Unless Animal has changed, their Ecdy is derived from Cyanotis Vaga. This is not the best source genus to derive Ecdysterone from, and it's reputation is poor amongst the vast majority that've used it.
The Intelligent Elephant Ecdy may be worthwhile, but there are too many unanswered questions IMO. For example..
1.) What is the source genus? If it's Cyanotis Vaga or Arachnoides, I'd pass. If OTOH it's from Rhaponticum Carthamoides Extract or a quality Suma, it may be worth looking into.
2.) What "ecdysterone" are they standardizing this for? Because "ecdy" is really a family of compounds, and at last count 539 have been identified -
http://ecdybase.org/.
3.) If it's "beta-ecdysterone" aka 20-hydroxyecdysterone, I'd pass. Although this is the most cited in the literature, you won't gain anything from it - even using up to 2g/day. As a transdermal at 1g/day results are marginal, but still much better than oral.
4.) The addition of a cyclodextrin base won't change any of this, and believe me I've used plenty of it. In fact, I've used Ecdy in various forms since 1989/90 through present day. That includes orals, sublinguals, two different types of cyclodextrins, transdermals (both commercial and home-made), intra-nasals (home brew) and yes, even a sterile injectable (made by a certain well know chemist).
So what do you want? Look for a full spectrum Rhaponticum Carthamoides Extract, which contains dozens of ecdysteroids (BTW, they're STILL identifying new ones in this and other plants). Among them is something called the Levseins complex, which is a grouping of 10-12 ecdysteroids (depending upon who's research you read). The vast, vast majority of positive experiences with Ecdysterone involve this sources genus, probably for those aforementioned reasons (and others). That, and a full spectrum extract retains other beneficial comounds in the plant, such as various tannins and resins.
I would suggest 500-1,000mg/day, ideally once in the AM and the other dose PM. You should notice a rather profound increase in recovery ability, better VO2 max, deeper sleep and the ability to do more work per any given unit of time. As with all supplements, don't expect "steroid like" results.
Properly utilized though, I find it an effective compound that improves results. Whether or not you deem it cost-effective though, is a personal matter. Just make sure you're using quality material, before coming to any final conclusions...
