Turkesterone is a plant steroid from the ecdysteroid family, sold in supplements as a “natural anabolic.” It is a close chemical relative of ecdysterone (20-hydroxyecdysone), with one extra hydroxyl group. Most turkesterone products are extracts of Ajuga turkestanica, a flowering plant that grows wild in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
The most important fact is how little is known. Only one small human study has tested a turkesterone product: 11 men took single doses and showed no significant change in IGF-1, metabolic rate or blood pressure compared with placebo. No training trial, no long-term safety study and no human pharmacokinetic data exist. The case for turkesterone rests mainly on older rat studies and cell experiments. Product analyses also show that what is in the capsule often does not match the label.
This page summarizes what the human study, animal research, product analyses and anti-doping documents report. It is for education only and is not medical advice.
| Property | Detail |
|---|---|
| Class | Phytoecdysteroid (plant-derived ecdysteroid); the 11α-hydroxy analog of 20-hydroxyecdysone |
| Other names | 11,20-dihydroxyecdysone (PubChem synonym) |
| Formula | C₂₇H₄₄O₈, 496.6 g/mol (PubChem) |
| Main source | Ajuga turkestanica (Lamiaceae, mint family); also present in Rhaponticum carthamoides |
| Route | Oral (supplements, typically A. turkestanica extract labeled as 10% turkesterone) |
| Doses in human studies | Single doses of 1000 mg and 2000 mg of a commercial product, one 11-person crossover study; turkesterone content not measured |
| Half-life | Unknown; no published human pharmacokinetic study |
| Mechanism | Not established in humans; no receptor has been confirmed |
| US status | Sold in dietary supplements; not an approved drug; not a scheduled controlled substance |
| WADA status | Not on the 2026 Prohibited List and not on the 2026 Monitoring Program (ecdysterone is monitored) |
What it is
Ecdysteroids are steroid hormones that control molting in insects and other arthropods, and many plants make the same or closely related molecules. The background on this family, and the human trials of its best-studied member, are covered on the ecdysterone page. This page focuses on what is specific to turkesterone.
Chemistry
Turkesterone has the same steroid skeleton and side chain as ecdysterone, plus a hydroxyl (OH) group at carbon 11 in the alpha position. That gives it seven hydroxyl groups instead of six (PubChem CID 14376672; PubChem CID 5459840). Like ecdysterone, it is not a testosterone derivative, and its structure is very different from anabolic-androgenic steroids.
| Ecdysteroid | Formula | Molecular weight | Hydroxyl groups |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ecdysterone (20-hydroxyecdysone) | C₂₇H₄₄O₇ | 480.6 g/mol | 6 |
| Turkesterone | C₂₇H₄₄O₈ | 496.6 g/mol | 7 (extra 11α-OH) |
The source plant: Ajuga turkestanica
Ajuga turkestanica grows naturally in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan and is described as endemic to Uzbekistan (Mamadalieva et al., Sci Rep 2024). Its preparations are also used in anti-aging cosmetic products. Key points about its chemistry:
- A mixture, not one compound. Earlier studies identified turkesterone, 20-hydroxyecdysone and cyasterone as the plant’s major ecdysteroids. A 2024 analysis identified 51 compounds across its organs, including 10 ecdysteroids, and found 20-hydroxyecdysone among the most abundant constituents overall. The authors chose 8-O-acetylharpagide and 20-hydroxyecdysone, not turkesterone, as quality markers for the plant (Mamadalieva et al., Sci Rep 2024).
- Many 11-hydroxylated relatives. From a semi-purified fraction containing about 70% turkesterone, researchers isolated 14 ecdysteroids, seven of them previously unreported and all carrying an 11α-hydroxy group. They concluded that 20-hydroxyecdysone and turkesterone are the plant’s two major ecdysteroids (Guibout et al., Phytochem Anal 2015).
- Wild harvest. Wild plants remain the main source of Ajuga ecdysteroids, which has led to overexploitation. Cell cultures are being developed as an alternative; in those cultures, 20-hydroxyecdysone was the most abundant ecdysteroid, followed by turkesterone (Popova et al., Nutrients 2023).
Turkesterone is not unique to Ajuga. One analysis measured 1.72 mg/g turkesterone in a wild Rhaponticum carthamoides extract and 0.97 mg/g in a cultivated one (Todorova et al., Molecules 2026).
