Ligandrol LGD-4033 — 60 caps, 8mg

iMuscle Ligandrol LGD-4033 is supplied as 60 capsules stated at 8 mg each, a total of 480 mg of LGD-4033 per pack. LGD-4033, also called ligandrol, is a non-steroidal selective androgen receptor modulator with a placebo-controlled human trial behind it. This iMuscle product is stocked by Free Muscle through Muscle Market for laboratory research by adults only.

About LGD-4033

LGD-4033, known as ligandrol and, in later development, as VK5211, is a non-steroidal selective androgen receptor modulator developed by Ligand Pharmaceuticals. It binds the androgen receptor with high affinity and was designed to act on muscle and bone while producing less effect on the prostate and skin than testosterone.

In a placebo-controlled study published in 2013, 76 healthy men aged 21 to 50 received placebo or one of three amounts of LGD-4033 for 21 days (Basaria et al., 2013). Lean body mass rose in a dose-dependent manner, while fat mass did not change significantly. The same study recorded dose-dependent falls in total testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides; free testosterone and follicle-stimulating hormone fell significantly at the highest amount only. Hormones and lipids returned to baseline after the study ended. Muscle strength and stair-climbing power were also measured, but the abstract reports no functional result, and the authors called for longer trials. Later development did not lead to approval.

Outside clinical trials, the main evidence of harm comes from case reports. In 2020 physicians at Baylor College of Medicine described a 32-year-old man admitted with jaundice, itching and raised liver enzymes after taking a product sold over the counter as Ligandrol for about two weeks (Barbara et al., 2020). A liver biopsy showed cholestatic hepatitis with mild fibrosis, and his blood tests improved once he stopped. The product was never analysed, and the authors noted it may have contained other unapproved drugs. One case cannot show how often such injury occurs, and no long-term human data have been published. Nothing summarised here is a claim about this product.

Chemical identity

PubChem records LGD-4033 under the identifiers below, which describe the molecule a certificate for this pack should report finding.

• Systematic name: 4-[(2R)-2-[(1R)-2,2,2-trifluoro-1-hydroxyethyl]pyrrolidin-1-yl]-2-(trifluoromethyl)benzonitrile
• CAS number: 1165910-22-4
• Formula and molecular weight: C14H12F6N2O, 338.25 g/mol
• InChIKey: OPSIVAKKLQRWKC-VXGBXAGGSA-N
• PubChem CID: 44137686

This listing

• Compound: LGD-4033 (Ligandrol)
• Brand: iMuscle
• Form: capsules
• Pack size: 60 capsules
• Stated strength: 8 mg per capsule (manufacturer's label claim)
• Stated total per pack: 480 mg
• Intended use: laboratory research only, not for human consumption
• Sold to adults aged 18 and over

The strength is the manufacturer's label claim; only a batch certificate confirms it. To compare brands of LGD-4033, use total milligrams per pack, as explained in price per milligram.

LGD-4033 in the UK: buying, legal status and what to check

Searches such as "LGD 4033 UK buy" and "ligandrol UK" ask two things: whether it can be bought lawfully here, and how to tell one listing from another.

The legal position

LGD-4033 is not a licensed medicine in the UK: it has no MHRA marketing authorisation, is not an authorised food supplement, and cannot lawfully be sold for human consumption. It is not scheduled under the Misuse of Drugs Act, and Free Muscle supplies it only as a research compound, to adults aged 18 or over, for laboratory research. It is prohibited at all times under section S1 (anabolic agents) of the WADA Prohibited List. Buyers are responsible for the rules that apply to them, including any anti-doping code. Background on the class is in What are SARMs? The 2026 research guide.

What a trustworthy listing shows, and where to find it here

• A strength and a count that multiply. Here, 8 mg by 60 capsules gives the 480 mg stated for the pack; a listing with no strength can be neither compared nor checked.
• A named maker and seller. iMuscle manufactures this product; FreeMuscle LTD, a UK company in Scunthorpe, sells and dispatches it.
• A certificate for the batch, not the brand. How this works for iMuscle stock is set out in the certificate section below.
• Research-use terms and an age limit. No instructions for use, no outcome claims, adults aged 18 or over only.
• Tracked, discreet delivery. Free tracked UK delivery in plain packaging; orders before 2pm Monday to Friday processed the same working day; EU delivery in 3-7 working days.
• Returns. Unopened items within 30 days, under our delivery and guarantee terms.

A label proves little by itself: the doctors behind the 2020 liver injury report could not say what their patient's "Ligandrol" contained, and nor can anyone holding a pot without a batch certificate. Threads under "ligandrol reddit" record experiences, not contents. More checks are in how to choose a SARMs supplier in the UK.

