| Clinical data | |
|---|---|
| Trade names | Testoviron, others |
| Other names | TP; Testosterone propanoate; Testosterone 17β-propanoate; Propionyltestosterone; NSC-9166 |
| Routes of administration | Intramuscular injection,buccal |
| Drug class | Androgen;Anabolic steroid;Androgen ester |
| Legal status | |
| Legal status | |
| Pharmacokinetic data | |
| Bioavailability | Oral: very low Intramuscular: very high |
| Metabolism | Liver |
| Eliminationhalf-life | Intramuscular: 0.8 days (~20 hours)[1][2][3] |
| Excretion | Urine |
| Identifiers | |
| |
| CAS Number | |
| PubChemCID | |
| DrugBank | |
| ChemSpider | |
| UNII | |
| KEGG | |
| ChEBI | |
| ChEMBL | |
| CompTox Dashboard(EPA) | |
| ECHA InfoCard | 100.000.319 |
| Chemical and physical data | |
| Formula | C22H32O3 |
| Molar mass | 344.495 g·mol−1 |
| 3D model (JSmol) | |
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Testosterone propionate, sold under the brand nameTestoviron among others, is anandrogen andanabolic steroid (AAS) medication which is used mainly in the treatment oflow testosterone levels in men.[4][1][5] It has also been used to treatbreast cancer in women.[6] It is given byinjection into muscle usually once every two to three days.[5][7][8]
Side effects of testosterone propionate includesymptoms ofmasculinization likeacne,increased hair growth,voice changes, and increasedsexual desire.[5] Testosterone supplementation is also known to reduce the threshold foraggressive behavior in men.[9] The drug is asynthetic androgen and anabolic steroid and hence is anagonist of theandrogen receptor (AR), thebiological target of androgens liketestosterone anddihydrotestosterone (DHT).[10][5] It has strongandrogenic effects and moderateanabolic effects, which make it useful for producing masculinization and suitable forandrogen replacement therapy.[5] Testosterone propionate is atestosterone ester and a relatively short-actingprodrug oftestosterone in the body.[7][4][1] Because of this, it is considered to be a natural and bioidentical form of testosterone.[11]
Testosterone propionate was discovered in 1936 and was introduced for medical use in 1937.[12][4] It was the first testosterone ester to be marketed, and was the major form of testosterone used in medicine until about 1960.[4][5] The introduction of longer-acting testosterone esters liketestosterone enanthate,testosterone cypionate, andtestosterone undecanoate starting in the 1950s resulted in testosterone propionate mostly being superseded.[4][5] As such, it is rarely used today.[5][13] In addition to its medical use, testosterone propionate is used toimprove physique and performance.[5] The drug is acontrolled substance in many countries and so non-medical use is generally illicit.[5]
Testosterone propionate is used primarily inandrogen replacement therapy. It is specifically approved for the treatment ofhypogonadism in men,breast cancer,low sexual desire,delayed puberty in boys, andmenopausalsymptoms.[14]
| Route | Medication | Major brand names | Form | Dosage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral | Testosteronea | – | Tablet | 400–800 mg/day (in divided doses) |
| Testosterone undecanoate | Andriol, Jatenzo | Capsule | 40–80 mg/2–4× day (with meals) | |
| Methyltestosteroneb | Android, Metandren, Testred | Tablet | 10–50 mg/day | |
| Fluoxymesteroneb | Halotestin, Ora-Testryl, Ultandren | Tablet | 5–20 mg/day | |
| Metandienoneb | Dianabol | Tablet | 5–15 mg/day | |
| Mesteroloneb | Proviron | Tablet | 25–150 mg/day | |
| Sublingual | Testosteroneb | Testoral | Tablet | 5–10 mg 1–4×/day |
| Methyltestosteroneb | Metandren, Oreton Methyl | Tablet | 10–30 mg/day | |
| Buccal | Testosterone | Striant | Tablet | 30 mg 2×/day |
| Methyltestosteroneb | Metandren, Oreton Methyl | Tablet | 5–25 mg/day | |
| Transdermal | Testosterone | AndroGel, Testim, TestoGel | Gel | 25–125 mg/day |
| Androderm, AndroPatch, TestoPatch | Non-scrotal patch | 2.5–15 mg/day | ||
| Testoderm | Scrotal patch | 4–6 mg/day | ||
| Axiron | Axillary solution | 30–120 mg/day | ||
| Androstanolone (DHT) | Andractim | Gel | 100–250 mg/day | |
