androgen ester

{{Short description|Class of chemical compounds}}

File:Testosterone undecanoate.svg, an ester of testosterone and one of the most widely used androgen esters.]]

An androgen or anabolic steroid ester is an ester of an androgen/anabolic steroid (AAS) such as the natural testosterone or dihydrotestosterone (DHT) or the synthetic nandrolone (19-nortestosterone). Esterification renders AAS into metabolism-resistant prohormones of themselves, improving oral bioavailability, increasing lipophilicity, and extending the elimination half-life (which necessitates less frequent administration). In addition, with intramuscular injection, AAS esters are absorbed more slowly into the body, thus further improving the elimination half-life. Aside from differences in pharmacokinetics (e.g., duration), these esters essentially have the same effects as the parent drugs.{{cite book|author=Richard Lawrence Miller|title=The Encyclopedia of Addictive Drugs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G7As-qawdzMC&pg=PA416|year=2002|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-31807-8|pages=416–}} They are used in androgen replacement therapy (ART), among other indications. Examples of androgen esters include testosterone esters such as testosterone cypionate, testosterone enanthate, testosterone propionate, and testosterone undecanoate and nandrolone esters such as nandrolone decanoate and nandrolone phenylpropionate.

{{Parenteral durations of androgens/anabolic steroids}}

{{Pharmacokinetics of testosterone esters}}

{{Structural properties of major testosterone esters}}

{{Structural properties of major anabolic steroid esters}}