Deer Velvet 33mg. IGF-1 82.5 mg.

A 2,000-year-old scroll discovered in a tomb in Hunan Province, China, listed dozens of different diseases that could be treated with velvet deer antler. The 16th century "Materia Medica," a standard text of Chinese herbalists, lists deer antler velvet as one of the most highly prized natural medicinal substances.
       
Deer antler removal is ideally done under strict regulatory processes. Once a year, male deer are brought into specially designed facilities for velvet antler removal. The process is often quick and painless, using local anesthetic, and within minutes of velvet antler removal, the deer are back with their herds grazing. After removal, antlers are frozen and transported under sanitary conditions. The product is then dried and processed, which can include powder, extracts or slices.

Velvet deer antler is named after the soft, velvet-like covering that deer antlers have before they turn bony. Antlers are organs of bone which regenerate each year from the heads of male deer. In addition to bone, support tissues such as nerves also regenerate. Nerves grow up to 1 cm each day. Deer antler velvet contains many substances including amino acids, minerals, proteins, anti-inflammatory peptides, hormones, gangliosides and glycosaminoglycans, and Insulin-like Growth Factor-1. The composition of velvet supplements depend on the diet of the deer, climate, time of year, age of stag and the various concentrations of substances in different regions of the antler velvet itself.

A substantial number of world class athletes, including world champions are currently using New Zealand deer velvet as a regular part of their training regime.  A superior source of Growth Factors including IGF-1 & IGF-2

Deer Antler Velvet Research Update
The effects of deer antler velvet extract or powder supplementation on aerobic power, erythropoiesis, and muscular strength and endurance characteristics.
Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2003 Sep;13(3):251-65.
To determine the effects of deer antler velvet on maximal aerobic performance and the trainability of muscular strength and endurance, 38 active males were randomly assigned in a double-blind fashion to either deer antler velvet extract (n = 12), powder (n = 13), or placebo groups (n = 13). Subjects were tested prior to beginning supplementation and a 10-week strength program, and immediately post-training. All subjects were measured for circulating levels of testosterone, insulin-like growth factor, erythropoietin, red cell mass, plasma volume, and total blood volume. Additionally, muscular strength, endurance, and VO2max were determined. All groups improved 6 RM strength equivalently, but there was a greater increase in isokinetic knee extensor strength and endurance in the powder compared to placebo group. There were no endocrine, red cell mass or VO2max changes in any group. These findings do not support an erythropoetic or aerobic ergogenic effect of deer antler velvet. Further, the inconsistent findings regarding the effects of deer antler velvet powder supplementation on the development of strength suggests that further work is required to test the robustness of the observation that this supplement enhances the strength training response and to ensure this observation is not a type I error.

Toxicological evaluation of New Zealand deer antler velvet powder. Part I: acute and subchronic oral toxicity studies in rats.
Food Chem Toxicol. 2000 Nov;38(11):985-90.
Potential toxic effects of acute and subchronic dosage regimens of deer antler velvet powder have been assessed in rats. In the acute study, rats of both sexes were exposed to a single dose of 2 g/kg body weight. There was no mortality or other signs of toxicity during 14 days' observation. Furthermore, no significant alteration either in relative organ weights or their histology was discernible at terminal autopsy. In the 90-day subchronic study, deer antler velvet was administered in 1 g/kg daily doses by gavage to rats. A control group of rats received water only. There was no effect on body weight, food consumption, clinical signs, haematology and most parameters of blood chemistry including carbohydrate metabolism, liver and kidney function. No significant differences were seen between the mean organ weights of the adrenal, kidney and brain in rats treated with deer antler velvet and control rats. However, there was a significant difference (P<0.05) in the group mean relative liver weight (3.52 +/- 0.30 vs 3.81 +/- 0.26 g/100 g body weight) of deer velvet-treated and control male rats. The gross necropsy and pathological examination of rats treated with deer velvet did not reveal any abnormalities in tissue morphology. Based on these results, it may be concluded that rats had no deer antler velvet treatment-related toxicological and histopathological abnormalities at the doses administered, despite the observed minor changes in liver weight.

Clinical evaluation of a powder of quality elk velvet antler for the treatment of osteoarthrosis in dogs.
Can Vet J. 2004 Feb;45(2):133-9.
A powder of quality elk velvet antler was evaluated on client-owned dogs with osteoarthrosis in a clinical, double-blind, and placebo-controlled study. Thirteen dogs received a placebo for 30 days and then elk velvet antler for 60 days. Twenty-five other dogs received elk velvet antler for 60 days. Gait analysis measured with a force plate, clinical signs assessed by an orthopedic surgeon, performances in daily life activities and vitality assessed by the owners, and complete blood analyses were obtained at days 0, after 30 days of placebo and/or 60 days of elk velvet antler. On placebo, the 13 dogs did not show significant improvement; however, their gait, their performances in daily life activities, and their vitality were significantly improved on elk velvet antler, based on changes in values exceeding those observed when placebo was administered. The 25 dogs on elk velvet antler for 60 days showed similar improvements. No clinical changes were revealed on blood analyses. Administration of elk velvet antler was effective in alleviating the condition in arthritic dogs.