Blog Entry #68
By Admin – Steroidal.com
Onion, or Latin name Allium cepa, is part of the Allium family. Other members of this family are leeks, scallions, shallots, chives and garlic, some of which have also shown to boost testosterone levels in previous blog posts. Health benefits of onion are that it’s a blood thinner, anti-bacterial, protects against prostate cancers, is an anti-inflammatory, and lowers blood pressure and the risk of blood clots. But today we’re going to look at two studies on onion juice’s effects on testosterone production.
The first Iranian study we’re going to look at was done on rats in 2009, at the Tabriz University in Iran [1]. Onions are potent anti-oxidants and compounds that are anti-oxidants have been shown to increase testosterone levels in the past due to their effects on the testes. Standard onions were bought and juiced with the skin removed.
The subjects were a group of thirty 8-week old rats and the experiment lasted twenty days. Ten of the rats were given placebo [control], ten were given 0.5g per kg bodyweight of onion juice and the final ten given 1g onion juice per kg of bodyweight.
The first figure below shows the effects 0.5g/kg of onion juice had on the two groups and the control group. Leutinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and testosterone concentrations were all recorded. The second figure shows effects the 1g/kg of onion juice had on the parameters, showing an increase in testosterone of 314%.
The Iranian researchers then speculate that the rise in testosterone is due to the anti-oxidant effects on the testes. To go a little further, the researchers suspect that the antioxidants in question are probably selenium compounds found in onions, and phenols such as quercetin and isorhamnetin.
The second study we’re going to look at is another Iranian one, done recently in February 2014 at the Jordan University of Science and Technology [2]. This time the study was done to find a compound that exerts similar effects to Viagra (sildenafil) being a PDE5 inhibitor.
The researchers made fresh onion juice every day using a juicer the same as the first study we discussed. They gave their lab animals 0.5 [AC0.5], 1 [AC1] or 2 ml [AC2] of the juice orally for 20 consecutive days. A control group received no onion juice [C].
The onion juice increased the rat’s testosterone concentration. The optimal dose was 1ml per day. The human equivalent of this dose would be about 0.64ml per kg bodyweight per day. So for an 80kg male 51.2mls of juice would be needed.
The study also found the onion juice had pro-sexual effects, much like other herbal products, such as Long Jack. The rats were faster to mount their female counterparts when exposed to onion juice.
“The present study supports the hypothesis that Allium cepa has aphrodisiac activity and may enhance male sexual libido and performance”, the Iranians write. “The observed improvements in copulatory behaviour resulting from administration of Allium cepa juice could be mostly attributed to increased serum testosterone levels in male rats. Nevertheless, future investigations that include clinical trials are warranted to substantiate these effects of onion juice in humans.”
Source:
[1]. Folia Morphol (Warsz). 2009 Feb; 68(1): 45-51.
[2]. Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2014 Feb 1;239(2):177-82.
