Anabolic Warfare Project Density: A natural, compliant Laxogenin Supplement

We’re halfway through the year, and about halfway through Anabolic Warfare’s incredible Project Muscle series. Today, we’re taking a break from talking about the series’ turkesterone-based supplements (like Project Hulk) and getting into an ingredient that’s been in the news recently: laxogenin.

Anabolic Warfare Project Density

Anabolic Warfare Project Density

Anabolic Warfare Project Density combines Smilax Sieboldii extract with Bioperine, providing a more compliant way to supplement laxogenin!

Anabolic Warfare Project Density is touted to:

  • Manage healthy cortisol levels
  • Increase protein synthesis
  • Promote muscle definition & strength

It’s a single-ingredient supplement that has 500 milligrams of Smilax sieboldii extract (supported with BioPerine), which is generally extracted for its laxogenin extract and similar brassinosteroids.

This is an important change, as certain “laxogenin” supplements have come under regulatory fire. However, natural plant extracts like this one better fall in line with dietary supplement laws in America, so Project Density is a more compliant way of getting laxogenin to customers.

The science and reasoning is discussed below, but first, let’s check prices and availability on this natural laxogenin source:

Anabolic Warfare Project Density – Deals and Price Drop Alerts

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Project Density Ingredients:

In a single 1-capsule serving of Project Density from Anabolic Warfare, you get the following:

  • Smilax Extract (Smilax sieboldii L.) (rhizome & root) – 500 mg

    Anabolic Warfare Project Density Ingredients

    Smilax extract is usually standardized for laxogenin, a brassinosteroid that occurs naturally in a few types of plants from the Smilax genus, including the Smilax sieboldii.[1]

    About brassinosteroids

    Brassinosteroids are plant-derived steroid hormones similar in structure and function to phytoecdysteroids, a class of molecules that regular readers of this blog are already familiar with. Much like steroid hormones in mammals, plant steroids coordinate the growth and development of the plants that synthesize them.[2]

    The name “brassinosteroid” comes from the fact that these molecules were first isolated from the Brassica genus, which includes familiar vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and kale[3] – the so-called cruciferous vegetables.

    Fortunately, although brassinosteroids have significant anabolic activity,[4] they are currently not banned by law or from athletic competition, and do not cause the side effects that anabolic steroids do.

    Constituents of Smilax sieboldii – multiple forms of laxogenin

    A study titled “Steroidal saponins from the rhizomes of Smilax sieboldii” isolated and identified six separate components, a few of which were laxogenin or laxogenin-bound compounds.[5] One, for instance, is laxogenin 3-O-alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl-(1→6)-beta-D-glucopyranoside, which has a role of a metabolite.[6]

    A more recent study titled “Steroidal Saponins from the Genus Smilax and Their Biological Activities” identified even more steroidal constituents in various Smilax plants, including furostane, cholestane, spirostane, isospirostane, and pregnane.[7] Laxogenin falls under the classification of isospirostane-type saponins.

    Laxogenin

    Laxogenin is a strength-boosting plant sterol that’s one answer to declining strength levels or chasing new PRs.

    Using broader spectrum plant extracts, as opposed to single-ingredient sources, serves two purposes:

    1. Full plant extracts can provide additional anabolic molecules that are natural co-factors for the main ingredient (laxogenin, in this case)
    2. Full plant extracts are more legally compliant

    The second point is important, because the FDA has recently come down on 5-alpha-hydroxy-laxogenin specifically, which they argue does not qualify as a dietary ingredient.[8] Smilax, however, is a natural botanical plant extract that does pass the DSHEA 1994 guidelines. Many readers can consider this to be a more compliant way to use laxogenin.

    Laxogenin research

    Now, assuming the majority of Project Density’s Smilax extract is laxogenin, we can take a look at the compound specifically.

    Anabolic Warfare Project Density

    There are some good studies in animals showing that laxogenin has significant anabolic activity with minimal side effects.[4,9] In one, laxogenin not only increased muscle protein synthesis, but also prevented muscle tissue from being catabolized.[4,9]

    It also has been shown to speed up recovery, reduce cortisol levels, and decrease inflammation.[10]

    What about 5α-hydroxy-laxogenin?

