Proteinpowda is correct on the research findings.
This can also be seen by stopping and thinking about it.
There are aromatase inhibitors that actually are effective… and with quite reasonable doses, you can make them every bit as effective as you want them to be. An example is Arimidex.
So we know what happens with aromatase inhibitors. With doses sufficient to increase testosterone much, estradiol levels drop dramatically, in some cases to near zero. And there is no great, if any, benefit to performance enhancement from aromatase inhibitors – that is a very important point – with certainly no substantial muscle gain and no “muscle-hardening” effect. (There may be an effect on subcutaneous fat depending on the individual, and on water retention.)
Do the results from Arimidex and 6-OXO sound alike or even similar? No. Not remotely. 6-OXO is not like low-dose or any dose of Arimidex or any aromatase inhibitor. And the reason is simple enough: it’s because 6-OXO, contrary to marketing claims, is not an effective oral aromatase inhibitor in man.
Which actually is a good thing by the way, except for your pocketbook: for about 99% of younger and middle-aged individuals not taking aromatizing anabolic steroids, aromatase inhibitors first are not beneficial, and second, can be quite problematic with regard to side effects particularly if blood testing is not done, which one cannot reasonably expect of those buying the product.
The data also doesn’t support the supplement 6-OXO acting as an effective aromatase inhibitor. If it were, estrogen levels would decrease significantly. The excuse that they don’t at all is because 6-OXO “really” decreases estrogen, but that in turn increases testosterone, which in turn increases estrogen as much as it was first decreased and thus totally masks the alleged significant anti-aromatase effect, makes no sense. That just does not happen with aromatase inhibitors.
Actually, I absolutely expect that what you will see with 6-OXO, and we’re quite likely to do though frankly our own research has greater priority, is that it does not increase testosterone at all. Zero, zip, nada.
Rather the claimed results are in error.
The reported results to the contrary are likely similar to when we first introduced Androsol, a topical 4-AD delivery system, and initial lab findings gave “testosterone” readings beyond what I found credible. I hypothesized that 4-AD was being falsely detected as being testosterone… and that proved to be the case. (Androsol still did increase testosterone greatly, but within the range of rational possibility, as opposed to the original extreme apparent results.)
Due to that concern, we expressed that possibility on our initial report on Androsol, and promptly did GC/MS and obtained the correct data and reported it. That’s just basic good science.
This sort of problem actually is endemic to testing by immunologic methods such as ELISA or RIA. Molecules of similar structural shape can be bound by the same immunoglobulin, and therefore differing molecules can be “mistaken” for what one intends to be assaying.
Until you see GC/MS (gas chromatography / mass spec) demonstrating that 6-OXO increases testosterone, don’t believe it.
This supplement is a product of error in three regards:
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Expecting it to be an effective aromatase inhibitor in man when taken orally – it isn’t,
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Mistake in the research being done in mistaking 6-OXO or more likely its metabolite 6-oxotestosterone as being testosterone, thus yielding wrong marketing claims that it increases testosterone, and
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The completely “off” theory that it really does decrease estrogen despite test results showing no change.
What 6-OXO is, is a poor prohormone.
Our research in this area has led to much better things for performance enhancement and acquisition of muscle, incidentally.