IngredientsMethyldiazirinol is a synthetic anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) that is marketed under the guise of a dietary supplement ingredient. In 2013, the compound appeared on the market, and chemists prefer to call it 3,3-azo-17-alpha-methyl-5-alpha-androstan-17-beta-ol. It is also referred to by the synonym Methyldiazinol, and in product marketing by names such as Triumphalis and Methyl-diaz.
According to Wikidata and PubChem (CID 112500385), methyldiazirinol is classified as a subclass of steroid, with the molecular formula C₂₀H₃₂N₂O. Its IUPAC name is (5alpha,17beta)-17-Methylspiro[androstane-3,3'-[3H]diazirin]-17-ol, CAS number 2429-17-6, with a molar mass of 316.48, density of 1.33 g/cm³, and a melting point of 156–157°C.
The compound belongs to the class of diazirine-containing steroids. Compared to other anabolic agents, methyldiazirinol features a nucleophilic heteroatom in place of the standard 3-ketone group, and the additional nitrogen atom is reported to influence receptor binding and assimilation. The 17-alpha alkylation of the C-17α position allows oral administration by inhibiting metabolic deactivation in the liver.
Common forms and preparations: Methyldiazirinol has been sold almost exclusively as oral capsules. One commercially documented formulation, Primobol Dex, contained Methyldiazirinol (3,3-azo-17a-methyl-5a-androstan-17b-ol) at 20 mg per capsule, combined with other compounds including Epistane (20 mg), Trenavar (20 mg), and TUDCA (100 mg). Another product, Xtreme Shed, was documented as containing 3,3-azo-17a-methyl-5a-androstan-17b-ol at 20 mg per serving; both methyldiazirinol and co-ingredient hexadrone were characterized as prohormones or designer steroids.
Methyldiazirinol is classified as an anabolic steroid and is converted in the body to testosterone and other sex hormones.
Methyldiazirinol has no botanical or natural plant-based origin. It is an entirely synthetic compound with no traditional use in herbal medicine, folk medicine, or any documented ethnomedical tradition. Claims by some supplement-marketing websites attributing traditional use of methyldiazirinol to historical herbal systems are not supported by any historical, ethnobotanical, pharmacopeial, or scholarly sources and should be disregarded.
In 1965, chemists from the American Lederle Laboratories, part of the American Cyanamid Company, published an article in the Journal of the American Chemical Society in which they introduced a group of diaziridine and diazirine steroids that they made and studied in their laboratory. In animal studies, preliminary diazirine steroids were found to be either androgenic but not very anabolic, or anabolic but not very androgenic; when the researchers modified the second type, they synthesized 3,3-azo-17-alpha-methyl-5-alpha-androstan-17-beta-ol, i.e., methyldiazirinol.
Methyldiazirinol was first researched by the pharmaceutical entity Lederle Labs, which published results of their testing in 1965 and obtained a patent for use of methyldiazirinol as a steroid for therapy in 1966. However, according to one secondary analysis, the researchers at Lederle reportedly obtained a patent on methyldiazirinol, but independent verification of that patent literature could not be confirmed.
Methyldiazirinol was never commercialized as a pharmaceutical drug, though Lederle continued to explore the possibilities of the diazirine group in other non-steroidal molecules. It was first released onto the dietary supplement market as Iron Legion Triumphalis in 2013.
Methyldiazirinol was one of many steroids listed in Julius Vida's reference text Androgens and Anabolic Agents. In a section detailing "Compounds displaying decreased androgenic activity coupled with increased anabolic activity," the 3,3-azo steroid was listed alongside steroids such as oxandrolone (Anavar), methenolone (Primobolan), stanozolol (Winstrol), and norbolethone.
As a single synthetic molecule, methyldiazirinol is itself the active entity — it contains no multiple botanical constituents. Its defining structural features are:
Methyldiazirinol exerts its effects through androgen receptor (AR) agonism. It is a type of anabolic steroid and is converted in the body to testosterone and other sex hormones. For the purposes of anti-doping regulation, anabolic steroids of this class activate testosterone and epitestosterone receptors, thereby improving muscle strength and endurance.
