Dymethazine

Overview

Dymethazine (DMZ; also mebolazine or dimethazine) is an oral anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) — it is not a SARM and not a peptide. This is the single most important fact about it. It is routinely sold and grouped under "SARM" and "prohormone" branding, framing that is designed to imply a mild, selective profile. That framing is misleading: dymethazine is a full anabolic-androgenic steroid, chemically a 17alpha-alkylated derivative of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) — the opposite of mild.

Structurally, dymethazine is an azine dimer: two methasterone (methyldrostanolone) units — each a 17alpha-methylated DHT derivative — joined by a nitrogen-nitrogen (azine) bridge at the A-ring 3-position. It behaves as a prodrug: after ingestion it splits into two molecules of methasterone, the same potent 17alpha-alkylated oral steroid sold as "Superdrol." In other words, taking dymethazine is essentially taking a delivery vehicle for two doses of a well-documented liver-toxic anabolic steroid.

It has never been an approved medicine. It is an unapproved designer steroid that appeared in the "prohormone" supplement market. Its active metabolite methasterone is a US Schedule III controlled anabolic steroid (DEA, 2012), and the Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2014 broadened Schedule III to capture designer AAS of exactly this type.

Chemistry and structure

The 17alpha-methyl group is what makes the molecule orally active — it resists first-pass hepatic breakdown — and it is the same structural feature that drives liver toxicity. Both the parent dimer and its two methasterone metabolites are 17alpha-alkylated, so the hepatotoxic liability is present at every step.

Mechanism of action

Dymethazine acts as a full androgen-receptor (AR) agonist — the defining action of an anabolic-androgenic steroid. It is not a selective androgen receptor modulator, and it has no peptide chemistry.

• 17alpha-alkylated DHT-derivative AR agonist [Human]. Mebolazine/dimethazine is a synthetic, orally active AAS and a 17alpha-alkylated derivative of DHT. The 17alpha-methyl group makes it orally bioavailable (resisting first-pass metabolism) and is the same feature that drives its liver toxicity. (Source: PubChem CID 66847280; Wikipedia "Mebolazine".)
• Prodrug / azine dimer of methasterone [Human]. DMZ is a conjugate/dimer of two methyldrostanolone (methasterone) residues joined at the A-ring 3-position by an azine group; it is described as a prodrug that converts after ingestion to two methasterone-type AAS molecules. Methasterone is itself a potent 17alpha-alkylated oral anabolic steroid (Superdrol). (Source: Wikipedia "Mebolazine"; DEA Federal Register 2012.)
• HPTA / endogenous testosterone suppression [Animal]. Suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis and lowering of endogenous testosterone is a class effect of exogenous AAS. Compound-specific human suppression data for dymethazine were not located, so this is extrapolated from the AAS class and marked class-level, not DMZ-specific human data.

Research and evidence

There is no legitimate efficacy literature establishing benefit, dosing, or a safety threshold for dymethazine — it was never developed as a medicine. The published human record is dominated by case reports of harm and by the well-documented toxicity of its methasterone metabolite.

Read honestly: the human evidence base for dymethazine is not evidence of benefit — it is evidence of harm (a direct cholestatic-jaundice case) plus authoritative class-level toxicity data for 17alpha-alkylated AAS and for its methasterone metabolite. There is no human trial establishing that it is safe or effective for any use.

Status and regulation

• Never approved. Dymethazine has no approved therapeutic indication, no approved dose, and no established safety threshold. It is an unapproved designer steroid that entered the "prohormone"/"SARM"-branded supplement market.
• Active metabolite scheduled (DEA, 2012). Methasterone — the steroid DMZ converts into — was classified as a Schedule III anabolic steroid in the US in 2012, a decision that cited liver toxicity and associated renal failure.
• Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2014. Signed 2014-12-18, DASCA broadened the Schedule III anabolic steroids definition (21 CFR 1308.13(f)) to capture designer AAS of exactly this type.
• WADA — prohibited in sport. Dymethazine is prohibited as an exogenous anabolic androgenic steroid under WADA class S1.1.

