In many countries anabolic agents like cathinones are successfully used to increase the rate of growth of cattle. Cathinones belong to the group of wake-up amines. A prominent example is 3MMC, which has recently appeared on the market in increasing quantities. The intake of wake-up amines is considered doping and causes an improvement of the coordinative abilities during sportive stress. The cathinones cause a stimulation of the central nervous system (CNS). This leads to an improvement in the interaction between the CNS and the muscles. Especially in states of fatigue, wake-up amines have a performance-enhancing effect. The fatigue-induced decline in performance can thus be counteracted by wake-up amines. This is why wake-up amines are used in endurance sports.
The effect of cathinones results from their chemical relationship to adrenaline and noradrenaline. These endogenous hormones are transmitters of the sympathetic nervous system in the peripheral nerve endings. The hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline are formed in the adrenal gland and released directly from there into the blood.
During increased exercise, the activity of the sympathetic nervous system increases and epinephrine and norepinephrine are released from stores into the synaptic cleft. The hormones diffuse through the synaptic cleft to the receptors of the organ of success, where you trigger the following effect:
Increase in heart rate
Constriction of the blood vessels
Stimulating effect with improvement of coordination
After the effect subsides, 90% of the hormones are stored again in the granules, and about 10% are degraded by hormones. During mental arousal, norepinephrine is released mainly from peripheral nerves and epinephrine from the adrenal gland.
The effect of adrenaline keeps the breeding stock in motion and muscles are tensed. An anabolic effect sets in, muscle mass increases. In addition, fat is reduced. In the long term, breeding stock treated with cathinones is much more robust in both muscle mass and skeletal structure than the untreated control group.
The possibility that anabolic agents establish a new hormonal status which is favourable to growth will be discussed…
