Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
|
|
||||||||
20.04.2015 |
|
DHT levels through the roof with Butea superba
A supplement containing Butea superba not only sent a 35-year-old man's libido through the roof, but sent his levels of the androgen hormone DHT sky high. Thai nutritionists described the case in the Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism – and may well have finally succeeded in throwing light on how Butea superba works.
Butea superba
Animal studies [Phytother Res. 2006 Jun;20(6):484-9.] [Andrologia. 2012 May;44 Suppl 1:728-33.] and a couple of small human studies [BJU Int. 2010 Jan;105(2):225-8.] [Asian J Androl. 2003 Sep;5(3):243-6.] have confirmed the prosexual effect of Butea superba.
Another theory is that bioactive phytochemicals in Butea superba imitate the effects of testosterone. [Braz J Med Biol Res. 2010 Sep;43(9):843-52.] [J Ethnopharmacol. 2009 Jan 12;121(1):123-9.] [Maturitas. 2008 Jun 20;60(2):131-7.]
Case
When the researchers examined the man's blood they discovered a possible cause. The amount of DHT in the man's blood was sky high. Normal values are between 250 and 990 picograms per millilitre, but the man had a DHT concentration of 1512 picograms per millilitre. The researchers' diagnosis was hyperandrogenemia.
The man had been taking a capsule containing a locally-produced Butea superba extract daily for a couple of weeks. Exact quantities are not mentioned in the report. The man had started taking the supplement because he was afraid he was losing his hair.
In Asian countries men and women sometimes use extracts of Butea monosperma and Butea parviflora to counteract baldness, but the man had mistakenly thought that Butea superba would have the same effect. Instead of this, however, the supplement he used had increased the amount of testosterone that was converted into DHT.
DHT has more affinity with the androgen receptor than testosterone does. The researchers suspect that the increase in DHT concentration explained the man's out-of-control libido. They suggested the man stop taking the supplement.
Conclusion
Source:
More: |
|