Pheromone & Social Influence Research Forum

The pheromone molecule androstanone is commonly referred to as simply anone.

Care should be taken to avoid confusing this molecule with androstenone, which shares a similar name and chemical structure. Some researchers believe that the chemical differences in androstanone are inactive, rendering the two functionally identical. However, pheromone users have uniformly reported differences in both the self-effects and social effects of these two molecules.

• Most common chemical name: 5α-androstan-3-one
• Molecular Weight: 274.44 g/mol
• CAS Number: 1224-95-9

Pheromone Effects in Research

One study attempted to use androstanone as an unconscious signal to the presence of others, in order to determine whether this would affect performance on various tasks in a manner similar to being watched by others. The study found that, as hypothesized, exposure to androstanone slightly improved performance on easy or familiar tasks, and significantly degraded performance on difficult or unfamiliar tasks. This is precisely the pattern seen when people are under evaluation. We may therefore ascertain that androstanone induces a feeling of being evaluated.

Summary of Reported Pheromone Effects in the Field

Users who have tested androstanone in the field have reported effects including:

• Suggests sexual aggression, but in a somewhat less confrontational manner than androstenone; has been described as a more gentle and social version of androstenone
• Altered visual perception or attention; "tunnel vision"
• Enhanced sense of smell
• Increased friendliness from both men and women
• Increased sociability and perceived closeness, especially at very high doses
• Attention-grabbing effects
• Overdose effects (ghosting, avoidance) at >5mcg
• An enhancing and light buffering effect on androstenone

Androstanone seems to exhibit two different sets of effects at different dose ranges: one at <5mcg and one at >50mcg. Each dose range requires additional field testing at this time.

Use in Pheromone Products

Androstanone is a known ingredient in the following commercial pheromone products:

• New Pheromone Additive from Love Scent
• Pursuit from Paradise 7
• Alfa Donna, Achar, Alfa Maschio, Certo, Charme, Corporativo, Donna Amore, Exotique, L’uomo Amore, and Aquagen from Alpha Dream

A number of users have stated that the effects of androstanone are comparable to the unnamed putative pheromone P75 from Androtics. Androtics has officially denied that P75 is androstanone, and some users have reported that they see different effect from the two molecules.

Where to buy Androstanone

• Love Scent sells this molecule as a 1mg/mL concentrate in ethanol.