| Dimension | Scoring Notes | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Study Design | Primarily rodent and insect studies for anabolic/ergogenic effects. One small Russian human study (often cited) has significant methodological limitations. Animal/in vitro. |
2 / 25 |
| Sample Size | No validated human efficacy RCTs. The cited human study is uncontrolled. |
0 / 20 |
| Replication | Animal findings partially replicated but inconsistently. In vitro protein synthesis findings exist but cell culture doesn't translate reliably to human ergogenic effect. |
10 / 20 |
| Journal Impact Factor | Published in low-tier journals and some Russian phytochemistry publications. No high-impact journal primary data. |
8 / 15 |
| Funding Independence | Academic and Russian institute funded. Independent from supplement industry for original research (though supplement industry now heavily markets based on this research). |
7 / 10 |
| Population Diversity | Animal/in vitro. Not applicable. |
5 / 5 |
| Researcher h-Index | V.N. Syrov (Uzbekistan Institute of Plant Chemistry) — the original ecdysterone researcher has a profile in Eastern European phytochemistry literature, but Western database h-Index is difficult to confirm. |
5 / 5 |