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Androstenone (5a-androst-16-en-3-one) is a pheromone steroid found in human sweat.
Androstenone odour smells different to different people with reported smells to be from urine, sweaty to even a pleasant scent. Some people cannot detect the odour of -none at all. Approximately 40% of adult females cannot detect the odour and 60% of adult males cannot detect the odour of -none. It has been known that people initially unable to smell the pheromone can actually learn to detect it after repeated exposure to the smell.
Androstenone is found in high concentrations in the saliva of male pigs and when smelt by a female pig in mating season results in the female pig desiring to mate.
In humans androstenone pheromones are thought to be the main pheromone that gives men the alpha-male characteristics. More alpha males therefore are thought to produce more androstenone naturally by their bodies than less alpha males.
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