Effects of androstenedione-herbal supplementation on serum sex hormone concentrations in 30-to 59-year-old men

The effectiveness of a nutritional supplement designed to enhance serum tes tosterone concentrations and prevent the formation of dihydrotestosterone a nd estrogens from the ingested androgens was investigated in healthy 30- to 59-year old men. Subjects were randomly assigned to consume DION (300 mg a ndrostenedione, 150 mg dehydroepiandrosterone, 540 mg saw palmetto, 300 mg indole-3-carbinol, 625 mg chrysin, and 750 mg Tribulus terrestris per day; n = 28) or placebo (n = 27) for 28 days. Serum free testosterone, total tes tosterone, androstenedione, dihydrotestosterone, estradiol, prostate-specif ic antigen (PSA), and lipid concentrations were measured before and through out the 4-week supplementations period. Serum concentration of total testos terone and PSA were unchanged by supplementation. DION increased (p < 0.05) serum androstenedione (342%), free testosterone (38%), dihydrotestosterone (71%), and estradiol (103%) concentrations. Serum HDL-C concentrations wer e reduced by 5.0 mg/dL in DION (p < 0.05). Increased in serum free testoste rone (r(2) = 0.01), androstenedione (r(2) = 0.01), dihydrotestosterone (r(2 ) = 0.03), or estradiol (r(2) = 0.07) concentrations in DION were not relat ed to age. While the ingestion of androstenedione combined with herbal prod ucts increased serum free testosterone concentrations in older men, these h erbal products did not prevent the conversion of ingested androstenedione t o estradiol and dihydrotestosterone.