Abstract
The concentration of the urine-smelling steroid, 5α-androst-16-en-3-one, has been measured by radioimmunoassay in the saliva of 9 men and 4 women. The lower limit of detection was estimated to be 0.725 nmoles/1. In six of the men the range of concentrations of the odorous steroid was 0.8–1.8 nmoles/1 saliva (3 men had less than the estimated lower limit of detection). In only one of the women studied could the 5α-androst-16-en-3-one be measured (0.83 nmoles/l) in the saliva.