A Clinical & Preclinical Research Index

Scientific Papers on the
Veech Ketone Ester

A comprehensive, continually updated index of human and animal research on the Veech ketone monoester (KME). Studies are grouped by therapeutic area and labeled by outcome — positive, neutral, and no-benefit alike — so the evidence can be read on its own terms. Products built on other molecules — 1,3-butanediol, βHB mineral salts, free acid and diesters — are indexed separately, with their funding and conflict-of-interest disclosures noted.

About this index & how to read it. The focus is the ketone monoester (KME) — also called the Veech / NIH ester, (R)-3-hydroxybutyl (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate. Each entry links to the journal, PubMed/PMC, or trial registry. Outcome labels reflect the study's primary finding for the ketone ester condition; they are an editorial reading of the abstract, not a formal grading. Entries with no efficacy outcome to grade are marked Ref — reviews, imaging and methods papers, protocols, and registered trials without published results; Landmark tags the foundational Veech-era papers that established the underlying biochemistry. Non-Veech ketone ester products — 1,3-butanediol, βHB mineral salts, free acid and diesters — are indexed separately and excluded from the headline percentages, and their funding and conflict-of-interest disclosures are noted because so few of those trials are independent. Where a paper does not name the supplier of the molecule, attribution is left generic (KME). Counterpoint and null results are included deliberately — the value of an index like this is that it does not cherry-pick.
Positive finding Neutral / mixed Negative / cautionary Reference / review / trial

Background & Media

Context, not clinical evidence

Press & Cycling Coverage

2012 London Olympics "Wonder Drug"

What's in a Name — The Ketone Monoester

Common names

The Ketone Ester

The Veech Ester / NIH Ester

D-BHB Ester

R-βHB (R)-1,3-butanediol ketone ester

Chemical names

D-β-hydroxybutyrate / R-1,3-butanediol ester

(R)-3-hydroxybutyl (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate

(3'R)-3'-hydroxybutyl (3R)-3-hydroxybutanoate

IUPAC

[(3R)-3-hydroxybutyl] (3R)-3-hydroxybutanoate

Esters, but NOT monoesters

Acetoacetate / (racemic) 1,3-butanediol di-ester

Bis-hexanoyl (R)-1,3-butanediol (C6-diester)

Bis-octanoyl (R)-1,3-butanediol (C8-diester)

See the naming reference "What's in a name" paper for the full taxonomy.

Video Interviews

Dr. Richard Veech (ketone ester pioneer) in conversation with Dave Asprey
William Curtis on managing his Parkinson's with a ketogenic approach