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Endogenous versus exogenous AICAR
A consequence of AICAR being a natural metabolic intermediate is that low concentrations circulate in the body normally, and levels can rise with exercise. This creates a genuine complication for anti-doping science, discussed later: a foreign, orally or injec
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- A consequence of AICAR being a natural metabolic intermediate is that low concentrations circulate in the body normally, and levels can rise with exercise. This creates a genuine complication for anti-doping science, discussed later: a foreign, orally or injected dose has to be distinguished analytically from the body’s own baseline. It also cautions against the intuition that “natural intermediate” equals “safe at pharmacological doses” — flooding a biosynthetic pathway well above physiological concentrations is a very different proposition from the trace amounts the body generates.