Epicatechin: Intriguing Potential for Myogenesis (New Muscle Tissue)

 

(This is essentially a video transcript from video above- Video of attempts at making an injectable form below article)  

In 2017 a bio research journal published a study showing clear evidence that a specific form of Epicatechin induces "differentiation" a key stage in growing new muscle tissue. (link https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006291X17305077)

While it's difficult to track down full articles on the subject, there are many study synopsis to browse through (links in description) showing clear evidence of increased muscle repair, specific myogenic action in the petri dish and so forth.

(Myogenesis stages illustration, highlight differentiation)

Myogenesis is the development of truly new muscle tissue and is the holy grail we search for as any kind of bodybuilder or gym rat. Without myogenesis, we're mostly plumping up and depleting existing muscle tissue- stuck in a never ending gains plateau.

And, while it's clear to me now that steroids do, in fact cause myogenesis, (show studies on anabolics and myogenes
is https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4100702/ and others ) I'm discovering that there may be more specific, nuanced ways of triggering a similar anabolic response. Steroids are the bulldozer approach- enough of one strong androgen will do the whole job, but without much, let's say, finesse. Common sense tells me that no single one of these plant substances is going to be as powerful as a steroid.

But, is epicatechin a key player in inducing natural myogenesis?

My analogy is that this approach is similar to a complex peptide protocol- you end up using a handful of things in a specific way to do a precise job vs just taking 8 iu of GH or a gram of test. If you're the kind of geek, like me, that prefers the smart approach- at least as a partial solution- then we may find that epicatechin, along with a handful of other natural options, may fullfill the same role as say ipamorelin or a cjc does in a gh peptide protocol.

But, does it ACTUALLY do anything?

Epicatechin was first synthesized in 1983 and isolated in natue in 1990 -opening the doors to over the counter supplement sales in the US. A quick Google ai overview explains: Research into the benefits of epicatechin, a flavanol found in foods like tea, apples, berries, and cocoa, started around the 1990s, spurred by the "French Paradox" and studies on its antioxidant properties Epicatechin has been on the market in some form or other for a couple decades now and it's not like every old lady drinking green tea is getting huuuuuge.

What's the hold-up?

While there are a bunch of studies in animals and on cells, there haven't been any human studies on epicatechin and muscle growth that I could find. But, it seems pretty clear that, in the lab and in a variety of animals, it leads to verifiable muscle repair and growth. Perhaps there's no money in researching it- I mean, what's a drug company going to do, patent green tea extract?

So, how about we do the research for them.

I'm going to study the animal research, guess at a human dose and see what happens when I make epicatechin into injectable form. It will be part of my "all-natural" myogenesis run. I'll begin injecting it along with ecdysterone, genistein, dhea, and lemon myrtle to test combined effects when I attempt a growth spurt starting a week from now.

How will I tell the effects apart?

Well, I've run the injectable, slow release ecdysterone on its own before. And, I've ran it with the genistein and dhea. So, I know what to expect from those.

But, the short answer is, I expect to have an idea of what the combo of epicatechin and lemone myrtle will do on top of what I've already experienced, I'll also be adding generous vitamin d3 and k2 (both also reportedly involved in the myogenesis process). The big question for me is: will the difference be noticeable? I begin injecting in one week.

So, this is me throwing the whole thing at the wall and seeing what sticks.

Let's see if epicatechin helps me get huuuuuuge

Outro:

To see the actual making of injectable epicatechin head over to our free patreon, link in description along with references. I had some interesting neurological effects upon testing, and quite a few hiccups trying to get the stubborn stuff to get into solution. Truth be told, as of this recording, it's still a work in progress. But, I was able to achieve a stable enough formulation to test on myself.