SARMs

AC-262

One pharmacology paper in rats, and almost nothing since

7 sections

Top of article
What it actually is
What it is supposed to do
What people take it for
The dose question
How to check you have the right molecule
What people get wrong
What is known about harm

What circulates: I found no dosing figure I could trace to a source
What was studied: Nothing in a person
The gap: No published human dose to compare against
How long it lasts: I could not find one in a person.

What it actually is

AC-262, also written AC-262536, is a non-steroidal compound that acts on the androgen receptor, and the striking thing about it is how little exists. PubMed returns four records in total, three of them methods for detecting the compound in urine. ClinicalTrials.gov returns none.

What it is supposed to do

It acts on the androgen receptor as a partial agonist, established in one primary pharmacology paper in castrated male rats over two weeks. That paper is effectively the whole scientific record.

What people take it for

Muscle gain, on the general reasoning that applies to the class. Nothing specific to this compound supports it in a person.

The dose question

What circulates: I found no dosing figure I could trace to a source
What was studied: Nothing in a person; One primary pharmacology paper, in castrated male rats over two weeks

No studied dose to compare

There is nothing to compare against, and the size of the absence is the finding. PubMed returns four records in total, three of them methods for detecting the compound in urine, and ClinicalTrials.gov returns none. The only work in a living animal since 2008 that the searches found is in two Thoroughbred horses. The 2026 anti-doping Prohibited List does not name it, though WADA's 2023 testing figures record one finding for it among the anabolic agents.

Reported because it is what people use. Nothing here recommends any amount.

How long it lasts

I could not find one in a person.

Route studied

Castrated male rats, over two weeks, in one pharmacology paper. The only work in a living animal since 2008 that the searches found is in two Thoroughbred horses.

Route used

By mouth. I found no dosing figure I could trace to a source.

How to check you have the right molecule

AC-262 and AC-262536 are the same compound. The 2026 anti-doping Prohibited List does not name it, though WADA's 2023 testing figures record one finding for it among the anabolic agents, so it is being detected even though it is not itemised.

Walked through on two real certificates in how to read a certificate of analysis.

What people get wrong

Four PubMed records, three of which exist so that laboratories can catch the compound in urine, is a strange evidence base for a product. The detection methods are not evidence that it works; they are evidence that people are taking it.

What is known about harm

The searches behind the class page found nothing in a person, which means there is no human safety record here at all rather than a reassuring one.

Others in SARMs

Everything on this page is a summary. The citations, the studies and the reasoning live in the full entry.

Read the full entry on AC-262

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