Woodrow C. Monte

An examination of the effects of putative pheromones on human judgments

Abstract Recent research suggests possible pheromonal effects of alpha androstenone and alpha androstenol, two steroids secreted by human apocrine glands. Using a paradigm of rating self and pictures of a target male and female in the presence of an odor, potential effects of the putative pheromones and a synthetic musk were examined. Significant multivariate odor condition effects were noted. Compared to the no-odor condition, the musk odors decreased self-rated sexiness of male subjects. For males, androstenol increased the sexual attractiveness of the target male. For females, androstenone decreased the sexual attractiveness of the target male and female. Androstenone also decreased the rated strength of the target male for females. Few differences between the putative pheromones and a synthetic musk were noted. The results are discussed in terms of comparison to past literature and suggestions for future research.

Human (Homo sapiens) responses to the pig (Sus scrofa) sex pheromone 5 alpha-androst-16-en-3-one.

Previous studies have suggested that the pig sex pheromone 5 alpha-androst-16-en-3-one may function as a human sex pheromone. Two hundred male and female college students were assigned to one of four odor conditions (androstenone, methyl anthranilate, skatole, and a no-odor control) and were asked to rate photographs of a male stimulus and to rate their own mood in the presence of each odorant. There was a significant overall sex by treatment condition interaction. Men in the androstenone condition rated the stimulus male as more passive, and women in the androstenone condition rated themselves as less sexy; these effects were specific to the androstenone condition.

Sex differences in response to the odor of alpha androstenone.

Additional analyses of ratings by 98 male and 102 female college students assigned to one of four odor conditions showed no significant correlations for the methyl anthranilate or skatole odor conditions, but the pattern of correlations for men and women was different in the alpha androstenone condition, e.g., if men found alpha androstenone pleasant they tended to rate the target male positively.

Methanol: A chemical Trojan horse as the root of the inscrutable U

Until 200 years ago, methanol was an extremely rare component of the human diet and is still rarely consumed in contemporary hunter and gatherer cultures. With the invention of canning in the 1800s, canned and bottled fruits and vegetables, whose methanol content greatly exceeds that of their fresh counterparts, became far more prevalent. The recent dietary introduction of aspartame, an artificial sweetener 11% methanol by weight, has also greatly increased methanol consumption. Moreover, methanol is a major component of cigarette smoke, known to be a causative agent of many diseases of civilization (DOC). Conversion to formaldehyde in organs other than the liver is the principal means by which methanol may cause disease. The known sites of class I alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH I), the only human enzyme capable of metabolizing methanol to formaldehyde, correspond to the sites of origin for many DOC. Variability in sensitivity to exogenous methanol consumption may be accounted for in part by the presence of aldehyde dehydrogenase sufficient to reduce the toxic effect of formaldehyde production in tissue through its conversion to the much less toxic formic acid. The consumption of small amounts of ethanol, which acts as a competitive inhibitor of methanols conversion to formaldehyde by ADH I, may afford some individuals protection from DOC.

Infant formula ingestion is associated with the development of diabetes in the BB/Wor rat

The association between early exposure to cows milk products in infancy and risk for insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is controversial. We examined whether the ingestion of cows milk-based infant formula altered the expression of the diabetic syndrome in the BB/Wor rat, an animal model of IDDM. Pregnant BB/Wor dams were obtained from the NIH contract colony at the University of Massachusetts and housed under semi-barrier conditions. Rat pups were intubated with 1 to 2 ml of commercially available cows milk-based infant formula (Enfamil or Nutramigen) or sham intubated (controls) daily from day 12 to day 25 of life. Pups were weaned at day 25 and monitored for glucosuria daily through 120 days of life. All rats including dams consumed a milk-free rat chow and acidified water ad libitum throughout the study. The mean age of disease onset was 4 to 10 days earlier in Nutramigen-fed and Enfamil-fed rats relative to controls (84+/-3, 78+/-2 and 88+/-4 days, respectively); the mean age of disease onset was significantly different between controls and Enfamil-fed animals (p<0.05). At 120 days, 60% (12/20) of control rats developed diabetes versus 100% of animals fed either type of infant formula prior to weaning (15/15:Enfamil-fed; 19/19:Nutramigen-fed) (p<0.05). These data indicate that direct, early ingestion of cows milk-based formula was related to the expression of diabetes in the BB/Wor rat.

Mutagenicity of commercial caramels

Abstract Three liquid and a powdered commercial caramels were tested for mutagenicity with the Ames test using Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100. The aqueous solution, acidic and basic organic extracts of each commercial caramel were tested with and without microsomal activation by liver S-9 preparation from Aroclor-treated rats. None of the samples tested exhibited significant mutagenicity over a wide range of concentrations.

Dietary methanol and autism

The authors sought to establish whether maternal dietary methanol during pregnancy was a factor in the etiology of autism spectrum disorders. A seven item questionnaire was given to women who had given birth to at least one child after 1984. The subjects were solicited from a large primary care practice and several internet sites and separated into two groups - mothers who had given birth to a child with autism and those who had not. Average weekly methanol consumption was calculated based on questionnaire responses. 550 questionnaires were completed by women who gave birth to a non-autistic child. On average these women consumed 66.71mg. of methanol weekly. 161 questionnaires were completed by women who had given birth to an autistic child. The average estimated weekly methanol consumption for this group was 142.31mg. Based on the results of the Wilcoxon rank sum-test, we see a significant difference between the reported methanol consumption rates of the two groups. This study suggests that women who have given birth to an autistic child are likely to have had higher intake of dietary sources of methanol than women who have not. Further investigation of a possible link of dietary methanol to autism is clearly warranted.

A comparison of L-ascorbic acid and L-ascorbyl 6-palmitate utilization in Guinea Pigs and humans

Abstract L-Ascorbyl 6-palmitate (AP), a synthetic lipophilic ascorbic acid derivative, is an effective preservative in foods and an effective dietary antitumor promoter in mice. Studies indicate that dietary AP is a source of tissue vitamin C in animals but its antiscorbutic properties have not been established. Thirty mature male guinea pigs were fed a scorbutogenic diet until symptoms of scurvy were apparent. Animals were randomly repleted with equimolar concentrations (2.8 μmol·100 g body wt −1 ·d −1 ) of AP or L-ascorbic acid (AA) or with placebo. Body weights were recorded daily during the 9 d repletion, and tissue samples were collected at the end of repletion. Daily mean weight loss during repletion in control animals receiving placebo was significantly greater than that for both AA and AP animals for days 3–10 of repletion. Daily mean weight loss for AP animals was significantly greater than that for AA animals on days 5 and 6 of repletion. By comparing areas of the weight-time curve during repletion, AP appeared to be about 50% as effective as AA in reversing scurvy. However, mean tissue vitamin C levels did not differ between AP and AA animals at the end of repletion, and these values were significantly higher than those for control animals. Dietary AP was an effective source of plasma vitamin C in humans fed equimolar concentrations of AP and AA. These data provide evidence that dietary AP possesses weak antiscorbutic activity in guinea pigs and enhances vitamin C nutriture in humans.