Uronabol is a liquid supplement from Vintage Muscle marketed for “dry,” “dense,” “rock-hard” muscle, better muscle fullness, and gains that supposedly stay after you stop taking it. Vintage Muscle says Uronabol contains 3β-hydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid, which is another name for ursolic acid, a plant compound found in foods and herbs such as apple peels, rosemary, thyme, and holy basil. Uronabol may sound like a steroid because of the name, but based on the Supplement Facts label, it is not an anabolic steroid or a SARM.
Does Uronabol Work? Quick Answer
Uronabol by Vintage Muscle is an ursolic acid supplement, not an anabolic steroid, SARM, or prohormone. While ursolic acid has some interesting animal and lab research, human studies do not prove that Uronabol builds muscle, increases strength, boosts exercise performance, or improves erections. Research on the uronabol supplement itself cannot be located.
What Is Uronabol by Vintage Muscle?
Is Uronabol a Steroid?
No, not based on the label.
Uronabol sounds like something from the anabolic steroid world. The name itself is doing a lot of marketing work. But the listed active ingredient, 3β-hydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid, is ursolic acid, a natural triterpenoid compound. It is not testosterone, not a SARM, not a prohormone, and not an anabolic-androgenic steroid.
That said, “not a steroid” does not automatically mean “proven muscle builder.” A compound can affect cell-signaling pathways in lab or animal studies and still fail to produce meaningful real-world muscle gains in humans.
Uronabol and Vintage Muscle Claims: What Needs Proof?
Vintage Muscle says Uronabol is a peptide mimetic compound that works through triggering cellular growth signals such as IGF-1 and mTOR, just as IGF-1 works.
Claims and Proof
To prove that claim would require human research on Uronabol itself, preferably randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies. I was unable to locate that level of Uronabol proof.
So, the next question is: What does human research tell us about the benefits of ursolic acid?
Ursolic Acid Muscle Building Proof
Most of the excitement around ursolic acid comes from animal and lab research. That type of research can help explain possible mechanisms, but it does not prove that a supplement builds muscle in humans.
In one of the most commonly cited positive human studies, 16 healthy men were randomly assigned to resistance training alone or resistance training plus 450 mg of ursolic acid, derived from rosemary leaf extract. Both groups trained hard, 6 days per week for two months. The ursolic acid group took one capsule three times per day.
Results indicated that ursolic acid plus strength training raised IGF-1, improved isokinetic leg strength, and reduced body fat, and this was significantly better than exercise alone. However, there were no significant changes in lean body mass, body weight, or BMI. Unfortunately, the researchers did not test upper-body strength.
My thoughts
This small study suggested that ursolic acid may have some effects on muscle strength, but it did not prove that it packs on muscle mass.
My thoughts
This study appears to show that 400 mg of ursolic acid is ineffective. This is more than the amount found in Uronabol (215 mg)
Does Ursolic Acid Boost mTOR Signaling?
One of the claims for Vintage Muscle's Uronabol is that it activates mTOR and does so without altering natural steroid production. In a study, involving 9 resistance-trained men, researchers gave each:
- 3 grams of ursolic acid
- 3 grams of L-leucine
- 3 grams of a placebo (cellulose)
on separate days.
They took muscle biopsies of the vastus laterials muscle in the leg after resistance exercise and measured things like mTOR signaling, IGF-1, insulin, and other markers.
Results indicated that ursolic acid did not significantly increase mTOR activity, its downstream signaling protein, p70S6K, or skeletal muscle or serum IGF-1, compared to either leucine or the placebo.
My thoughts
This study appears to show that 3 grams (3000 mg) of ursolic acid was unable to amplify mTOR signaling. The downsides of this study were that it was small, involving only 9 men, and that it examined effects only after 2 to 6 hours, not after long-term supplementation.
Foods With Ursolic Acid
Here are the approximate amounts in 100 grams (3 oz) of the following foods:
- Holy basil leaves dried: 500-1500 mg
- Rosemary leaves, dried: up to 1580 mg
- Apple peel: ~150-900 mg (amount may vary)
FAQ
What is the active ingredient in Uronabol?
The active ingredient in Uronabol is 3β-hydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid, which is another name for ursolic acid. According to the label, one 2 mL serving provides 215 mg.
Does Uronabol Build Muscle Mass?
There appears to be no published human trial showing that Uronabol builds muscle mass. That doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't work. Rather, it may be that researchers have not published data on the supplement yet.
Is Uronabol a steroid?
Based on the Supplement Facts label, Uronabol by Vintage Muscle is not an anabolic steroid. The active ingredient is listed as 3β-hydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid, which is ursolic acid. Ursolic acid is a plant compound, not testosterone, a SARM, or a prohormone.
Does Uronabol improve strength?
There is some limited evidence that ursolic acid might improve some measures of strength. However, other research seems to show it does not work. So the short answer for now is maybe, but it's not proven.
Does it improve exercise performance?
Can the supplement help you run faster, jump higher, or perform your sport better? I was unable to locate any research either way.
Does it help erections or male sexual function?
I uncovered no good evidence proving the supplement improves libido, testosterone, or erections. Vintag Muscles' own website emphasizes that the supplement is not supposed to affect testosterone or estrogen pathways. If that is true, then there seems to be no obvious reason to expect it to act like an ED supplement or testosterone booster.
Is Uronabol like a SARM?
I found no good proof that this supplement has SARM-like activity. SARMs bind androgen receptors. Uronabol’s listed ingredient is ursolic acid. That is not the same thing.
Side Effects: Is Uronabol Safe?
The human studies discussed above did not report any serious side effects. However, we still do not have much human safety research on oral ursolic acid supplements.
In a 2020 review, the authors raised some red flags. In cell and animal studies, ursolic acid sometimes increased inflammatory signals. In one human study using intravenous ursolic acid liposomes, liver toxicity and diarrhea were reported at higher doses. That does not mean typical oral ursolic acid supplements cause those problems. But it does mean we should not assume high-dose ursolic acid is automatically safe just because it comes from plants.
Until better studies are conducted, be cautious if you:
- Take prescription medications
- Have liver, kidney, heart, or prostate issues
- Have uncontrolled blood pressure
- Are being treated for cancer
- Are trying to conceive
- Use TRT, prohormones, SARMs, or anabolic steroids
Seeking supplements that undergo independent third-party testing is sage advice, too.
Is The Vintage Muscle Supplement Uronabol Worth It?
Uronabol delivers a meaningfully higher per-serving dose of ursolic acid (215 mg) than some other commercial products, in a liquid format. The liquid form may improve absorption, though that hasn't been independently verified in published research.
The key ingredient itself has real, peer-reviewed mouse data behind its muscle-building mechanism and one small positive human trial, but it also has two separate human trials, including the most rigorous one so far, which found no meaningful benefit to strength, mass, or the mTOR/IGF-1 pathway some say it works through. Ursolic acid is not a steroid, SARM, nor a proven peptide substitute, regardless of how it's marketed.
My advice for now: don't be swayed by bodybuilder ads and wait for better research.
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