| Rectal | Testosterone | Rektandron, Testosteronb | Suppository | 40 mg 2–3×/day |
| Injection (IMTooltip intramuscular injection orSCTooltip subcutaneous injection) | Testosterone | Andronaq, Sterotate, Virosterone | Aqueous suspension | 10–50 mg 2–3×/week |
| Testosterone propionateb | Testoviron | Oil solution | 10–50 mg 2–3×/week | |
| Testosterone enanthate | Delatestryl | Oil solution | 50–250 mg 1x/1–4 weeks | |
| Xyosted | Auto-injector | 50–100 mg 1×/week | ||
| Testosterone cypionate | Depo-Testosterone | Oil solution | 50–250 mg 1x/1–4 weeks | |
| Testosterone isobutyrate | Agovirin Depot | Aqueous suspension | 50–100 mg 1x/1–2 weeks | |
| Testosterone phenylacetateb | Perandren, Androject | Oil solution | 50–200 mg 1×/3–5 weeks | |
| Mixed testosterone esters | Sustanon 100, Sustanon 250 | Oil solution | 50–250 mg 1×/2–4 weeks | |
| Testosterone undecanoate | Aveed, Nebido | Oil solution | 750–1,000 mg 1×/10–14 weeks | |
| Testosterone buciclatea | – | Aqueous suspension | 600–1,000 mg 1×/12–20 weeks | |
| Implant | Testosterone | Testopel | Pellet | 150–1,200 mg/3–6 months |
| Notes: Men produce about 3 to 11 mg of testosterone per day (mean 7 mg/day in young men).Footnotes:a = Never marketed.b = No longer used and/or no longer marketed.Sources: See template. | ||||
| Route | Medication | Major brand names | Form | Dosage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral | Testosterone undecanoate | Andriol, Jatenzo | Capsule | 40–80 mg 1x/1–2 days |
| Methyltestosterone | Metandren, Estratest | Tablet | 0.5–10 mg/day | |
| Fluoxymesterone | Halotestin | Tablet | 1–2.5 mg 1x/1–2 days | |
| Normethandronea | Ginecoside | Tablet | 5 mg/day | |
| Tibolone | Livial | Tablet | 1.25–2.5 mg/day | |
| Prasterone (DHEA)b | – | Tablet | 10–100 mg/day | |
| Sublingual | Methyltestosterone | Metandren | Tablet | 0.25 mg/day |
| Transdermal | Testosterone | Intrinsa | Patch | 150–300 μg/day |
| AndroGel | Gel, cream | 1–10 mg/day | ||
| Vaginal | Prasterone (DHEA) | Intrarosa | Insert | 6.5 mg/day |
| Injection | Testosterone propionatea | Testoviron | Oil solution | 25 mg 1x/1–2 weeks |
| Testosterone enanthate | Delatestryl, Primodian Depot | Oil solution | 25–100 mg 1x/4–6 weeks | |
| Testosterone cypionate | Depo-Testosterone, Depo-Testadiol | Oil solution | 25–100 mg 1x/4–6 weeks | |
| Testosterone isobutyratea | Femandren M, Folivirin | Aqueous suspension | 25–50 mg 1x/4–6 weeks | |
| Mixed testosterone esters | Climacterona | Oil solution | 150 mg 1x/4–8 weeks | |
| Omnadren, Sustanon | Oil solution | 50–100 mg 1x/4–6 weeks | ||
| Nandrolone decanoate | Deca-Durabolin | Oil solution | 25–50 mg 1x/6–12 weeks | |
| Prasterone enanthatea | Gynodian Depot | Oil solution | 200 mg 1x/4–6 weeks | |
| Implant | Testosterone | Testopel | Pellet | 50–100 mg 1x/3–6 months |
| Notes:Premenopausal women produce about 230 ± 70 μgtestosterone per day (6.4 ± 2.0 mg testosterone per 4 weeks), with a range of 130 to 330 μg per day (3.6–9.2 mg per 4 weeks).Footnotes:a = Mostly discontinued or unavailable.b =Over-the-counter.Sources: See template. | ||||
| Route | Medication | Form | Dosage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral | Methyltestosterone | Tablet | 30–200 mg/day | |
| Fluoxymesterone | Tablet | 10–40 mg 3x/day | ||
| Calusterone | Tablet | 40–80 mg 4x/day | ||
| Normethandrone | Tablet | 40 mg/day | ||
| Buccal | Methyltestosterone | Tablet | 25–100 mg/day | |
| Injection (IMTooltip intramuscular injection orSCTooltip subcutaneous injection) | Testosterone propionate | Oil solution | 50–100 mg 3x/week | |
| Testosterone enanthate | Oil solution | 200–400 mg 1x/2–4 weeks | ||
| Testosterone cypionate | Oil solution | 200–400 mg 1x/2–4 weeks | ||
| Mixed testosterone esters | Oil solution | 250 mg 1x/week | ||
| Methandriol | Aqueous suspension | 100 mg 3x/week | ||
| Androstanolone (DHT) | Aqueous suspension | 300 mg 3x/week | ||
| Drostanolone propionate | Oil solution | 100 mg 1–3x/week | ||
| Metenolone enanthate | Oil solution | 400 mg 3x/week | ||
| Nandrolone decanoate | Oil solution | 50–100 mg 1x/1–3 weeks | ||
