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28.09.2024

A pheromone in cloves increases your testosterone levels | Beta-caryophyllene

This website wrote in recent years about the increase in testosterone levels due to cloves, Holy Basil and thyme oil. On this gray autumn day we read interesting animal and human studies that clarify which substance in herbs such as cloves and thyme increases testosterone levels. Ever heard of beta-caryophyllene?

Animal study
In 2014, Italian researchers from the University of Siena published an animal study in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, in which they gave male rats a dose of beta-caryophyllene every day for 14 days. [Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2014:2014:596312.] The researchers had dissolved the substance in almond oil and administered it via the oral route.

If the rats had been adult humans, they would have consumed 40-70 milligrams of beta-caryophyllene daily. There are supplements on the market that provide such doses.

In the rats given beta-caryophyllene, both testosterone and estradiol levels increased. Keep in mind that the increase in estradiol levels was a few picograms, while the increase in testosterone levels was a few nanograms. 1000 picrograms = 1 nanogram.

Supplementation with half this dose of beta-caryophyllene plus the omega-3 fatty acid EPA did not lead to an increase in testosterone levels.

The Italians were actually investigating the analgesic effect of the combination of EPA and beta-caryophyllene. They discovered that beta-caryophyllene on its own, but also in combination with EPA, had an analgesic and anxiolytic (= anti-anxiety) effect.

Human study
In 2020, a Japanese study was published in Sexual Medicine in which researchers vaporized beta-caryophyllene and then had 19 women smell the evaporated volatile substance. [Sex Med. 2020 Sep; 8(3): 525-31.]

Testosterone levels rose in the women's saliva. The estradiol level did not increase.

The table below comes from that publication. Click on it for a larger version.

Animal study
The Japanese are looking for a non-medical prosexual treatment for women. Sexual arousal is accompanied by an increase in the concentration of testosterone in saliva, so the researchers hope that an environment with beta-caryophyllene in the air will improve the quality of sex.

Beta-caryophyllene
Beta-caryophyllene [chemical structure below] is a macrocyclic sesquiterpene found in cloves, oregano, basil, thyme and many other aromatic herbs. Clove oil can consist of 3 to 21 percent beta-caryophyllene. [AIP Conference Proceedings. 2017;1862(1):030082.]

The table below comes from that publication. Click on it for a larger version.

Another good nutritional source is oregano oil, in which the concentration of beta-caryophyllene can be up to 14 percent.

Source:
Sex Med. 2020 Sep; 8(3): 525-31.

More:
Black pepper extract PipeNig-FL (which contains beta-caryophyllene) stimulates muscle growth while inhibiting body fat growth 17.11.2019

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