Male Sweat Turns Women On??

Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley said women who sniffed a chemical found in male sweat experienced elevated levels of an important hormone, along with higher sexual arousal, faster heart rate and other effects.

They said the study, published this week in the Journal of Neuroscience, represents the first direct evidence that people secrete a scent that influences the hormones of the opposite sex.

The study focused on androstadienone, considered a male chemical signal. Previous research had established that a whiff of it affected women's mood, sexual and physiological arousal and brain activation. Its impact on hormones was less clear.

Derivative of testosterone

A derivative of testosterone, it is found in male sweat as well as in saliva and semen. It smells somewhat musky. "It really tells us that a lot of things can be triggered by smelling sweat," Claire Wyart, who led the study, said in an interview yesterday.

The researchers measured levels of the hormone cortisol in the saliva of 48 female undergraduates at Berkeley, average age of about 21, after the women took 20 sniffs from a jar of androstadienone. Cortisol is secreted by the body to help maintain proper arousal and sense of well-being, respond to stress and other functions.

Improved mood, higher sexual arousal

Cortisol levels in the women who smelled androstadienone shot up within roughly 15 minutes and stayed elevated for up to an hour. Consistent with previous research, the women also reported improved mood, higher sexual arousal, and had increased blood pressure, heart rate and breathing.

For comparison's sake, women also smelled baking yeast, which did not trigger the same effects.

This was the first time that smelling a specific chemical secreted by people was shown to affect hormonal levels, the researchers said. The women had no skin contact with androstadienone.

The researchers used only heterosexual women in the study out of concern that homosexual women may respond differently to this male chemical.

Influence women's hormones

Wyart said while this marked the first time a specific component of male sweat was demonstrated to influence women's hormones, other components of sweat may do similar things.

The study did not determine whether the increase in cortisol levels triggered mood or arousal changes or whether those changes themselves caused the cortisol elevation.

The researchers also said their findings suggest a better way to stimulate cortisol levels in patients who need it, such as those with Addison's disease. Instead of giving cortisol in pill form, which has side effects such as peptic ulcers, osteoporosis, weight gain and mood disorders, smelling a chemical like androstadienone could be used to affect cortisol levels, they suggested.

Male sweat has a positive effect on woman

In a recent study of male sweat, biologists at the University of Pennsylvania say they found male perspiration had a surprisingly beneficial effect on women's moods, helping to reduce stress, inducing relaxation and even affects the menstrual cycle.

"This suggests there may be much more going on in social settings like singles' bars than meets the eye," said Charles Wysocki, an adjunct professor of animal biology at Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine.

In a study to be published in the journal Biology of Reproduction, researchers collected samples from the underarms of men who had not used deodorant for four weeks. The extracts were blended and applied to the upper lips of 18 women, aged 25 to 45.

The women rated their moods on a fixed scale for six hours. The findings suggested something in the perspiration brightened their moods and helped them feel less tense. Blood analyses also showed a rise in levels of the reproductive luteinising hormone that typically surge before ovulation.

Wysocki, a study co-author, said the research could point to a "chemical communication" between the sexes that enables men and women to co-ordinate their reproductive efforts subliminally.

There was no sign women were sexually aroused by male perspiration. In fact, the women never suspected they had men's sweat under their noses and believed they were helping to test alcohol, perfume or lemon floor wax.

Funded by the National Institutes of Health, researchers said the study could lead to new fertility therapies and treatments for premenstrual syndrome if the active agent in male perspiration could be isolated.

source: Reuters