| Nandrolone phenylpropionate | Oil solution | 50–100 mg/week | ||
| Note: Dosages are not necessarily equivalent.Sources: See template. | ||||
Testosterone propionate is usually provided as anoil solution for use by intramuscular injection.[5] It was also previously available as an 30 mg or 50 mgaqueous suspension.[15]Buccaltablets of testosterone propionate were previously available as well.[5]
Side effects of testosterone propionate includevirilization among others.[5]
Testosterone propionate is often a painful injection, which is attributed to its short ester chain.[5]
| Medication | Ratioa |
|---|---|
| Testosterone | ~1:1 |
| Androstanolone (DHT) | ~1:1 |
| Methyltestosterone | ~1:1 |
| Methandriol | ~1:1 |
| Fluoxymesterone | 1:1–1:15 |
| Metandienone | 1:1–1:8 |
| Drostanolone | 1:3–1:4 |
| Metenolone | 1:2–1:3 |
| Oxymetholone | 1:2–1:9 |
| Oxandrolone | 1:13–1:3 |
| Stanozolol | 1:1–1:3 |
| Nandrolone | 1:3–1:16 |
| Ethylestrenol | 1:2–1:19 |
| Norethandrolone | 1:1–1:2 |
| Notes: In rodents.Footnotes:a = Ratio of androgenic to anabolic activity.Sources: See template. | |
Testosterone propionate is aprodrug of testosterone and is an androgen andanabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS). That is, it is anagonist of theandrogen receptor (AR).
Testosterone propionate is administered in oil viaintramuscular injection.[1][2] It has a relatively shortelimination half-life andmean residence time of 2 days and 4 days, respectively.[1][2] As such, it has a shortduration of action and must be administered two to three times per week.[16]
Intramuscular injection of testosterone propionate as anoil solution,aqueous suspension, andemulsion has been compared.[17]
| Testosterone ester | Form | Route | TmaxTooltip Time to peak levels | t1/2Tooltip Elimination half-life | MRTTooltip Mean residence time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Testosterone undecanoate | Oil-filled capsules | Oral | ? | 1.6 hours | 3.7 hours |
| Testosterone propionate | Oil solution | Intramuscular injection | ? | 0.8 days | 1.5 days |
| Testosterone enanthate | Castor oil solution | Intramuscular injection | 10 days | 4.5 days | 8.5 days |
| Testosterone undecanoate | Tea seed oil solution | Intramuscular injection | 13.0 days | 20.9 days | 34.9 days |
| Testosterone undecanoate | Castor oil solution | Intramuscular injection | 11.4 days | 33.9 days | 36.0 days |
| Testosterone buciclatea | Aqueous suspension | Intramuscular injection | 25.8 days | 29.5 days | 60.0 days |
| Notes:Testosterone cypionate has similar pharmacokinetics toTestosterone enanthate.Footnotes:a = Never marketed.Sources: See template. | |||||
| Medication | Form | Major brand names | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Testosterone | Aqueous suspension | Andronaq, Sterotate, Virosterone | 2–3 days |
| Testosterone propionate | Oil solution | Androteston, Perandren, Testoviron | 3–4 days |
| Testosterone phenylpropionate | Oil solution | Testolent | 8 days |
| Testosterone isobutyrate | Aqueous suspension | Agovirin Depot, Perandren M | 14 days |
| Mixed testosterone estersa | Oil solution | Triolandren | 10–20 days |
| Mixed testosterone estersb | Oil solution | Testosid Depot | 14–20 days |
| Testosterone enanthate | Oil solution | Delatestryl | 14–28 days |
| Testosterone cypionate | Oil solution | Depovirin | 14–28 days |
| Mixed testosterone estersc | Oil solution | Sustanon 250 | 28 days |
| Testosterone undecanoate | Oil solution | Aveed, Nebido | 100 days |
| Testosterone buciclated | Aqueous suspension | 20 Aet-1, CDB-1781e | 90–120 days |
| Nandrolone phenylpropionate | Oil solution | Durabolin | 10 days |
| Nandrolone decanoate | Oil solution | Deca Durabolin | 21–28 days |
| Methandriol | Aqueous suspension | Notandron, Protandren | 8 days |
| Methandriol bisenanthoyl acetate | Oil solution | Notandron Depot | 16 days |
| Metenolone acetate | Oil solution | Primobolan | 3 days |
| Metenolone enanthate | Oil solution | Primobolan Depot | 14 days |
| Note: All are viai.m. injection.Footnotes:a =TP,TV, andTUe.b =TP andTKL.c =TP,TPP,TiCa, andTD.d = Studied but never marketed.e = Developmental code names.Sources: See template. | |||
