Andro 6/Anotesten
T With the flood of promising reviews on androstene and androdiol there was bound to be some companies that would try to capitalize on the consumers with promises of products that would make a good supplement better.  I think that all of this misinformation was started by Bill Phillips when he originally started talking about Androstene, "The East German Secret Weapon," or something like that.  He touted that taking DHEA, Androstene, and Tribulus Terrestris would cause "steroid like effects."  I am going to show you why this is not possible with this article.

First, lets look at what is in the two products:

Now lets break down what each of these ingredients is supposed to do:

Androstenedione
This is really one of the few parts of this mixture of supplements that is worthwhile.  Androstenedione is a testosterone precursor.  This means that it is only one step away in the conversion to testosterone process making it a worthwhile supplement.  Androstenedione is a natural steroid hormone that can be found in all animals.  It is is a metabolite of DHEA. It is made naturally in the body by the gonads and adrenal glands. The effects of androstenedione last for only a short period of time but it causes a sudden burst of testosterone it will boost athletic performance by increasing muscle strength.  This is a proven supplement which is the greatest addition to this supplement mixture.

DHEA
I think that people are still caught up on this one because it was classified as a steroid for a period of time.    DHEA is an adrenal hormone that is a testosterone precursor.  It is about two steps up the ladder from testosterone though.  DHEA converts to androstenedione in the body and then converts to testosterone.  This makes DHEA basically an androstenedione precursor.  The problem with having DHEA in the mixture is that it uses the same enzyme to convert to androstenedione as the androstenedione uses to convert to testosterone.  In other words, the DHEA and androstenedione are competing for an enzyme that is available in the body in only a limited amount.  Why would you want to even mess with a two step testosterone conversion process with the DHEA?   The end result of adding the DHEA to this stack is that you will have more 5-AD in the blood than testosterone.  The end result of all of this is less of an anabolic effect than would have normally been possible if they had not included DHEA in this supplement in the first place.

Tribulus Terrestris
Tribulus is a testosterone booster by different means that DHEA or androstenedione.  It is supposed to boost testosterone production by increasing the amount of luteinizing hormone that they body produces.  LH is what signals the testes to start producing more endogenous testosterone, the body's natural testosterone.  Unfortunately, there is only a single study that shows that tribulus terrestris increases LH.  There have been several studies that show that it does increase sperm production as well as motility though.

This supplement is currently in the limbo phase as to whether it is indeed an effective supplement or not.  There has only been one study done that showed that it did what is claimed.  There are currently other studies going on to try and substantiate these claims though.  I personally think that it does work though.  I have gotten good results from taking it as a separate supplement as well.  If through further testing it is proven to increase LH in the body thereby increasing natural testosterone synthesis in the body then it may even have the benefit of a poor mans HCG or Clomid without the anti-estrogenic effects when coming off of a steroid cycle.

Saw Palmetto
Saw Palmetto is a plant herb that is supposedly beneficial for the prostate.  The active ingredient in saw palmetto is supposed to inhibit the conversion of testosterone to the androgen DHT.  DHT is bad for a couple of reasons but it may be essential in other regards.  It causes enlargement of the prostate as well as hair loss.  These are both effects that most men would want to live without.  The other reason for the inclusion of saw palmetto is that it is being touted as an anti-estrogen.  I have seen only a single study that showed this effect and this same study showed that saw palmetto also blocked testosterone receptor sites as well.

The problem with saw palmetto being in this supplement mixture is that DHT is an active androgen in the central nervous system that is important to you in other aspects.  DHT is important to you in terms of strength gains as well as the aggressive effects of testosterone.  There are several different studies on the net that show that saw palmetto is an androgen receptor antagonist.  You don't want to take something with a testosterone booster that may in fact hinder it from binding with the androgen receptors in the first place.  If it can't bind with these receptors you may not see any changes in strength or lean mass gains from the androstenedione at all.  Saw Palmetto is a supplement that has its place but not in this mixture.  Obviously, if you spent over $50 for testosterone boosting supplement, why would you want to take a chance on something that might render it useless?

