Sweat turns women on

They found that male sweat contains a musky-smelling chemical called androstadienone that can lighten a woman's mood and heighten her sexual arousal. It can also speed up a woman's heart rate, increase her blood pressure, and raise levels of the stress hormone cortisol, the Daily Mail (in the UK) reported.

This is the first evidence that humans - like moths and butterflies - give off a scent that has a physical effect on members of the opposite sex.

The study appears in the Journal of Neuroscience.

"Many people argue that human pheromones don't exist, because humans don't exhibit stereotyped behaviour. Nonetheless, this male chemical signal ... does cause hormonal as well as physiological and psychological changes in women," study leader Claire Wyart, a post-doctoral fellow, said in a prepared statement. – (HealthDayNews)

February 2007