The Dutch were able to make retro-anabolics because they were in possession of a natural substance with this kind of Z-structure. Reading the patent, this turns out to be lumista-4,22-dien-3-one. The researchers used this component to build dozens of retro-analogues of anabolic steroids known at the time.
For example, they made a retro-form of methandienone, but this was not an interesting compound. Dianabol is a steroid that has no progesterone effect and in low doses doesn’t inhibit the natural production of testosterone. Retro-dianabol is also anabolic, does have a considerable progesterone effect and inhibits the body’s own production of testosterone.
Most of the hormones that the Dutch researchers made were anti-hormones. And most had a much weaker effect than the regular analogues. But in the table on page 106 there are three anabolic steroids listed that might have been pretty interesting.
The three retro-anabolic steroids had an anabolic effect but not an androgenic effect, and had few other side effects. They were compounds 28, 49 and 66: 2-methyl-retro-testosterone, retro-androstanediol and 2-oxymethylene-retro-testosterone.
As far as we know, retro-anabolic steroids have never made it onto the market. The company that the Dutch worked for, Duphar based in Weesp, probably directed its attention in a different direction and never did anything with the anabolic steroids.
