SARMs Preclinical (animal) data

Cardarine (GW-501516)

GW-501516 · GW · Endurobol

20 hours

Half-life

5–20 mg

Typical dose

8–12 weeks (community protocols)

Cycle length

PPARδ agonist (mislabeled as SARM); improves endurance. Not a hormone.

Key takeaways

A PPAR-delta agonist, not a SARM: no androgen receptor activity, no testosterone suppression.
Development abandoned after long-term rodent studies showed tumors in multiple organs.
Roughly 20-hour half-life is an estimate; solid human PK data are scarce.
WADA-prohibited with one of the longest detection windows in the dataset (30–40 days).

🚧 Expanded guide coming soon. This compound has PK data and a source — a full overview, mechanism, and dosing guide is pending editorial review.

Reported dosing protocols

Protocols reported in research literature and clinic/community use — informational context, not a dosing recommendation.

Use case	Dose	Route	Frequency	Duration
Endurance / fat loss (community)	10–20 mg	Oral	Once daily	8–12 weeks

Pharmacokinetic summary

Model tier: Simple (t½ + F, Tmax estimated)
Half-life: 20 hours
Bioavailability: 100%
Typical dose: 5–20 mg

Harm reduction

Aromatizes: No
Hepatotoxicity: mild

⚠ Technically a PPARδ agonist, not a SARM. Cancer signal in long-term animal studies.

Frequently asked questions

Does cardarine cause cancer?

Long-term rodent studies at multiple doses showed tumors across several organs, which is why development stopped. There are no long-term human data to confirm or refute the relevance to people. That unresolved signal is the central risk of using it.

Is cardarine a SARM?

No. It's a PPAR-delta agonist with zero androgen receptor activity, grouped with SARMs only by marketing. It doesn't build muscle through androgen pathways and doesn't suppress testosterone, so no PCT applies.

Does cardarine show up on drug tests?

Yes. It's WADA-prohibited with a long detection window (30–40 days for sulfone metabolites) and a strict reporting threshold. Athletes have tested positive from contaminated supplements labeled as other compounds.

References

DrugBank (GW-501516) — No good half-life source.
DrugBank — GW-501516 profile — Mechanism and development-history summary for the abandoned PPAR-delta agonist.