Indole-3 Carbinol
Indole-3 carbinol is a dietary indole that cause the body to alter its metabolism of estradiol.   Indole-3 carbinol is a phytonutrient that is a by product of glucosinolate's in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, etc.  It is a highly reactive phytochemical.  There are two main benefits of taking indole-3 carbinol:  it helps get rid of cancer causing agents and works as an anti-estrogen.  We are going to concentrate on the anti-estrogenic properties of this compound since that is the sole reason that it is included in these supplements.

Indole-3 carbinol works as an anti-estrogen in an interesting way.  This is accomplished by stimulating the C-2 enzyme, which forces estrogen down an inactivation pathway.  Once it has gone down this pathway, it is changed into a catechol estrogen which is cleared from your system and may even act as an anti-estrogen it itself.  If estrogen production continues to be increased as a by-product of all the excess testosterone that the androstenedione is causing, being C-16 alpha it could possibly stimulate gyno in some people, especially if they are taking higher doses of androstenedione than recommended.  Since Indole-3 carbinol makes estrogen go down the C-2 pathway, it makes it rids the body of all of the unwanted side effects.  The biggest question with indole-3 carbinol remains whether it will remain potent once it passes through your stomach.  More info to follow in the future on this issue.

Chrysin
Chrysin is a naturally occurring flavone that has been shown to inhibit the conversion of androgens to estrogen's.   There are several things that are going against "Flavone X," as it was originally called by Dan Duchaine.  The first thing is that you have to take a very high dosage to get any effects from it at all.  Andro-6 and Anotesten only contain 150 mg of chrysin.  Most of the studies that I have seen were using several grams (thousands of mg) per day to have any anti-estrogenic effects in the first place.   150 mg of Chrysin is basically a useless dosage.  The other problem with Chrysin is that it is a very poor bioavailable compound.  It is not absorbed very well by the gastrointestinal tract.  When and even if it makes it through all of this, it would then go to the liver which would quickly decompose it and leave hardly anything that would work as an anti-estrogen.  These studies that are leaving very little left as an anti-estrogen are using 4-8 grams per day not 150 mg per day.  I would highly doubt that you would see a single change in estrogen levels from the amount of chrysin that is contained in these supplements.

Overview
Now taking all of that into consideration, lets look at the price of these two supplements:  EAS Andro-6 gives you 120 tablets whereas the recommended dosage is two tablets, 2 -3 times per day.   This makes a bottle last 20 days if you take it 3 times per day like most people would.  Andro-6 retails for $79.95 off of the EAS webpage.  But, hey, if you buy 3 bottles you get 1 free.  That way you have 4 bottles of a shitty product instead of just 1.  Anotesten on the other hand gives you two different sized bottles:  and 84 capsule bottle and one with 168 capsules in it.  The recommended dosage on this one is 6 capsules per dose.  They also say that Anotesten should be used for 14 days straight, followed by a 7 day layoff and that the cycle should be repeated 3 times with a 3 week layoff.  So what you are getting here is either a bottle with enough for 14 days or 28 days worth of supplements.  The thing that cracks me up the most about MuscleTech's Anotesten is that they claim that it is time-released.  This is total bullshit.  The bottles of Anotestin retail for either $39.95 or $69.95 depending on how much you want to get ripped off I guess.  I would be very leery about any MuscleTech supplements at this point anyway.  There is book that is on sale right now that tested several different companies supplements, including both EAS and MuscleTech as well as about 100 other.  The MuscleTech supplements across the board came up way below what the labels claimed.  Anotesten is pretty new so I don't think that it made it in the book but if most of the products tested bad, it would lead me to believe that this is not the anomaly of the product line.  If you are interested in this book call either (888) 551-TEST or visit their webpage at http://www.labtestreview.com      I think that MuscleTech was even trying to sue the writers of the book because they knew that they would lose their ass's when it came out. Check it out though.  And, by the way, I have no vested interest in how the book sales.  It is just good reading though and will probably save you some money in the future from keeping you from buying bad supplements.