Ostarine (MK-2866), Ligandrol (LGD-4033) and Cardarine (GW-501516) are three of the most researched compounds in this category, and they are often discussed side by side. This page compares what the published research says about each of the three: how they act, what the human studies measured, what safety signals were recorded and where the evidence runs out. It is a summary of the literature for laboratory reference. It contains no personal accounts, no usage guidance and no claims about outcomes.
Three compounds, two mechanisms
In short: Ostarine and Ligandrol act on the androgen receptor; Cardarine acts on a metabolic receptor called PPAR delta and is not a SARM.
Ostarine and Ligandrol are both selective androgen receptor modulators. They bind the same receptor and were designed to produce more activity in muscle and bone than in the prostate and skin, which is the selectivity the class is named for. Neither is a steroid, and neither is converted to oestrogen or dihydrotestosterone.
Cardarine is different. It activates PPAR delta, a nuclear receptor that controls genes involved in fat burning and endurance in muscle, and it has no action at the androgen receptor. It was developed as a candidate treatment for abnormal blood lipids, not for muscle.
What each was measured to do
In short: each compound has a different best human study, in a different population, with different endpoints.
| Ostarine | Ligandrol | Cardarine | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best human study | Phase II, 120 older adults, 12 weeks | Phase I, 76 healthy men, 21 days | Phase I and II lipid studies, up to 12 weeks |
| Main endpoint | Lean body mass and stair climb power | Safety, pharmacokinetics and lean mass | HDL cholesterol and triglycerides |
| Endurance | Not measured | Not measured | Studied in mice only |
| Testosterone | Small fall | Dose related fall, recovered during follow up | No androgen receptor action |
| HDL cholesterol | Fell | Fell | Rose |
| Development status | Phase III, not approved | Phase II, not approved | Stopped after long term rodent studies |
Ostarine: the human record
In short: Ostarine has the largest human data set of the three, including phase III trials, but no licence.
The phase II trial reported by Dalton and colleagues in 2011 randomised older men and postmenopausal women to Ostarine or placebo for twelve weeks and measured lean body mass and stair climb power. A later phase II trial in patients with cancer related muscle wasting was reported by Dobs and colleagues in 2013. Phase III trials followed in lung cancer but did not lead to approval. Recorded effects included small falls in HDL cholesterol and in natural testosterone.
Ligandrol: the human record
In short: Ligandrol has one published phase I study and a company reported phase II trial.
Basaria and colleagues (2013) studied 76 healthy men over 21 days. Lean body mass rose in a dose related way, and total and free testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin and HDL cholesterol fell, returning towards baseline during follow up. Liver enzymes did not rise meaningfully in that study. A later phase II trial in older patients recovering from hip fracture was reported by the developer at a conference in 2018 rather than in a full journal paper. Our comparison of Ostarine and Ligandrol sets the two SARMs side by side in more detail.
Cardarine: the human and animal record
In short: Cardarine has short human lipid studies, striking endurance results in mice and a carcinogenicity finding in long term rodent studies.
In healthy volunteers, Sprecher and colleagues (2007) reported a rise in HDL cholesterol and a fall in triglycerides, and Olson and colleagues (2012) reported lipid changes in people with low HDL. Risérus and colleagues (2008) found changes in several metabolic markers in moderately obese men. In mice, Narkar and colleagues (2008) showed that Cardarine combined with exercise increased running endurance. Its development was stopped after long term rodent studies found tumours in several tissues, and there is no long term human data to set against that finding.
What the research does not show
In short: no study has tested any two of these compounds together, and none has long term human safety data.
The profiles in the table are sometimes described as complementary, because the two SARMs lower HDL while Cardarine raised it in its lipid studies. That reasoning has never been tested. No study in animals or people has examined these compounds together, so whether their effects add, cancel or interact is unknown. Cardarine's lipid studies were run in people with normal androgen levels, so they say nothing about what happens alongside a compound that suppresses testosterone. The general position on combinations is set out in our SARMs stacks research guide.
The safety signals in summary
In short: the SARMs carry hormone and cholesterol signals; Cardarine carries a cancer signal from animal studies.
Ostarine's recorded effects are the mildest: reversible HDL and testosterone changes at the trial amounts. Ligandrol produced stronger hormone suppression, which recovered during follow up in its trial. Outside the trials, case reports describe liver injury in people using products sold as SARMs (Flores and colleagues, 2020). Cardarine's main caution is the rodent carcinogenicity finding that ended its development. Our guide Are SARMs safe? goes through each finding, and our PCT guide covers what the trials recorded about hormone recovery.
Legal and sport status
In short: none of the three is a licensed medicine, all are sold in the UK as research compounds only, and all are banned in sport.
None of the three is a controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, but each is an unlicensed medicine if sold or advertised for human use, so they are supplied strictly for laboratory research. All three are prohibited at all times by WADA: the two SARMs under section S1.2 and Cardarine under section S4.4. More detail is in Are SARMs legal in the UK?
Frequently asked questions
Is Cardarine a SARM? No. It is a PPAR delta agonist and does not act on the androgen receptor.
Which of the three has the most human data? Ostarine, which reached phase III trials.
Have these compounds been studied together? No. Every published study tested a single compound.
Why was Cardarine's development stopped? Long term rodent studies found tumours in several tissues.
Research products
We stock all three from Dexterz Labs: Ostarine MK-2866 10mg, Ligandrol LGD-4033 10mg and Cardarine GW-501516 10mg, each 90 capsules and each independently batch tested with certificates on the lab results page. The individual research guides are Ostarine, LGD-4033 and Cardarine.
Sources
- Dalton JT et al. (2011). The selective androgen receptor modulator GTx-024 (enobosarm) improves lean body mass and physical function in healthy elderly men and postmenopausal women. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle. PubMed 22031847
- Dobs AS et al. (2013). Effects of enobosarm on muscle wasting and physical function in patients with cancer. Lancet Oncol. PubMed 23499390
- Basaria S et al. (2013). The safety, pharmacokinetics, and effects of LGD-4033 in healthy young men. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. PubMed 22459616
- Sprecher DL et al. (2007). Triglyceride:high-density lipoprotein cholesterol effects in healthy subjects administered a peroxisome proliferator activated receptor delta agonist. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. PubMed 17110604
- Olson EJ et al. (2012). Lipid effects of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-delta agonist GW501516 in subjects with low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. PubMed 22814748
- Risérus U et al. (2008). Activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) delta promotes reversal of multiple metabolic abnormalities in moderately obese men. Diabetes. PubMed 18024853
- Narkar VA et al. (2008). AMPK and PPARdelta agonists are exercise mimetics. Cell. PubMed 18674809
- Flores JE et al. (2020). Drug-induced liver injury by selective androgenic receptor modulators. Hepatol Commun. PubMed 32140660
- WADA Prohibited List 2026.
All products on this site are sold for laboratory research use only and are not for human consumption. Nothing in this article is medical advice.