    There’s one intriguing human study that demonstrated that 5α-hydroxy-laxogenin has androgenic effects on human prostate cells in vitro.[11] However, if you see this ingredient on a dietary supplement label, you can almost guarantee that it’s synthetic — it has never been isolated from Smilax or any other plant.[11] This is why the FDA has targeted it, and it’s actively been removed from the market.

    Anabolic Warfare Project Gains

    Thinking about trying out the turkesterone waters? Anabolic Warfare’s Project Gains is a great way to get started!

    Needless to say, research like this implies that naturally-sourced laxogenin would still have anabolic effects in humans as well, especially when coupled with the animal research on non-synthetic laxogenin above.

    Anecdotally, we’ve seen that laxogenin supplements tend to support moderate strength gains. Aside from an obvious use case for strength athletes, it’s often used in athletes who are off-cycle attempting to keep any gains they can.

    The long story short is that Smilax extracts are natural, compliant sources of laxogenin, and products like Project Density are a better way to keep laxogenin available and on the shelves worldwide.

  • BioPerine Black Pepper Fruit Extract (95% Piperine)(Piper nigrum)

    Here to ensure you get the most bang for your Smilax buck is industry mainstay, BioPerine, a black pepper extract that’s designed to increase the bioavailability[12,13] of whatever you take it with.

    BioPerine works by inhibiting key stomach enzymes that would otherwise degrade nutrients before they can be absorbed into the bloodstream. The reason this matters is because most supplements won’t have their intended effect until the ingredients they contain are circulating in your blood.

    Piperine’s independent benefits

    Anabolic Warfare Project Muscle

    The next wave of warfare is here from Austin, TX based Anabolic WarfareProject Muscle! Inside we introduce the eleven incredibly unique supplements.

    Piperine doesn’t just enhance the effectiveness of other ingredients, though. It also has some additional benefits. For example, piperine increases the expression of glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4), a protein that occurs in cellular membranes. It’s responsible for moving glucose out of the bloodstream and into muscle tissue where it can be burned as energy for the purpose of improving performance and synthesizing muscle protein.[12]

    In other words, piperine increases insulin sensitivity. It also helps de-fat the liver,[14] an organ where fat doesn’t belong and can cause a potentially devastating syndrome called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease if it builds up too much.

    BioPerine is also a potent antioxidant.[15]

Dosage and Instructions

Take two capsules per day. You can take both capsules pre-workout, or split into one capsule each in AM/PM dosing.

Anabolic Warfare Project Density

Do the blue

The most compliant way to get laxogenin in

The FDA has spoken, and they’ve taken action. They do not like synthetic laxogenin ingredients that don’t exist in nature — specifically targeting 5-alpha-hydroxy-laxogenin. But laxogenin is still a popular natural anabolic substance that doesn’t need to get dragged through the dirt.

With Project Density, Anabolic Warfare shows us a more compliant way to get laxogenin in: with Smilax sieboldii. You won’t see the constituent on this label, but if your favorite “laxogenin” supplement has been pulled from the market, there’s a good chance it was synthetic.

Project Density is the natural and more compliant alternative, so you can expect it to stick around longer than whatever FDA-upsetting synthetic ingredient comes out next. We’ll take the natural cofactors of mother nature any day.

Anabolic Warfare Project Density – Deals and Price Drop Alerts

Get Price Alerts

No spam, no scams.

Disclosure: PricePlow relies on pricing from stores with which we have a business relationship. We work hard to keep pricing current, but you may find a better offer.

Posts are sponsored in part by the retailers and/or brands listed on this page.

Project Density

About the Author: Mike Roberto

Mike Roberto

Mike Roberto is a research scientist and water sports athlete who founded PricePlow. He is an n=1 diet experimenter with extensive experience in supplementation and dietary modification, whose personal expertise stems from several experiments done on himself while sharing lab tests.

Mike's goal is to bridge the gap between nutritional research scientists and non-academics who seek to better their health in a system that has catastrophically failed the public. Mike is currently experimenting with a low Vitamin A diet.