The practical consequence is that a “turkesterone” supplement is usually a plant extract containing several ecdysteroids, often with substantial ecdysterone, rather than pure turkesterone.
Proposed mechanism
No study has established how turkesterone acts in human muscle. The mechanisms proposed for ecdysterone (estrogen receptor beta, the MAS receptor, or PI3K/Akt signaling) are often assumed to apply, but they were studied with ecdysterone, not turkesterone. Even the authors of the only human turkesterone study described its mechanism as “postulated” (Harris et al., Muscles 2024).
“More potent than ecdysterone”? This marketing claim traces back to older animal work. Rat studies from the 1970s, published in Russian, reported anabolic effects for turkesterone (Syrov & Kurmukov, Probl Endokrinol 1976). A later structure-activity study, measuring amino-acid incorporation into protein, found turkesterone the most active of the compounds tested, ahead of cyasterone and 20-hydroxyecdysone (Lafont & Dinan, J Insect Sci 2003). These are laboratory and rodent measures. No study has compared turkesterone with ecdysterone, or with placebo, for muscle or strength in people.
How it works in the body
There are no published pharmacokinetic data for turkesterone in humans: absorption, peak levels, half-life and metabolism are all unknown. The authors of the only human study stated that its half-life “is not fully understood” and assumed it was similar to ecdysterone’s when choosing a washout period (Harris et al., Muscles 2024).
For comparison, ecdysterone has a short plasma half-life and low oral bioavailability in humans (see the ecdysterone page). Whether turkesterone behaves the same way has not been tested.
Regulatory status
Anti-doping (WADA)
Turkesterone is not named in the WADA 2026 Prohibited List. The list’s S1.2 class, “other anabolic agents,” is open-ended (“including, but not limited to”), but turkesterone is not among the named examples.
It is also absent from the 2026 Monitoring Program, whose only listed anabolic agent is ecdysterone. A 2026 analytical study likewise noted that turkesterone is not included in either list and that future regulatory changes cannot be excluded (Todorova et al., Molecules 2026).
This matters because turkesterone products often contain ecdysterone (see Product quality below). An athlete taking a “turkesterone” supplement may therefore take in ecdysterone, which WADA does monitor. Laboratory methods to detect turkesterone have been developed, for example in horse urine and plasma for racing control (Karatt et al., Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 2023).
Drug and supplement status
Turkesterone is not an approved drug. It is sold in dietary supplements (Todorova et al., Molecules 2026). It is not named among the anabolic steroids in the US Schedule III list (21 CFR 1308.13).
What the research shows
Human evidence
The only published human study of turkesterone is a small acute trial (Harris et al., Muscles 2024):
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Design | Randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled crossover |
| Participants | 11 healthy, recreationally active men, mean age 23.3 years |
| Conditions | Single dose of 1000 mg or 2000 mg of a commercial turkesterone product, or 2000 mg cellulose placebo; at least 7 days between conditions |
| Measurements | Serum IGF-1, resting metabolic rate, fat and carbohydrate use, heart rate, blood pressure, digestive symptoms; before, 3 h and 24 h after dosing |
| IGF-1 | No significant condition, time or interaction effect; mean IGF-1 was numerically higher after both doses |
| Resting metabolic rate and fuel use | No significant differences vs placebo |
| Heart rate, blood pressure, GI symptoms | No significant changes; no participant reported digestive symptoms |
Important limits of this study:
- Single doses only. It did not include training and did not measure muscle size, strength or body composition over time.
- Product content unknown. The paper reports the product by weight but does not report measuring its turkesterone content. Given the label discrepancies described below, the actual dose is uncertain.
- Very small sample. Eleven participants is too few to detect modest effects or uncommon side effects.
No controlled training trial of turkesterone in humans has been published. The resistance-training trials often cited for “ecdysteroids” tested ecdysterone products, not turkesterone (see the ecdysterone page).
