Androstenone
Encyclopedia : A : AN : AND : Androstenone
Androstenone (5a-androst-16-en-3-one) is a steroid found in both male and female sweat.
Depending upon who is doing the smelling, it is reported to be an unpleasant, sweaty, urinous smell, a woody smell, or even a pleasant floral smell. About 60% of adult males and 40% of adult females cannot smell androstenone, but some people who initially cannot smell androstenone can learn to smell it by repeated exposures to it.
Androstenone is the first mammalian pheromone to be identified. It is found in high concentrations in the saliva of male pigs and, when sniffed by a female pig who is in heat, results in the female assuming the mating stance. Androstenone is the active ingredient in BoarTaint, a commercial product sold to pig farmers to test sows for timing of artificial insemination.
In humans androstenone also has been suggested to be a pheromone, especially as a supposed sex attractant, but scientific data to support these claims are scant.
External link
- http://www.youramazingbrain.org.uk/supersenses/pheromones.htm
- For a full list of external links to MSDSs, spectroscopic data, commercial chemicals suppliers etc. for this compound, see [Chemical sources].
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