Is DHEA legal in the United Kingdom?

The hormone whose decline with age is the most-cited reason to supplement it, tested repeatedly in randomised trials, and mostly unimpressive outside two specific populations.

DHEA is the most abundant circulating steroid in the human body and its levels fall steeply from the twenties onward, which is why it became the original anti-ageing hormone supplement. It is also the clearest case on this site of the pattern the whole site argues against: a hormone declines with age, therefore replacing it should reverse ageing, therefore sell it.

Mechanism: A 19-carbon steroid produced mainly by the adrenal cortex, circulating largely as the sulphate DHEA-S. It has weak direct androgen receptor activity and acts mostly as a precursor, converted in peripheral tissues into testosterone and then oestradiol.

Regulatory history: Sold as a dietary supplement in the United States. Separately, prasterone is an FDA-approved prescription vaginal insert for moderate to severe dyspareunia due to menopausal vulvar and vaginal atrophy. It is banned in sport by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Licenses medicines for the UK market. A compound without a marketing authorisation is an unlicensed medicine, which can only lawfully be supplied for human use through a prescriber under the specials scheme, not sold as a research product.

The classification above is the The Longevity Archive reading of Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency listings for DHEA at the reviewed date, not a legal opinion. Rules change, and importing, prescribing and possessing a compound can each be treated differently. Check the regulator directly before acting on anything here.