Gonadal hormones androgenic

Androgens are masculinizing substances. The endogenous male gonadal hormone is the steroid testosterone from the interstitial Leydig cells of the testis. 

Gonadal hormones Estrogens Progestins Androgens Neurosteroids Thyroid hormones Melatonin Vasopressin Oxytocin... 

The toxicities of adrenocortical hormones are presented in Chapter 39 Adrenocorticosteroids Adrenocortical Antagonists and those of estrogens and androgens in Chapter 40 The Gonadal Hormones Inhibitors. 

Saw palmetto is most often used in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Enzymatic conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) by 5a-reductase is inhibited by saw palmetto in vitro. This effect is similar to that of finasteride, which is also used to treat the disorder (Chapter 40 The Gonadal Hormones Inhibitors). In vitro, saw palmetto also inhibits the binding of DHT to androgen receptors. Additional effects that have been observed in vitro include inhibition of prostatic growth factors, blockade of ay-adrenoceptors, and inhibition of inflammatory mediators... 

Anabolic ateroids a group of synthetic steroids which stimulate production of body protein. Male gonadal hormones have this effect, as first demonstrated in 1935 for testosterone. By structural modification of natural androgens, it is possible to separate the anabolic from the androgenic effects, leading to... 

Androgens a group of male gonadal hormones, including testosterone, androsterone and androsteno-lone, which are formed in the intermediary cells of the testes tissue, and a number of less active A. produced in the adrenal cortex, e.g. androstenedione and adrenosterone (Fig.). Since A. are precursors of Estrogens (see), they are also synthesized in the ovaries and fetoplacental unit. At present more than 30 naturally occurring A. are known, all structurally related to the parent hydrocarbon, androstane (see Steroids). 

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