are phero's steroids?

[PHP 87]

No.

[Bruce]

Pheromones do not \"contain\" steroids; they ARE steroids themselves. They are not classified as anabolic or illegal or dangerous in any way, but they are still technically in the group of orgainic compounds known as \"steroids\". In fact, the pheromone androsterone found in Alter Ego used to be classified a controled anabolic steroid, but has since been relieved of that status by the FDA.
Bruce

[ December 01, 2001: Message edited by: Bruce ]

[**DONOTDELETE**]

This is kinda a hard thing to answer. It you really want to look at the backbone of what a Sterol looks like, look up the structure of cholesterol. It has the basic structure. Bile salts are also in this group, along with testosterone, estrogen and a whole slew of others. If the cmpd has the fragment _ster_ in it, it has that basic backbone. It is a basic chem/biochem name for a structure.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

do pheros contain steroids?

[**DONOTDELETE**]

So i guess what we mean is that pheromones are not steroids in the traditional body builder or athlete stance but by chemical nature are sterols like chelstrol or some similar scienctific compound.

[Whitehall]

EXCEPT for copulins....

Yes, most pheromones are steroids - copulins are an exception as they are relatively simple fatty acids, if I remember correctly. How the body makes steroids from cholesterol is fairly well scienced-out yet I haven\'t found anything about the body\'s mechanisms or purpose for the creation of copulins. In fact, this great book \"Sperm Wars\" posits that evolution has gone to great lengths to hide their fertility from women and men (so that women\'s body can better chose paternity.) This thesis casts doubt on the concept of copulins yet I THINK I can smell a fertile woman.

Most steroids serve as internal messengers yet pheromones serve as external messengers. Of course, exogenious pheromones can influnence the wearer, as some of our posters have noticed, in ways that vaguely sound like steroid effcts.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Ok so if we create a new catorgory and explanation and ideas for pheromones as external attractants then perhaps we might be on the right track. So couplins are different maybe not all males can smell them like rone and none or maybe its an accquired thing.

That is an interesting point i never used to be able to pick up androgens but since using pheros i have developed the ability to pick them up. So maybe through exposure the brain can be trained to detect them (wine tasting and smelling anyone).

Maybe the same with couplins.

[Chemist]

Steroids as defined in elementary testbooks, are a specific ring structure. All of the pheromones we use can be classified as steroids in this case. However, these are not the \"steroids\" taken for body building or geting over mono. Words like fats, sugars, and carbohydrates also have broader definitions in the textbook world than they do to people watching CNN or shopping at Pathmark (Wegmans, Safeways, Edwards - yeah you know it).

The word steroid to the biochemist can almost be equated to \"looks like. . .\" -

/\\/\\
| |_|
/\\/\\/
| | |
\\/\\/

ok = it looks bad - but this is the basic skeloton of a steroid: cholesterol and cortisone are also steroids.