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References

  1. AKAHORI A, YASUDA F. [Laxogenin, a new steroidal sapogenin isolated from Smilax sieboldi Miq]. Yakugaku Zasshi. 1963 May;83:557-8. Japanese. PMID: 14041495. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14041495/
  2. Vriet C, Lemmens K, Vandepoele K, Reuzeau C, Russinova E. Evolutionary trails of plant steroid genes. Trends Plant Sci. 2015 May;20(5):301-308. doi: 10.1016/j.tplants.2015.03.006. Epub 2015 Apr 8. PMID: 25861757. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25861757/
  3. Stansell, Zachary et al. “Genotyping-by-sequencing of Brassica oleracea vegetables reveals unique phylogenetic patterns, population structure and domestication footprints.” Horticulture research vol. 5 38. 1 Jul. 2018, doi:10.1038/s41438-018-0040-3 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6026498/
  4. Esposito D, Komarnytsky S, Shapses S, Raskin I; “Anabolic effect of plant brassinosteroid”; The FASEB Journal; 2011; 25(10):3708-3719; https://www.fasebj.org/doi/abs/10.1096/fj.11-181271
  5. Nikaido, Tamotsu, et al. “Steroidal Saponins from the Rhizomes of Smilax Sieboldii.” Phytochemistry, vol. 31, no. 7, July 1992, pp. 2445–2450, 10.1016/0031-9422(92)83296-b; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1369386/
  6. PubChem. “3-O-[Alpha-L-Arabinopyranosyl-(1->6)]-2-Acetamido-2-Deoxy-Beta-D-Glucopyranosyl Oleanolic Acid.”; https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/10795385
  7. Tian, Li-Wen et al. “Steroidal Saponins from the Genus Smilax and Their Biological Activities.” Natural products and bioprospecting vol. 7,4 (2017): 283-298. doi:10.1007/s13659-017-0139-5 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5507813/
  8. United States Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. “FDA Sends Warning Letters to Multiple Companies for Illegally Selling Adulterated Dietary Supplements.” 11 May 2022; https://www.fda.gov/food/cfsan-constituent-updates/fda-sends-warning-letters-multiple-companies-illegally-selling-adulterated-dietary-supplements
  9. Syrov, V. N., & Kurmukov, A. G; “Experimental study of the anabolic activity of 6-ketoderivatives of certain natural sapogenins”; Farmakologiia i toksikologiia; 39(5), 631-635; 1975; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1028596
  10. Fasciola, Andre Armel; “Phytosterol spirostane and spirostene derivatives having a wide variety of utilities in humans and other animals”; US Patent & Trademark Office; September 18, 2014; https://patents.google.com/patent/US20140274978A1/en
  11. Beer, Carolin, and Annekathrin M Keiler. “Androgenic properties of the dietary supplement 5α-hydroxy-laxogenin.” Archives of toxicology vol. 96,7 (2022): 2139-2142. doi:10.1007/s00204-022-03283-5 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9151512/
  12. Maeda A, Shirao T, Shirasaya D, Yoshioka Y, Yamashita Y, Akagawa M, Ashida H. Piperine Promotes Glucose Uptake through ROS-Dependent Activation of the CAMKK/AMPK Signaling Pathway in Skeletal Muscle. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2018 Jun;62(11):e1800086. doi: 10.1002/mnfr.201800086; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29683271/
  13. Kesarwani, Kritika et al. “Bioavailability enhancers of herbal origin: an overview.” Asian Pacific journal of tropical biomedicine vol. 3,4 (2013): 253-66. doi:10.1016/S2221-1691(13)60060-X; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3634921/
  14. Choi S, Choi Y, Choi Y, Kim S, Jang J, Park T. Piperine reverses high fat diet-induced hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance in mice. Food Chem. 2013 Dec 15;141(4):3627-35. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2013.06.028; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23993530/
  15. Mittal R, Gupta RL. In vitro antioxidant activity of piperine. Methods Find Exp Clin Pharmacol. 2000 Jun;22(5):271-4. doi: 10.1358/mf.2000.22.5.796644; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11031726/

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