Archive: Methyl Hydroxy Nandrolone (MOHN)

My article for Methyl Hydroxy Nandrolone (M4OHN) was written for the same company that I wrote my Methyl Hydroxy Testosterone (M4OHT) article for. It was also written in 2004 in a period leading up to the banning of prohormones, when manufacturers were bringing out all sorts of new compounds that were either active steroids or precursors to them. Most all of them had never been tested and were able to be created due to the new found access to a book by Julius Vida, a scientist who synthesized every possible modification of male sex steroids and then published them in a book, entitled "Androgens and Anabolic Agents, Chemistry and Pharmacology", in 1969. Although the book had been long out of date, an individual finally was able to find a copy of it and scanned it, converted it into PDF format, and sold it. This, along with the availability of Chinese companies to synthesize almost anything requested, allowed supplement companies to sell steroids that were never manufactured or widely used - and hence, not scheduled - a legal loophole that is still exploited to this day. Although for some reason, both M4OHN and M4OHT were banned by California state law, they were not banned in any other state, and as such, they were manufactured and sold until finally banned by the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004.


Hydroxy Nandrolone, like its counterpart, Hydroxy Testosterone, is a steroid which is quite obscure and not much is written about it in medical literature. Hydroxy Nandrolone was produced commercially in Italy under the name Steranabol. However, it was sold as an injectable product, as opposed to an oral one, with cypionate ester attached. It is chemically known as oxabolone.

Nandrolone is the base steroid of Hydroxy Nandrolone. Nandrolone deconate is a popular anabolic steroid, commonly known as Deca Durabolin. Deca is well known for being a strong anabolic compound, with fewer androgenic properties. This is due to the fact that nandrolone is missing a carbon atom at the 19 position, giving it overall more affinity for the androgen receptor than testosterone. [1] However, unlike Hydroxy Nandrolone, nandrolone can aromatize into estrogen, which is another factor involved in it's strong anabolic effects.

Like Hydroxy Testosterone, Hydroxy Nandrolone also has a hydroxyl group at the 4 position on the molecule. This makes it incapable of interacting with the aromatese and 5 alpha reductase enzymes. However, since regular nandrolone typically reduces into a much weaker androgen, DHN (dihydronandrolone) via 5AR, this would make Hydroxy Nandrolone more androgenic. In the body nandrolone reduces to DHN through the same pathway that testosterone reduces to DHT. But, in this case, DHN is weaker and less androgenic than DHT, which is responsible for most of testosterone's androgenic effects (acne, androgenic alopecia, prostate issues, etc). So, with Hydroxy Nandrolone, we are left with a more potent androgen since it cannot convert through the same pathway. [2]

When we look at the information on Steranabol, we see that it is overall less potent than its parent, nandrolone. [3] Although not structurally similar, Methyl Hydroxy Nandrolone is probably closer in action to another popular steroid, oxandrolone. Oxandrolone, commonly known for its trade name, Anavar, a very mild oral steroid, even though it's a 17-alpha-alkylated (methylated) compound that's based on DHT. Oxandrolone is well known for for it's safety and low potential for HTPA shutdown. It is usually incorporated into cutting or lean mass cycles, as it will not aromatize because of it's DHT base.

Because of it being derived from DHT, oxandrolone can be somewhat androgenic in higher doses, and this will probably not be as pronounced with Hydroxy Nandrolone. This is because the hydroxyl group reduces androgen receptor binding affinity. There is also a question of progesterone related activity with this compound. It is well known that nandrolone and its derivatives can bind to the progesterone receptor. [4] However, it is thought that progesterone requires the presence of estrogen in order to cause gyno. Therefore, those prone to gyno may not want to use Hydroxy Nandrolone with another aromatizing compound like 4AD, while others might simply just use an anti-estrogen, such as tamoxifen citrate (Nolvadex) - a SERM, or an AI like ATD while on a cycle. However, it is unknown what affinity Hydroxy Nandrolone has for the progesterone receptor, so taking precaution is not unwarranted.

With Methyl Hydroxy Nandrolone, or MOHN, we end up with a very interesting compound. Using MOHN, one would expect increases in lean muscle mass, as well as a noticeable increase in strength. Since MOHN doesn’t aromatize, you would not notice water retention, or other estrogenic side effects typically associated with Deca. MOHN would work well during bulking cycles with the addition of 4AD and 1-testosterone or 1,4andro, and probably work even better on cutting cycles with a lower dose of 4AD. MOHN should be well tolerated by people concerned about side effects, and even women. Being a methylated compound, it will increase strain on the liver, so it would be best not to stack it with other methylated substances. As with MOHT, supplements that assist in liver function, such as ALA, NAC and Milk Thistle would be a welcome addition to the stack.

1. Bergink EW, Janssen PS, Turpijn EW, van der Vies J. Comparison of the receptor binding properties of nandrolone and testosterone under in vitro and in vivo conditions. J Steroid Biochem 1985 Jun;22(6):831-6

2. Van Mol, Peter. Steranabol. Bodybuilding.com

3. Llewellyn, William. Anabolics 2004. Molecular Nutrition, Jupiter FL, 2004.

4. Reel JR, Humphrey RR, Shih YH, Windsor BL, Sakowski R, Creger PL, Edgren RA. Competitive progesterone antagonists: receptor binding and biologic activity of testosterone and 19-nortestosterone derivatives. Fertil Steril. 1979 May;31(5):552-61.