.
- Controlled and banned. Schedule III in the US, with no FDA-approved product, and prohibited at all times in sport.
Sources
- Loke S, de la Torre X, Iannone M, et al. Controlled administration of dehydrochloromethyltestosterone in humans: urinary excretion and long-term detection of metabolites for anti-doping purpose. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2021;214:105978. PubMed.
- Franke WW, Berendonk B. Hormonal doping and androgenization of athletes: a secret program of the German Democratic Republic government. Clin Chem. 1997;43(7):1262–1279. PubMed.
- National Center for Biotechnology Information. Oral-Turinabol, PubChem CID 98521. PubChem.
- Dörner G. 4-Chloro-delta-1-methyltestosterone (Oral Turinabol), a new effective oral anabolic steroid [in German]. Dtsch Gesundheitsw. 1965;20:670–674. PubMed.
- Schumann W. The pharmacokinetics of Oral-Turinabol in humans [in German]. Pharmazie. 1991;46(9):650–654. PubMed.
- Sobolevsky T, Rodchenkov G. Detection and mass spectrometric characterization of novel long-term dehydrochloromethyltestosterone metabolites in human urine. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2012;128(3–5):121–127. PubMed.
- Gessner L, Thevis M, Rothschild MA, Jübner M. Detectability of oxandrolone, metandienone, clostebol and dehydrochloromethyltestosterone in urine after transdermal application. Drug Test Anal. 2022;14(10):1744–1761. PubMed.
- Schiffer L, Brixius-Anderko S, Hannemann F, et al. Metabolism of Oral Turinabol by human steroid hormone-synthesizing cytochrome P450 enzymes. Drug Metab Dispos. 2016;44(2):227–237. PubMed.
- Vogel G, Huyke R, Lauten G. Modification of hypofibrinolytic states by dehydrochlormethyltestosterone [in German]. Folia Haematol Int Mag Klin Morphol Blutforsch. 1984;111(4):563–566. PubMed.
- Liedloff H, Brauckhoff KF. Drug prevention of thromboembolism in elective hip surgery with reference to thrombophilic conditions [in German]. Z Gesamte Inn Med. 1989;44(11):320–323. PubMed.
- Kolliari-Turner A, Lima G, Hamilton B, Pitsiladis Y, Guppy FM. Analysis of anti-doping rule violations that have impacted medal results at the Summer Olympic Games 1968-2012. Sports Med. 2021;51(10):2221–2229. PubMed.
- Kolliari-Turner A, Oliver B, Lima G, et al. Doping practices in international weightlifting: analysis of sanctioned athletes/support personnel from 2008 to 2019 and retesting of samples from the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. Sports Med Open. 2021;7(1):4. PubMed.
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. LiverTox: Androgenic Steroids. Updated May 30, 2020. PubMed.
- Froehner M, Fischer R, Leike S, et al. Intratesticular leiomyosarcoma in a young man after high dose doping with Oral-Turinabol: a case report. Cancer. 1999;86(8):1571–1575. PubMed.
- Daniels JM, van Westerloo DJ, de Hon OM, Frissen PH. Rhabdomyolysis in a bodybuilder using steroids [in Dutch]. Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2006;150(19):1077–1080. PubMed.
- Geyer H, Parr MK, Koehler K, et al. Nutritional supplements cross-contaminated and faked with doping substances. J Mass Spectrom. 2008;43(7):892–902. PubMed.
- 21 U.S.C. 802(41), definition of anabolic steroid. govinfo.
- 21 CFR 1308.13(f), Schedule III anabolic steroids. eCFR.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Drugs@FDA data (openFDA). openFDA.
- World Anti-Doping Agency. World Anti-Doping Code International Standard: Prohibited List 2026, in effect January 1, 2026. Official copy via the Czech National Sports Agency. PDF.