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Norbolethone


Norbolethone
Systematic (IUPAC) name
13-ethyl-17-hydroxy-18,19-dinor-17-pregn-4-en-20-yn-3-one
Identifiers
CAS number	1235-15-0
ATC code	?
PubChem	66255
Chemical data
Formula	C₂₁H₃₂O₂
Mol. mass	316.47758 g/mol
Synonyms	Norbolethone, Genabol
Pharmacokinetic data
Bioavailability	?
Metabolism	?
Half life	?
Excretion	?
Therapeutic considerations
Pregnancy cat.	?
Legal status
Routes	?

Norbolethone (Genabol) is an anabolic steroid. It was first developed in 1966, and tested for use as an agent to encourage weight gain and for the treatment of short stature, but was never marketed commercially. It subsequently showed up in urine tests on athletes in competition in the early 2000s.^[1]

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Norbolethone was found to have been brought to the market by the chemist Patrick Arnold, of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO), an American nutritional supplement company. It is reputed to have been the active ingredient in the original formulation of the "undetectable" steroid formulation known as "The Clear" before being replaced by the more potent drug tetrahydrogestrinone.^[2]^[3]

References

^ Catlin DH, Ahrens BD, Kucherova Y. Detection of norbolethone, an anabolic steroid never marketed, in athletes' urine. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry. 2002;16(13):1273-5.
^ United States Attorney for the Northern District of California (2006-08-04). "Chemist Who Created "The Clear" Sentenced". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-10-08.
^ Knight J. Drugs bust reveals athletes' secret steroid. Nature. 2003 Oct 23;425(6960):752.