Question
I looked up that study you mentioned about Ecdysterone causing kidney issues and it is very concerning. You said you were going to look into it further.
Can you tell me what you found, and should I stop taking Ecdy until more studies are done?
Answer
I have in fact completed my review of that study, and found some very interesting anomalies not captured in the study headline.
That headline BTW, was as follows – “Ecdysone Elicits Chronic Renal Impairment via Mineral Corticoid Like Pathogenic Activities.”
Their premise then, is that the structure of Ecdysone is almost identical to Aldosterone – thus causing renal impairment inside of 2 weeks in their experiment.
First things first, this is a good lesson insofar as reading the ENTIRE study, (vs. just the abstract). Because had you just read just the study headline or abstract, you would have arrived at (at best) an incorrect conclusion
Here’s why…
As I read through this study, I noticed something peculiar – they weren’t using the term Ecdysterone, they were using the term Ecdysone.
Many, many supplement companies and “authorities” over the years have publicly stated that Ecdysone and Ecdysterone are the same thing. They’re not – look it up. The molecular structure is different, and that matters. Matters a lot.
In fact, these researchers were not using BETA-ecdysterone, but rather, ALPHA.
Unfortunately it isn’t until the very end of the study, buried way in the back where researchers made that distinction. Listen to what they said:
“3D molecular modeling and simulations in this study predicted that ecdysone targets the LBD (short for Ligan Binding Domain) of MR (Mineral-corticoid Receptor), as occurred with aldosterone.
In contrast to this paradigm, we found that 20E (read, 20-hydroxy BETA Ecdysterone) produced no phenotypes in our cellular assays while ecdysone itself was strikingly potent. If ecdysone indeed binds to the MR (mineral corticoid receptor), its structure must uniquely mimic an activating feature of aldosterone – that is absent from 20E”.
That difference BTW, is in the addition of a single hydroxyl group at C-20 for 20 Hydroxy BETA Ecdysterone.
Bottom Line
You needn’t stop taking Ecdysterone, as this study clearly doesn’t indict that chemical, nor any of its associated Ecdysterones found in most supplements.
In fact, those compounds are being researched for their activity on some degenerative diseases. For more on that, google “Ecdysterone and its activity on some degenerative diseases” to read a study showing just how beneficial this compound is on human health.
Sidebar: In the near future, I’ll be writing in the Bulletin about a dirt cheap, very common OTC ingredient that when added to Ecdy, makes a noticeable (if not profound) boost in strength. I’m really excited by this one, as I think many are going to benefit. Hope that helps.
