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by TC
There
were no trumpets, no parades, and no bevy of fawning starlets on hand. Okay,
so I guess that kind of thing wouldn't be typical of the response given a scientific
study, at least outside of those associated with Viagra or one of those other
turgidity enhancing products, but the results of this one were pretty damn impressive:
dramatic increases of lean tissue; remarkable drops in body fat; and downright
jaw-dropping changes in body composition in general. 
All of that was there in the
study, in nice readable print, but why the Internet wasn't abuzz with it, I don't
know. I can only think
that for some reason, people hadn't heard about it. Well
let me remedy that sad situation by synopsizing the recently published study (Obesity
Research, 2005, August; 13(8):1335-43) regarding the effects of Colforsin —
a weaker form of one of the main ingredients in Biotest's Carbolin 19.
Colforsin
is an extract from the roots of the coleus forskohlii plant. In fact, your momma
probably has relatives of that coleus forskohlii plant decorating her house. They're
characterized by a square stem and bright variegate leaves. 
Coleus — the common houseplant. Whoda
thunk momma' had the makings of a pharmacy growing beside the begonias? Anyhow,
while colforsin has been used for hundreds, if not thousands of years in Aruvedic
medicine, Western scientists only became interested in it in the mid 1980's when
they began to use the compound to treat cardiovascular disease, mainly through
its vasodilatory effect. It
turns out they had the right idea because, aside from that aforementioned effect,
colforsin is also anti-hypertensive, inotropic, and inhibitory toward platelet
aggression (all good, heart-healthy things). But
the more researchers looked at this herb, the more uses they found for it. It
turns out it had positive anti-asthmatic effects, and it was useful in treating
ocular disorders like glaucoma. And
in one landmark study of the effects of colforsin on 1637 post menopausal women,
the compound, depending on the dosage, prompted either a 65% or 35% reduction
in vertebral and appendicular fractures. And
then came this revelation: colforsin mimics the thyroid hormone TSH by enhancing
CAMP accumulation in thyroid cells. That meant that coloforsin can lead to an
increase in thermogenesis and metabolic rate!
Okay,
as a cyclic AMP stimulator, colforsin, through a series of steps, leads to the
production of something called hormone sensitive lipase, or HSL. This compound
in turn breaks stored fat down into triglycerides that can be used by the body
as fuel. The latter, in
combination with its stimulation of thyroid functions, could mean that colforsin,
in addition to a whole bunch of other cool functions, might also cause decreases
in body fat. Now you of
course remember ephedrine as being an adrenergic alpha and beta-receptor agonist,
which meant that it also stimulated cardiac tissue and raised blood pressure,
hence all the complaints about ephedrine-related heart problems. Colforsin,
however, is what's known as a post-receptor agent. That means that it bypasses
adrenergic receptor activation and directly activates cyclase activity without
the negative side effects of ephedrine. That means fat loss without the problems. Furthermore,
this post-receptor agent increases nitrogen retention, which is one of the mechanisms
attributed to anabolic steroids and other muscle-building agents. And
because it's a post-receptor agent, the effects won't down regulate over time.
Sweet. Another property
that piqued our curiosity, and the curiosity of the researchers, was that increases
in CAMP cause luteinizing hormone (LH) to be released, which then prompts the
Leydig cells in the testes to secrete Testosterone. So
to synopsize, colforsin seemed to have the following effects on body composition: •
Increase in TSH, which leads to an increase in metabolic rate •
Increase in HSL, which leads to triglycerides being released and burned as fat •
Increase in cyclase activity, which causes fat to be burned •
Increase in CAMP, which causes the Leydig cells to produce Testosterone •
Increase in nitrogen retention, which causes an increase in muscle mass
Was
all of this too good to be true? To
find out, Kansas State University researchers Godard, Johnson, and Richmond recruited
30 obese men. The aim
of the study was to find if colforsin caused an increase in endogenous andrenergic
hormone levels; an increase in resting metabolic rate; and a favorable impact
on body composition. The
trial lasted 12 weeks. Fifteen men received one tablet of colforsin in the morning
and one tablet 6 to 8 hours later. The other 15 men followed the same regimen,
albeit with a placebo. Body
composition tests were performed by DEXA analysis and body circumference measurements. 
A DEXA machine.
Fat
Mass The colforsin group lost
4.52 kilograms (9,94 pounds) of fat, plus or minus 5.74 kilograms, while the placebo
group lost only 0.51 kilograms (1.12 pounds), plus or minus 1.91 kilograms. Lean
Body Mass The colforsin group
gained 3.71 kilograms of lean body mass (8.162 pounds), plus or minus 4.07 kilograms,
while the placebo group gained 1.57 kilograms (3.45 pounds), plus or minus 2.56
kilograms. Testosterone The
Testosterone of the colforsin group rose 33.7 percent, while it decreased 18.35
percent in the placebo group. Bone Mass The
bone mass of the colforsin group increased significantly compared with the placebo
(p < or = 0.05).
Despite
no change in diet, the group using colforsin experienced remarkable gains in lean
body mass. How remarkable? Consider that another 12-week study using the anabolic
steroid Anavar resulted in test subjects gaining approximately 3.9 pounds of lean
mass. That's good, right? But the subjects in the colforsin study gained 8.2 pounds
of lean mass in the same amount of time! And
don't forget the impressive losses of body fat. Again, subjects in a study using
Anavar experienced a loss of 7.0 pounds of body fat in 12 weeks, while those using
colforsin experienced a loss of 9.9 pounds! Granted,
the dosage of Anavar used in the study was only 20 mg. a day, but regardless,
colforsin proved more anabolic and more effective in burning fat. The
researchers in the colforsin study credited the fat losses to some of the aforementioned
properties of colforsin (ability to mimic TSH, CAMP mediated rise in HSL, and
post-receptor increases in metabolism), while they credited the amazing gains
in lean body mass to increased nitrogen retention.
While
I've certainly trumpeted the effects of colforsin, it is, in fact, a very weak
version of the chemical that's contained in Biotest's Carbolin 19. The chemical
in Carbolin 19 is called colforsin 1,9 ethylcarbonate. 
The latter is a highly purified
version that's been further refined by placing it in a carbonate ester. As such,
the user can experience greatly increased potency, greatly increased bioavailability,
and greatly enhanced duration of action (from 4 to 12 hours). Carbolin
19 is to colforsin what high-octane gasoline is to crude oil. And
to make it even better, Biotest incorporated the compound into its nano-dispersed
gel, further increasing bioavailability and speed of action. Make
no mistake about it, Carbolin 19 is bad ass. Users
can expect the following: •
A better pump • Increases
in muscle gains •
Increases in strength •
Decreases in body fat While
Carbolin 19 has been available for several months and is wildly popular with its
users, it's also largely misunderstood by many. Since it's not a steroid, athletes
can't figure it out. Since it's not a stereotypical Testosterone booster (even
though this is one of its effects), athletes don't understand it. Since it's not
solely a fat burner, athletes are confused. It's
understandable, but this is what the take home message should be: Carbolin
19 makes dramatic changes to body composition without any apparent negative side
effects. The effects are slower than what they might be with traditional anabolic
compounds, but there are far fewer concerns regarding potential side effects. ©
1998 — 2006 Testosterone, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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