Safety

Liver injury is the headline risk. As a 17alpha-alkylated oral AAS — and a prodrug of two 17alpha-alkylated methasterone molecules — dymethazine can cause cholestatic "bland cholestasis" with deep jaundice even at manufacturer-recommended doses. In the documented human case, total bilirubin reached 45.9 mg/dL with biopsy-proven canalicular and hepatocellular cholestasis (PMID 26425606). Per LiverTox, onset for this class is typically 4–12 weeks after starting.

Beyond the liver, dymethazine carries the standard hazards of a potent oral 17alpha-alkylated androgen:

• HPTA / endogenous testosterone suppression [Animal / class-level]. Exogenous AAS suppress the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis and lower endogenous testosterone. DMZ-specific human suppression data were not located; this is inferred from the steroid class.
• Adverse lipids / cardiovascular harm [Human — class-level]. Oral 17alpha-alkylated AAS characteristically suppress HDL, raise LDL, and are associated with cardiovascular harm. DMZ-specific quantitative data are not established.
• Virilization and androgenic effects [Human — class-level]. As a potent DHT-derived androgen, DMZ can cause irreversible virilizing effects in women and androgenic effects generally.

Mislabeling, contamination, and undeclared steroid content. Dymethazine is sold as an unregulated designer steroid, frequently grouped with "SARMs"/"prohormones." Analytical work shows products in this market frequently contain undeclared or different drugs, and wrong amounts — in one analysis of 44 "SARM" products, only 52% contained a SARM and 39% contained another unapproved drug (JAMA 2017, PMID 29183075). Designer steroids are a known undeclared-adulterant class. A label is not a reliable statement of contents: a product may contain DMZ (or a different steroid, or more/less than stated) regardless of what the label says.

Legal status

Regulatory status is jurisdiction-specific, and this page does not assess the legality of any particular use — check your own jurisdiction. What is documented: dymethazine's active metabolite methasterone is a US Schedule III controlled anabolic steroid (DEA, 2012), and the Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2014 broadened Schedule III to capture designer AAS of this type. On the separate anti-doping axis, dymethazine is prohibited in sport by WADA as an exogenous anabolic androgenic steroid (S1.1) — a sport-eligibility fact distinct from controlled-substance law. Being unapproved, it has no legal medical indication; where it is handled at all, it exists as an unapproved/controlled designer steroid, not a medicine.

How it compares

Dymethazine is frequently sold alongside — and mislabeled as — SARMs. The honest contrast is that true SARMs are non-steroidal investigational compounds, whereas dymethazine is a full anabolic-androgenic steroid. Even the true SARMs below are unapproved and carry their own risks, but they are a different chemical class from DMZ.

Takeaways:

• Different chemistry. DMZ is a 17alpha-alkylated steroid; ostarine and testolone are non-steroidal SARMs. Sharing a supplement shelf does not make them the same class.
• DMZ is a steroid; the marketing hides it. Whatever the label says, dymethazine is a full anabolic-androgenic steroid and a controlled substance's prodrug, not a "milder" alternative.
• Neither category is "safe." True SARMs are unapproved and WADA-banned; DMZ is worse-framed — a full oral steroid with documented cholestatic hepatotoxicity.

Common misconceptions

• "Dymethazine is a mild SARM." No. It is a full anabolic-androgenic steroid — a 17alpha-alkylated DHT derivative. It is not a SARM and not selective. The "SARM" framing is marketing.
• "It's a prohormone, so it's safer than steroids." No. It is a prodrug of two molecules of methasterone (Superdrol) — a potent 17alpha-alkylated oral steroid. "Prohormone" here just means it converts into an active steroid.
• "It's a peptide." No. It contains no peptide chemistry. It is a steroid (an azine dimer of two steroid units).
• "It's gentle on the liver." The opposite. Its defining risk is 17alpha-alkylated hepatotoxicity — a documented human case of deep cholestatic jaundice at label dose (bilirubin to 45.9 mg/dL, biopsy-proven).
• "If the label doesn't list a steroid, there isn't one." Not reliable. Designer steroids are a known undeclared adulterant in "SARM"/"prohormone" products; analytical studies repeatedly find undeclared or mislabeled drugs. A label is not a statement of contents.