title: Study of excretion of ecdysterone in human urine.
abstract: A study of excretion in human urine of ecdysterone, which is the active component of several over-the-counter supplements such as "Ecdysten", reportedly used by athletes, is presented. The study was performed after oral administration of 20 mg of ecdysterone. The collected urine samples were prepared using the standard screening extraction procedure for the free and conjugated fraction of anabolic steroids, and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) coupled with quadrupole mass spectrometry (MS) and also with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). Two ecdysterone metabolites were identified and detected along with unchanged ecdysterone. Accurate mass measurements were made for diagnostic ions, including the molecular ion of the main metabolite of ecdysterone, deoxyecdysone, which, to our knowledge, has not previously been reported in the literature. These accurate mass measurements support the proposed fragmentation scheme.
authors.affiliation: Doping Control Laboratory of Athens, Olympic Athletic Center of Athens, Kifissias 37, 15123 Maroussi, Greece.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tsitsimpikou
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Tsamis
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Siskos
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Spyridaki
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Georgakopoulos
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D004441:Ecdysterone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000652:urine*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D013058:Mass Spectrometry
chemical_list: D004441:Ecdysterone