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Discover high-quality research tools to investigate GLP-1 mechanisms and next-generation metabolic targets.
OBESITY RESEARCH SOLUTIONSMegestryl acetate is a synthetic progestogen and derivative of progesterone originally developed as a contraceptive.1 It binds with high relative affinity to the progesterone (Item No. 15876), androgen, and glucocorticoid receptors in mammary cancer cells.2 It increases neuropeptide Y (Item No. 15071) by 90-140% and inhibits calcium channel currents in the rat hypothalamus.3,4 Megestryl acetate decreases cytokine and serotonin production in patient-derived peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).5 In rats, it increases food and water intake when administered at a dose of 50 mg/kg per day.3 Formulations containing megestryl acetate have been used in the treatment of endometriosis, hormone-related cancers, and as an appetite stimulant for cancer patients with anorexia and cachexia.6
WARNING This product is not for human or veterinary use.
1. The oral progestational and anti-
2. Estrogen, androgen, glucocorticoid, and progesterone receptors in progestin-
3. Megestrol acetate stimulates food and water intake in the rat: Effects on regional hypothalamic neuropeptide Y concentrations. Eur. J. Pharmacol. 265(1-2), 99-102 (1994).
4. Residual Ca2+ channel current modulation by megestrol acetate via a G-
5. Medroxyprogesterone acetate reduces the in vitro production of cytokines and serotonin involved in anorexia/cachexia and emesis by peripheral blood mononuclear cells of cancer patients. Eur. J. Cancer 33(4), 602-607 (1997).
6. A new look at an old drug for the treatment of cancer cachexia: Megestrol acetate. Clin. Nutr. 32(3), 319-324 (2013).