Testosterone propionate, or testosterone 17β-propanoate, is asyntheticandrostanesteroid and aderivative oftestosterone.[18][19] It is anandrogen ester; specifically, it is the C17βpropionate (propanoate)ester of testosterone.[18][19]
| Androgen | Structure | Ester | Relative mol. weight | Relative T contentb | logPc | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position(s) | Moiet(ies) | Type | Lengtha | ||||||
| Testosterone | – | – | – | – | 1.00 | 1.00 | 3.0–3.4 | ||
| Testosterone propionate | C17β | Propanoic acid | Straight-chain fatty acid | 3 | 1.19 | 0.84 | 3.7–4.9 | ||
| Testosterone isobutyrate | C17β | Isobutyric acid | Branched-chain fatty acid | – (~3) | 1.24 | 0.80 | 4.9–5.3 | ||
| Testosterone isocaproate | C17β | Isohexanoic acid | Branched-chain fatty acid | – (~5) | 1.34 | 0.75 | 4.4–6.3 | ||
| Testosterone caproate | C17β | Hexanoic acid | Straight-chain fatty acid | 6 | 1.35 | 0.75 | 5.8–6.5 | ||
| Testosterone phenylpropionate | C17β | Phenylpropanoic acid | Aromatic fatty acid | – (~6) | 1.46 | 0.69 | 5.8–6.5 | ||
| Testosterone cypionate | C17β | Cyclopentylpropanoic acid | Cyclic carboxylic acid | – (~6) | 1.43 | 0.70 | 5.1–7.0 | ||
| Testosterone enanthate | C17β | Heptanoic acid | Straight-chain fatty acid | 7 | 1.39 | 0.72 | 3.6–7.0 | ||
| Testosterone decanoate | C17β | Decanoic acid | Straight-chain fatty acid | 10 | 1.53 | 0.65 | 6.3–8.6 | ||
| Testosterone undecanoate | C17β | Undecanoic acid | Straight-chain fatty acid | 11 | 1.58 | 0.63 | 6.7–9.2 | ||
| Testosterone buciclated | C17β | Bucyclic acide | Cyclic carboxylic acid | – (~9) | 1.58 | 0.63 | 7.9–8.5 | ||
| Footnotes:a = Length ofester incarbonatoms forstraight-chain fatty acids or approximate length of ester in carbon atoms foraromatic orcyclic fatty acids.b = Relative testosterone content by weight (i.e., relativeandrogenic/anabolicpotency).c = Experimental or predictedoctanol/water partition coefficient (i.e.,lipophilicity/hydrophobicity). Retrieved fromPubChem,ChemSpider, andDrugBank.d = Never marketed.e =Bucyclic acid =trans-4-Butylcyclohexane-1-carboxylic acid.Sources: See individual articles. | |||||||||
Testosterone esters were synthesized for the first time in 1936, and were found to have greatly improved potency relative to testosterone.[12] Among the esters synthesized, testosterone propionate was the most potent, and for this reason, was selected for further development, subsequently being marketed.[12] Testosterone propionate was introduced in 1937 bySchering AG inGermany under the brand name Testoviron.[5] It was the first commercially available form of testosterone, and the first testosterone ester, to be introduced.[4][20] The medication was the major form of testosterone used medically before 1960.[5]Buccal testosterone propionatetablets were introduced for medical use in the mid-to-late 1940s under the brand name Oreton Buccal Tablets.[21][22][23] Anaqueous suspension of testosterone propionate was marketed byCiba by 1950.[24] In the 1950s, longer-acting testosterone esters like testosterone enanthate and testosterone cypionate were introduced and superseded testosterone propionate.[4] Although rarely used nowadays due to its short duration,[13] testosterone propionate remains medically available.[5]
Testosterone propionate is thegeneric name of the drug and itsUSANTooltip United States Adopted Name andBANTooltip British Approved Name.[18][19][25][26] It has also been referred to astestosterone propanoate or aspropionyltestosterone.[18][19][25][26]
Testosterone propionate is or has been marketed under a variety of brand names, including, among numerous others:[18][19][25][26]
Testosterone propionate is no longer available commercially in theUnited States except via a compounding pharmacy.[27]
Testosterone propionate, along with other AAS, is aschedule IIIcontrolled substance in theUnited States under theControlled Substances Act and aschedule IV controlled substance inCanada under theControlled Drugs and Substances Act.[28][29]
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