Androstenediol

Androstenediol is a term used to refer to two different steroids with molecular weights of 290.44: "4-androstenediol" (4-androstene-3beta,17beta-diol) and "5-androstenediol" (5-androstene-3beta,17beta-diol). 4-Androstenediol is closer to testosterone structurally, and has androgenic effects. 5-Androstenediol is a direct metabolite of the most abundant steroid produced by the human adrenal cortex, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). 5-Androstenediol is less androgenic than 4-androstenediol, and stimulates the immune system. When administered to rats in vivo, 5-androstenediol has approximately 1/70 the androgenicity of DHEA, 1/185 the androgenicity of androstenedione, and 1/475 the androgenicity of testosterone (Coffey, 1988). Because it induces production of white blood cells and platelets, 5-androstenediol is being developed as a radiation countermeasure by the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute. Until 2007, it was being developed as a radiation countermeasure by Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals as Neumune (HE2100).

Androstenediol is on the list of substances banned by the Major League Baseball drug policy.