Animal and cell studies
Most turkesterone research comes from animals and cell culture, often using whole Ajuga extracts rather than pure turkesterone. Results are mixed, and none can be applied directly to people.
| Study | Model | Treatment | Main finding |
|---|---|---|---|
| Syrov & Kurmukov 1976 | Male rats | Turkesterone and turkesterone tetraacetate | Reported anabolic effects (Russian-language paper) |
| Arthur et al. 2014 | Aged male mice (20 months) | A. turkestanica extract 50 mg/kg/day in chow, 28 days | Increased Notch and Wnt signaling markers in muscle satellite cells; no change in satellite cell number |
| Lawrence et al. 2021 | Aged male mice (20 months), n = 12 per group | A. turkestanica extract or 20-hydroxyecdysone, each 50 mg/kg/day, 28 days | No change in body, muscle or organ mass, fiber size, fiber type or protein-synthesis signaling |
| Martins et al. 2021 | Castrated male and female mice with resistance exercise | A. turkestanica extract alone or with other herbal extracts | With exercise, A. turkestanica extract improved grip strength in castrated males |
| Todorova et al. 2023 | Human fat cells (cell culture) | Pure turkesterone | Reduced fat accumulation during fat-cell development; did not stimulate fat breakdown |
The Lawrence study is a useful reality check. Its A. turkestanica extract was measured at 5.85% turkesterone and 23.61% 20-hydroxyecdysone by dry weight, so even a research-grade A. turkestanica extract contained far more ecdysterone than turkesterone (Lawrence et al., Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021). In sedentary aging mice, it had no anabolic effect.
Reviews also list effects of turkesterone or Ajuga extracts on blood sugar, liver injury and immune function in rodent models (Todorova et al., Nutrients 2024; Lafont & Dinan, J Insect Sci 2003). None of these has been tested in human trials.
Product quality
Because almost all turkesterone is sold as a plant extract, the content of a product is the main practical uncertainty. A 2026 study used a validated LC-MS method (liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry) to measure 20-hydroxyecdysone and turkesterone in 13 supplements bought online, including four A. turkestanica products labeled as 10% turkesterone (Todorova et al., Molecules 2026):
| A. turkestanica product (as labeled) | Measured turkesterone per capsule | Measured 20-hydroxyecdysone per capsule |
|---|---|---|
| 500 mg extract with ginseng and astragalus, min. 10% turkesterone | 54.77 mg | 0.47 mg |
| 500 mg extract, 10% turkesterone | 0.64 mg | 24.98 mg |
| 500 mg extract, 10% turkesterone | 6.23 mg | 2.5 mg |
| 600 mg extract, 10% turkesterone | 40.03 mg | 35.51 mg |
Products with the same label claim ranged from under 1 mg to about 55 mg of turkesterone per capsule. Two of the four contained more ecdysterone than turkesterone. The authors noted that the same pattern, products sold as high in turkesterone that actually contained more ecdysterone, had been reported before. They also noted that degradation during processing or storage could contribute, and that EU rules do not require pre-market checks of active-compound content.
The same study found turkesterone in some products not sold as turkesterone. For example, a Rhaponticum product labeled as 80% ecdysterone contained 19.80 mg turkesterone per capsule, and a Cyanotis product contained 13.78 mg.
Analyses of ecdysterone supplements have also found products contaminated with WADA-prohibited substances (see the ecdysterone page). Comparable contamination testing focused on turkesterone products was not found in the literature reviewed for this page.
Side effects and risks
What is known
Human safety data are limited to the single-dose crossover study. At 1000 mg and 2000 mg of a commercial product, there were no significant changes in heart rate or blood pressure and no reported digestive symptoms in 11 young men (Harris et al., Muscles 2024).
What is not known
- Long-term safety. No study has followed people taking turkesterone for weeks or months, so effects on the liver, kidneys, hormones, lipids or blood counts are unknown.
- Interactions. No drug-interaction studies exist.
- Special groups. There are no data in women, pregnancy or breastfeeding, adolescents, older adults, or people with liver, kidney or hormone-sensitive conditions.
- Hormonal effects. Claims that turkesterone does not affect testosterone or other hormones have not been tested in human studies of repeated dosing.
Practical risks
The best-documented risks come from the products rather than the molecule. Actual turkesterone content varies widely, and products may contain mainly ecdysterone (Todorova et al., Molecules 2026). For tested athletes, that means possible ecdysterone exposure (a WADA-monitored substance) and the general risk of contamination with prohibited substances that applies to supplements in this category.
