OVERVIEW AND HISTORY

Testosterone Enanthate is one of the many esterified variants of Testosterone available. It is an injectable compound with a slow rate of release due to the larger Enanthate ester attached to the Testosterone molecule. This augments the release rate and half-life of Testosterone to that of a slower release. The majority of Testosterone products that have been designed are single products that contain a single esterified form, as opposed to Testosterone products which consist of a blend of several different esterified variants in the liquid (such as Sustanon 250, for example). Testosterone that is un-esterified holds a very short half-life, making its use very inconvenient and impractical (Testosterone suspension is one such Testosterone product that consists of pure un-esterified Testosterone, and does not have an ester bonded to its structure). The Enanthate ester expands Testosterone’s half-life to that of 10 days, and blood plasma levels of the hormone remain elevated for a total period of approximately 2 – 3 weeks. Testosterone itself is considered the most natural and safest anabolic steroid any individual can use, and it is easily the most versatile and flexible anabolic steroid in terms of how it can be utilized in cycles and for different purposes and goals.

The Enanthate variant of Testosterone had first been described in the early 1950s when it had landed on the market and experienced increasingly extensive use shortly thereafter. This was the very first injectable Testosterone ester preparation that provided slower release rates. Prior to the development of Testosterone Enanthate, the most widely utilized forms were either un-esterified Testosterone (Testosterone suspension) or the faster acting Testosterone Propionate, which holds a half-life of approximately 4.5 days, necessitating more frequent injections which can be inconvenient for many. As such, Testosterone Enanthate promptly replaced Testosterone Propionate as the Testosterone of choice by the medical establishment in the West, as well as athletes and bodybuilders utilizing it for performance and physique enhancement. In the United States, Delatestryl manufactured by Squibb was the very first Testosterone Enanthate product to be marketed, and it is still manufactured and marketed today only under different pharmaceutical manufacturers that have purchased the rights to market that name brand. Most recently 2005, for example, Indevus was the latest pharmaceutical company to manufacture and market the drug. Internationally (outside of North America, mostly) the brand name for Testosterone Enanthate is known  as Testoviron, which unlike Delatestryl, has been manufactured by Schering ever since its original inception well over 50 years ago. Ultimately it is the Testoviron brand name that is the most popular and widely utilized Testosterone Enanthate product in the world.

Within the medical realm, Testosterone Enanthate is almost exclusively used for the purpose of treating hypogonadism and andropause (two conditions in which adult males produce inadequate levels Testosterone endogenously). In some lesser cases it is also used as a treatment for delayed puberty male teenagers and for pubertal stimulation. More rare treatments that Testosterone Enanthate is used in include the breast cancer treatment in females. Testosterone Enanthate has also been studied thoroughly in its proposed use as a male birth control treatment. In such cases, it has been determined that a weekly dosage of 200mg had effectively reduced the production of sperm in the majority of men, although 3 months of consistent use was required before significant changes in sperm production and motility were seen. This suppression of spermatogenesis was shown to remain for as long as Testosterone Enanthate was administered, and slowly returned to normal following termination of use. It is highly unlikely however, that Testosterone Enanthate will ever be released and marketed as such due to the immense amount of irrational stigma and hysteria associated with anabolic steroid use in the current Western social climate, which is very unfortunate. Various nations and cultures in Eastern Europe and in the far East, however, have displayed a much more accepting attitude towards its use than in the West.

CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF TESTOSTERONE ENANTHATE

As previously mentioned, Testosterone Enanthate is simply Testosterone with the Enanthate ester bound to the Testosterone chemical structure. Specifically ‘Enanthate’ is Enanthoic acid, but once bound to Testosterone it is properly referred to in chemistry as an ester bond (or ester linkage). Enanthoic acid is bonded to the 17-beta hydroxyl group on the Testosterone structure. Esterified anabolic steroids are more fat soluble, and release slowly from the injection site – however, this is not the main reason as to why esters extend the release rate of the anabolic steroid. The primary reason for the augmentation of its half-life and release rate is because once Testosterone Enanthate enters the bloodstream, enzymes work to break the bond between the ester and the hormone, which takes a varying amount of time. The end result is that the ester is removed from the hormone by enzymes, and what is left is pure Testosterone that is free to do its work in the body. This process of enzymes cleaving off the ester from the Testosterone molecule is what is responsible for the slower release rates. Testosterone alone with no ester bonded to it possesses a half-life of approximately 2 – 4 hours. When the Enanthate ester is attached to it, creating Testosterone Enanthate, the half-life of Testosterone is now extended to 10 days, providing a slower release and activity of the hormone.

PROPERTIES OF TESTOSTERONE ENANTHATE

The properties of Testosterone Enanthate is what any individual would expect from any other type of Testosterone preparation, with the exception of the differing release rates and half-life. Testosterone is what could be considered quite literally the original anabolic steroid, which is manufactured endogenously naturally in all humans and in the vast majority of animal species. Because of this, Testosterone is considered the safest anabolic steroid for use, as every individual’s body is already accustomed to the effects of Testosterone only to a lesser degree. Essentially, the use of Testosterone for the purpose of physique and performance enhancement is simply the supplementation of additional hormones – the act of inserting more of a hormone into the body that it already manufactures and uses.