Laxogenin is a chemical found in plants. It stimulates plant growth. Laxogenin and a similar chemical called 5-alpha-hydroxylaxogenin are sold as medicines. However, there is no evidence to support their use.

Laxogenin and 5-alpha-hydroxy laxogenin are taken orally to build muscle and increase strength.
How does it work?
Laxogenin is a naturally occurring chemical found in plants. It helps plants grow. Some believe it may promote muscle growth in humans. However, there is no evidence to support this.
5-Alpha-Hydroxy-Laxogenin is commonly marketed in dietary supplements as a plant-based anabolic agent. However, this is false advertising. Although it is related to the plant steroid laxogenin, there are no reports of 5-Alpha-Hydroxy-Laxogenin derivatives being detected or isolated in any natural source.

5-Alpha-Hydroxy-Laxogenin has been on the radar of USADA for some time because it is often found on the labels of products that also happen to be contaminated or have performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) added to them. For example, about half of the products that listed laxogenin on the label on the Supplement Connect High Risk List also had a banned substance listed on the label, while the other half detected undeclared (not listed) stimulants, Positive for anabolic steroids, or selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs).

On supplement labels, 5-Alpha-Hydroxy-Laxogenin can be listed in a variety of ways, including 5-laxogenin, 5-alpha-laxogenin, or by its chemical name. Some companies may use the term "laxogenin" as a code name for hidden (undeclared) PEDs.
5-Alpha-Hydroxy-Laxogenin is not currently banned because it does not meet at least two of the three criteria of the World Anti-Doping Code. There is no clear evidence that it has performance-enhancing effects in humans. However, if new data or information comes out showing that 5-Alpha-Hydroxy-Laxogenin improves performance, WADA may change the status of this ingredient immediately.

The safety of 5-Alpha-Hydroxy-Laxogenin is unknown because the ingredient has not been tested in humans. However, there are two better reasons to avoid this ingredient:

It may indicate the presence of undeclared PEDs in the product.
The FDA considers it illegal in dietary supplements.