Ligandrol lowers endurance and negatively affects lipid and hormonal profile of male rats

Selective androgen receptor modulators are currently not approved but are widely used in gyms. In the present study, the effects of ligandrol and its combination with endurance training on functional and clinically important parameters were studied in male healthy rats. Fourteen-week-old male rats were divided into four groups: two training (40 min, 5 times/week) and two non-training (5 min, 3 times/week). The velocity was 25 m/min at a track elevation of 5° for all groups. Ligandrol (0.4 mg/kg body weight, 5 times/week) was administered to one training and one non-training group and vehicle to the other groups (n = 10 per group) for 8 weeks. We conducted functional tests and examined morphometric, functional, hematological, hormonal, and clinical chemistry indicators in rats and histological and gene expression analyses in gastrocnemius muscle. Endurance training had a positive effect on all functional tests and increased vascular endothelial growth factor a (Vegf-a) gene expression. Ligandrol treatment reduced submaximal endurance, maximal oxygen consumption, concentrations of glucose, follicle-stimulating hormone, and testosterone. It increased grip strength, triglycerides, and total cholesterol concentrations and had no effect on maximal sprinting speed, maximal time to exhaustion, hematological and morphometric parameters, and gene expression of myostatin and insulin-like growth factor 1. The negative effects of ligandrol treatment outweighed its benefits in this study. Endurance training alone had favorable effects, and its combination with ligandrol did not seem to have an advantage. In the training group, ligandrol decreased Vegf-a gene expression and the size of muscle fibers type I and IIa.