Capsules compared with other forms

Products labelled LGD-4033 appear as capsules, tablets, liquids and loose powder. The molecule is the same in each; what differs is how the amount per unit is fixed and how it can be checked. No published study has compared the formats.

• Capsules (this product). A blended powder is portioned into shells at manufacture, so the amount per capsule is fixed then and a certificate can report it directly against the 8 mg claim. Accuracy depends on even mixing, and one assay gives the average of the capsules tested, not the spread between them.
• Tablets. A similar blend compressed with binders, with the same dependence on mixing.
• Liquids. Labelled in milligrams per millilitre. A certificate describes the solution on the day of testing; later accuracy depends on drawing exact volumes and on the compound staying dissolved, and solvent lost from a bottle opened often concentrates what remains.
• Loose powder. Sold for weighing, which moves the whole question of accuracy onto the balance.

Solutions suit very small quantities: the Cologne excretion study described below prepared its microgram amounts from an ethanol solution (Wagener et al., 2022). Because LGD-4033 is a small synthetic molecule rather than a peptide, the usual objection to swallowed peptides, breakdown by digestive enzymes, does not arise in the same way (see do oral peptides work), and the 2013 trial gave it by mouth. We know of no published human study of LGD-4033 given by injection.

LGD-4033 compared with RAD-140

"LGD 4033 vs RAD 140" and "ligandrol vs RAD 140" are the comparisons searched most often for this compound. Both are non-steroidal SARMs that activate the androgen receptor, and both began as drug candidates that never reached approval.

Feature	LGD-4033 (this product)	RAD-140
Other names	Ligandrol, VK5211	Testolone, vosilasarm
Developer	Ligand Pharmaceuticals, later licensed to Viking Therapeutics	Radius Health
Chemical family	Pyrrolidinyl-benzonitrile with six fluorine atoms	Chlorinated benzonitrile with an oxadiazole ring
Formula, molecular weight, CAS	C14H12F6N2O, 338.25, 1165910-22-4	C20H16ClN5O2, 393.8, 1182367-47-0
Published clinical trial	Placebo-controlled study in 76 healthy men over 21 days (2013)	Phase 1 in women with advanced ER-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer (2022)
Main adverse findings in people	Dose-related falls in testosterone, SHBG, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides; a biopsy-confirmed liver injury case	Raised liver enzymes and bilirubin common in the trial; liver injury case reports
Licensed as a medicine	Nowhere	Nowhere
WADA	Named in S1.2, prohibited at all times	Named in S1.2, prohibited at all times

The two trials cannot be set side by side. LGD-4033 went to young, screened, healthy men for three weeks, with body composition and hormones among the outcomes; RAD-140 went to women with advanced cancer to find a tolerable amount for oncology, and muscle was not its question. No study has given the two compounds to comparable groups, so claims that one is "stronger" or "milder" rest on anecdote, and milligrams of two different molecules are no common currency either.

In law and in sport they stand together, as the last two rows show, and both are sold here for laboratory research only. RAD-140 brands are compared in the RAD-140 (Testolone) collection, and its trial and case reports are covered in RAD-140 (testolone): what the research says.

Reading the certificate of analysis for this product

Because iMuscle is a third-party brand, a certificate of analysis (COA) for this pack is the manufacturer's document, not ours. A certificate is shown only where iMuscle has supplied one for the batch we hold; a generic document that names no batch is not a substitute. Free Muscle-brand compounds are assayed batch by batch at Janoshik Analytical, but that programme does not cover iMuscle. A real batch certificate is specific to one lot. Each part answers a different question, and each gap leaves that question open:

1. Compound. It should name LGD-4033 or ligandrol, ideally with the CAS number. A certificate naming only "SARM" or another compound does not relate to this pack.
2. Identity. HPLC matches the sample's peak to a reference standard; LC-MS adds a molecular mass that should fit C14H12F6N2O. Without identity, a purity figure could describe the wrong substance.
3. Isomer. The (2R) and (1R) in the systematic name mark two stereocentres, so other isomers share the formula and mass. One, the epimer labelled M1, forms in the body and separates from LGD-4033 on chromatography (Wagener et al., 2022); mirror-image forms separate only by chiral methods, so a certificate naming none has not addressed them.
4. Purity. Usually an HPLC area percentage: how much of the detected material is LGD-4033. It says nothing about milligrams per capsule.
5. Content per capsule. The measured figure to set against 8 mg. Without it, the 480 mg on the label stays untested.
6. Lot, date and laboratory. The lot must match your pot, the date shows the age of the result, and a named laboratory can be asked to confirm it. A different lot describes other stock.

