Question for James V. Kohl

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Before I begin, I would like to tell you we all really appreciate your input here (I hope it is safe to speak for everyone on this). It is great to have a recognized authority on board.

I just have a couple of quick questions regarding SOE. If you do not want to answer or you do not want to give up trade secrets, I will not be offended. So here are my questions:

First, how did you come up with the ratio of RONE to NOL in SOE? Is it based on a guess, antidotal evidence, cost, or research?

Second, if it is based on a scientific study, is there any research suggesting the optimal dose of each?

Thank you! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[jvkohl]

1 milligram per milliliter is best for the RONE; I don\'t know how well this mixes with OL, but trust the perfumer\'s nose in this regard. Two studies of college women\'s response to 1mg/ml RONE provided the best indication that I had the right concentration, but I have also spent about 8 years trying different concentrations on different people--usually large groups (e.g., the audience at my scientific presentations).

2 mg/ml was aversive to most women and mildly annoying to most men. 1 mg/ml was almost always pleasant to women, and many of the men. Also, I tried both propylene glycol and mineral oil as unscented bases--both were equally well accepted, but the RONE dissolves best in mineral oil.

Since OL is generally considered both musky and pleasant by men and women, it\'s concentration is not so critical in the mix. The perfumer got it right, in any case, as he did with the musky-smelling carrier.

Overall, I did enough experimentation to at least attempt to get a \"use\" patent on the androsterone, but that would have added to the product cost, as well as added time to product release. As is generally agreed to in this pheromone, it\'s best to get the product out, and see how others report its effectiveness--as we will soon see in this forum.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Thank you. My primary reason for asking was to get an idea of what the optimal range is and what the overdose range is. Do you know how many ml the researchers used? You said that 2mg/ml was \"aversive to most women and mildly annoying to most men.\" Did the researchers just use 1 ml? It would seem that it wouldn\'t be the actual mg/ml, but rather the total mg of pheromones used.

Do you have any thoughts on what the optimal \"dosage\" is or on why one amount has a positive effect while another amount has a negative effect (from either a biological or an evolutionary standpoint)?

Again, thank you. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]