Julius Vida drew from the animal studies described in the Lederle Laboratories publication; methyldiazirinol was found to have 20 percent of the androgenic effect of methyltestosterone and 300 percent of its anabolic effect. According to the Lederle Laboratories researchers, methyldiazirinol has an oral anabolic:androgenic ratio of 300:20 when compared to methyltestosterone, giving it a "Q factor" of 15; this provides anabolic-to-androgenic effects similar to methasterone (Superdrol), which was reported to have an anabolic:androgenic ratio of 400:20.
Methyldiazirinol does not aromatize, and neither the parent compound nor its metabolites are estrogenic or progestinic. Numerous chemical modifications to testosterone's structure have been made to improve oral bioavailability by inhibiting hepatic first-pass metabolism; however, complete dissociation of the desirable anabolic effects from the undesirable androgenic effects has not been achieved.
Methyldiazirinol has a reported half-life of approximately 6 hours.
The scientific evidence base for methyldiazirinol is extremely limited. Methyldiazirinol has never been tested on humans. The Lederle study — published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (1965, 87(12): 2665–71) — is the only study in which researchers have examined this steroid. That study was an animal study conducted in the 1960s by the compound's pharmaceutical inventors. There are no published randomized controlled trials, no cohort studies, no systematic reviews, and no human pharmacokinetic data specifically for methyldiazirinol in the peer-reviewed literature.
Methyldiazinol is used for weight loss, to improve athletic performance, to reduce sexual problems, and for many other uses, but there is no good scientific evidence to support its use.
The only documented data on anabolic efficacy derive from the Lederle animal studies of the 1960s. In those animal studies, methyldiazirinol demonstrated 20 percent of the androgenic effect and 300 percent of the anabolic effect of methyltestosterone. This does not mean that methyldiazirinol is therefore a safer anabolic than methyltestosterone. No human clinical trial data on muscle mass, strength, body composition, or athletic performance exist for this compound.
The American College of Sports Medicine acknowledges that anabolic-androgenic steroids, in the presence of adequate diet, can contribute to increases in body weight, often as lean mass increases, and that gains in muscular strength achieved through high-intensity exercise and proper diet can be additionally increased by AAS in some individuals. This general finding for the AAS class cannot be extrapolated specifically to methyldiazirinol in the absence of human trials.
No human clinical data exist. Anabolic steroids are synthetic derivatives of testosterone that have both medical applications and a high potential for misuse; they play a clinical role in managing conditions such as hypogonadism and delayed male puberty, but when misused for muscle enhancement they can lead to significant adverse effects and long-term health risks. None of these clinical indications have been studied specifically for methyldiazirinol.
Methyldiazirinol is classified as an anabolic steroid and is converted in the body to testosterone and other sex hormones. Based on its structural class, it would be expected to suppress endogenous testosterone production through hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis feedback — a known consequence of exogenous androgen use. No human studies have examined this directly for methyldiazirinol.
Based on its classification as a 17-alpha-alkylated anabolic-androgenic steroid, the systems most implicated — whether as desired effects or adverse effects — include:
Methyldiazirinol has been marketed exclusively in oral capsule form. The following dosages are documented in product labeling and supplement-focused discussions (not from clinical trials):
Important caveat: None of these dosages derive from clinical pharmacology or human safety studies. They represent commercially marketed or user-reported figures only, and there is no established safe or effective dose for humans.
In the United States, it is illegal to include anabolic steroids in dietary supplement products. These chemicals are also banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
All anabolic agents, including anabolic-androgenic steroids such as exogenously administered testosterone, nandrolone, stanozolol, and methandienone, are permanently banned by WADA due to their muscle growth and strength effects. Sport drug-testing programs globally reference the WADA Prohibited List as the definitive resource for identifying substances and methods banned in sport; WADA maintains and updates this document annually to address emerging threats to the integrity of athletic competition.
Methyldiazirinol has been characterized by anti-doping researchers as a prohormone or designer steroid. Although products containing substances of this type are generally marketed as dietary supplements, they are not lawful dietary supplements; instead, they are unapproved drugs that the FDA has not reviewed for safety and effectiveness.
The Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2014 (Public Law No. 113-260) broadened the scope of controlled substances to include many designer steroids not previously scheduled.
The NIH's Dietary Supplement Label Database (DSLD), developed by the Office of Dietary Supplements, catalogs information printed on labels of dietary supplement products sold in the United States — and methyldiazirinol appears in this database as an ingredient in labeled supplement products, reflecting its documented presence in marketed products.
Hepatic adverse effects are classically associated with 17α-alkylated AAS due to their ability to bypass first-pass hepatic metabolism. As a 17-alpha-methylated compound, methyldiazirinol carries this class risk. Anabolic steroids marketed as bodybuilding supplements typically induce a prolonged cholestatic, but ultimately self-limiting liver injury that has a distinctive serum biochemical as well as histological phenotype.
Although cholestasis is unlikely with parenterally administered unmodified testosterone, 17α-alkyl-substituted steroids, which are designed to decrease hepatic metabolism, directly contribute to a highly characteristic form of acute cholestasis, ranging from very mild to severe; clinical manifestations include nausea, pruritus, fatigue, jaundice, and dark urine with elevated bilirubin and ALP.
HDS-induced liver injury now accounts for 20% of cases of hepatotoxicity in the United States based on research data, and the major implicated agents include anabolic steroids, green tea extract, and multi-ingredient nutritional supplements.
Methyldiazirinol can also lead to liver damage and heart disease.
Methyldiazirinol is possibly unsafe for most people when taken by mouth; side effects include infertility, behavioral changes, hair loss, and breast development in men.
Anabolic steroids of this class can cause serious liver injury and life-threatening reactions such as heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, and kidney damage. Documented class risks include harmful changes in cholesterol levels (increased low-density lipoprotein and decreased high-density lipoprotein), acne, high blood pressure, liver damage, and dangerous changes in the structure of the left ventricle of the heart.
Methyldiazirinol has never been tested on humans. The Lederle study, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (1965, 87(12): 2665–71), is the only study in which researchers have examined this steroid. A high anabolic-to-androgenic ratio in animal models does not mean that methyldiazirinol is therefore a safer anabolic than methyltestosterone.
Based on anecdotal reports, methyldiazirinol appears to be an active oral anabolic steroid, but many users experience serious side effects — which is consistent with expectations for a 17-alpha-methylated substance.
No pharmacokinetic drug-interaction studies have been conducted for methyldiazirinol. Based on its structural class, interactions expected for 17-alpha-alkylated anabolic-androgenic steroids are relevant. Some compounds are 17-alpha alkylated to improve the oral bioavailability of androgens, but this modification increases the toxicity of the androgen. Co-administration with other hepatotoxic agents (including alcohol, acetaminophen, and other oral AAS) would be expected to increase hepatotoxic risk. Anticoagulants (notably warfarin) may have their effects potentiated by anabolic steroids as a class.
The formula of methyldiazirinol is a derivative of diazirinol and may be slightly unstable under heat or over periods of time.
Methyldiazirinol is a fully synthetic, 17-alpha-methylated anabolic-androgenic steroid with no botanical origin, no traditional use history, and no published human clinical trial data. Its entire scientific basis rests on a single animal study from 1965 by Lederle Laboratories and secondary reporting in Julius Vida's pharmacological reference text. It entered the dietary supplement market in 2013 as a designer steroid under branding such as Iron Legion Triumphalis and various prohormone "stack" products.
Its classification by the Natural Medicines database (Therapeutic Research Center) as an anabolic steroid, its inclusion on the WADA Prohibited List as a banned anabolic agent, and the FDA's position that such compounds are unapproved drugs rather than lawful dietary supplements all reflect the regulatory and scientific consensus that methyldiazirinol is not an appropriate or legal dietary supplement ingredient. The evidence for any health benefit is absent at the human level, while the potential for harm — particularly hepatotoxicity, cardiovascular injury, and endocrine disruption — is well-documented for its pharmacological class.
Health conditions that Methyldiazirinol may help support.
Body systems that Methyldiazirinol may help support.
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