If an iMuscle certificate leaves any of these gaps, contact us before relying on the batch. See also how to read a COA and our lab tests page.

Detection, sport and testing

LGD-4033 is named in section S1.2 (other anabolic agents) of the WADA Prohibited List and is banned in and out of competition. Under strict liability an athlete answers for any prohibited substance in their sample, whether it came from a research compound, a mislabelled product or a contaminated supplement. WADA reported 62 adverse analytical findings involving LGD-4033 in 2019, a number the Cologne authors described as the highest reported so far (Wagener et al., 2022).

The most detailed controlled detection data come from microgram amounts. At the German Sport University Cologne, groups of five healthy men took a single 1, 10 or 50 microgram amount, or the same amount on five consecutive days, and their urine was analysed by LC-HRMS/MS with a limit of detection of 8 picograms per millilitre. After one 50 microgram amount, the longest-lasting metabolite, M5-a, gave its first negative sample only after 11 days. After five daily 50 microgram amounts, metabolite M5-b was still present in every sample when collection ended, 1,004 to 1,128 hours (about 42 to 47 days) after the last intake, so no end point could be set. The authors proposed the ratio of M1 to LGD-4033 for estimating when intake occurred.

No published study that we can cite establishes a detection window after milligram amounts such as the 8 mg stated per capsule here, so for this product the accurate statement is: detectable, window not established. The microgram results set no upper limit. Anyone subject to anti-doping rules should treat any contact with LGD-4033 as a risk of an adverse finding.

Storage, stability and handling

We are not aware of any published shelf-life study of LGD-4033 capsules. An expiry or best-before date printed by iMuscle is the limit, and a certificate describes the batch only as it stood on its test date.

• Keep the capsules in their original pot with the lid closed after every opening; the lot number on it is the only link to a certificate.
• Choose a cool, dry, dark cupboard away from ovens, radiators, sunny windows and bathrooms. Hard capsule shells soften and stick in damp air and turn brittle in hot, dry air.
• If the pot has been somewhere cold, let it reach room temperature before opening, so condensation does not settle on the capsules.
• Record when the seal was first broken alongside the lot number, and give any portion taken for analysis its own label showing compound, lot and date.
• Wear gloves with opened capsules or loose powder, keep the material away from food and drink and out of reach of children and pets, and dispose of it as chemical waste, never in household bins or drains.

Returns are accepted only on unopened items within 30 days, so a pack left sealed until needed keeps its return option.

Glossary

• Androgen receptor: the protein inside cells that testosterone switches on; LGD-4033 binds the same receptor.
• SARM: a non-steroidal ligand of the androgen receptor, developed in the hope of anabolic action in muscle and bone with less action on the prostate.
• SHBG: sex hormone-binding globulin, the blood protein that carries much circulating testosterone.
• HDL cholesterol: cholesterol carried in high-density lipoproteins, a standard blood lipid measurement.
• Phase 1 trial: an early, usually small clinical study of how a compound is tolerated and handled by the body, before any larger trial examines efficacy.
• Cholestatic liver injury: damage that impairs the flow of bile, typically causing jaundice and itching.
• Stereocentre: an atom whose attached groups can be arranged in two mirror-image ways; LGD-4033 has two.
• Epimer: an isomer differing from another at only one of several stereocentres.
• Metabolite: a substance the body makes from another; anti-doping tests target long-lasting ones.
• Limit of detection: the lowest concentration a method can reliably detect.
• Adverse analytical finding: an anti-doping laboratory's report that a sample contains a prohibited substance, its metabolites or markers of its use; it starts the results-management process rather than concluding it.

Related

• All brands of LGD-4033 (Ligandrol), compared on strength, pack size and batch testing
• All iMuscle products stocked at Free Muscle
• LGD-4033 (ligandrol): trials, findings and UK status, the full research guide
• Ostarine (MK-2866) and all SARMs
• Delivery and returns

This product is supplied for laboratory research use only. It is not a medicine, has not been evaluated by the MHRA, EMA or FDA, and is not for human consumption. Sold to adults aged 18 and over. Nothing on this page is medical, dosing or usage advice.

References

1. Basaria S, et al. The safety, pharmacokinetics, and effects of LGD-4033, a novel nonsteroidal oral, selective androgen receptor modulator, in healthy young men. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2013;68(1):87-95. PMID: 22459616.
2. Barbara M, et al. Ligandrol (LGD-4033)-Induced Liver Injury. ACG Case Rep J. 2020;7(6):e00370. PMID: 32637435.
3. Wagener F, et al. Investigations into the elimination profiles and metabolite ratios of micro-dosed selective androgen receptor modulator LGD-4033 for doping control purposes. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2022;414(2):1151-1162. PMID: 34734312.