Key takeaways
- An ecdysterone relative from Central Asia. Turkesterone is 20-hydroxyecdysone with one extra hydroxyl group at carbon 11, mainly extracted from Ajuga turkestanica, a plant native to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
- Almost no human evidence. The only human study gave 11 men single doses and found no significant change in IGF-1, metabolic rate, heart rate or blood pressure versus placebo. No training trial has been published.
- Potency claims come from rodents. Rat studies from the 1970s and a later protein-synthesis assay ranked turkesterone above ecdysterone, but no human comparison exists, and a 2021 study in aging mice found no anabolic effect.
- Labels are unreliable. In four products labeled as 10% turkesterone, measured content ranged from under 1 mg to about 55 mg per capsule, and two contained more ecdysterone than turkesterone.
- Not prohibited or monitored by WADA, but ecdysterone is. Turkesterone is absent from both 2026 WADA lists, yet its products often contain ecdysterone, which is on the 2026 Monitoring Program.
Sources
- Harris DR, Chapman-Lopez T, Machek SB, et al. The effects of multiple acute turkesterone doses on indirect measures of hypertrophy and metabolic measures: a preliminary investigation. Muscles. 2024;3(4):364–375. PubMed; PMC.
- Todorova V, Ivanova S, Ardasheva R, Ivanov K. Simultaneous LC-MS profiling of bioactive ecdysteroids in nutrient-dense plant sources and dietary supplements. Molecules. 2026;31(7):1090. PubMed; PMC.
- Todorova V, Ivanova S, Chakarov D, Kraev K, Ivanov K. Ecdysterone and turkesterone—compounds with prominent potential in sport and healthy nutrition. Nutrients. 2024;16(9):1382. PubMed; PMC.
- Mamadalieva NZ, Šoral M, Kysil E, et al. Comparative metabolic profiling and quantitative analysis of metabolites in different tissues of Ajuga turkestanica by ESI-UHPLC-QqTOF-MS and NMR. Sci Rep. 2024;14(1):28179. PubMed; PMC.
- Guibout L, Mamadalieva N, Balducci C, et al. The minor ecdysteroids from Ajuga turkestanica. Phytochem Anal. 2015;26(5):293–300. PubMed.
- Popova E, Titova M, Tynykulov M, et al. Sustainable production of Ajuga bioactive metabolites using cell culture technologies: a review. Nutrients. 2023;15(5):1246. PubMed; PMC.
- Lawrence MM, Zwetsloot KA, Arthur ST, et al. Phytoecdysteroids do not have anabolic effects in skeletal muscle in sedentary aging mice. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(2):370. PubMed; PMC.
- Arthur ST, Zwetsloot KA, Lawrence MM, et al. Ajuga turkestanica increases Notch and Wnt signaling in aged skeletal muscle. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2014;18(17):2584–2592. PubMed.
- Martins JP, Silva LC, Nunes MS, et al. Combined effects of exercise and phytoanabolic extracts in castrated male and female mice. Nutrients. 2021;13(4):1177. PubMed; PMC.
- Todorova V, Savova MS, Ivanova S, et al. Anti-adipogenic activity of Rhaponticum carthamoides and its secondary metabolites. Nutrients. 2023;15(13):3061. PubMed; PMC.
- Syrov VN, Kurmukov AG. [The anabolic properties of turkesterone phytoecdysone and turkesterone tetraacetate in experiments on male rats]. Probl Endokrinol (Mosk). 1976;22(3):107–112. Article in Russian. PubMed.
- Lafont R, Dinan L. Practical uses for ecdysteroids in mammals including humans: an update. J Insect Sci. 2003;3:7. PubMed; PMC.
- Karatt TK, Sathiq MA, Laya S, et al. An extensive screening method for the identification and quantitation of ecdysteroids in equine urine and plasma using liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom. 2023;37(18):e9611. PubMed.
- World Anti-Doping Agency. The 2026 Monitoring Program. September 2025. WADA.
- World Anti-Doping Agency. World Anti-Doping Code International Standard: Prohibited List 2026. WADA 2026 Prohibited List.
- National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem compound summaries: turkesterone (CID 14376672) and 20-hydroxyecdysone (CID 5459840). PubChem; PubChem.
- Code of Federal Regulations. 21 CFR 1308.13, Schedule III. 21 CFR 1308.13.