Pregnenolone is a natural hormone, produced primarily by the adrenal glands, but also in the brain, liver, skin, testicles and ovaries. It circulates in the body mostly in its water-soluble form, called Pregnenolone-sulfate, or “Preg-S”.
The chemical name is: 3-alpha-hydroxy-5-betapregnen-20-one. In the body, Pregnenolone is used as Pregnenolone itself, or it is converted to DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), which in turn is converted into Androgens (e.g. Testosterone), Estrogens and to other steroids, and through another pathway it is metabolized to Progesterone.
Totally over one hundred and fifty different steroid hormones are made from Pregnenolone in the body – it generates a whole symphony of hormones – in short: “The symphony of life”.
If DHEA is referred to as “The Mother Hormone”, Pregnenolone will qualify to be called “The Grandmother Hormone”.
Pregnenolone was first prepared in a laboratory in 1934. Many human studies show that Pregnenolone could fight fatigue, relieve arthritis pains, improve well-being, mode and memory as well as fight stress.
Being a natural substance Pregnenolone cannot be patented, and therefore the drug companies have no interest in it, as they cannot make their regular 95%+ profit margin from it, and also as they cannot then fully control it themselves. They preferred to put their research money in cortisone instead in the 1940’s and 50’s.
Everyone knows the limitations and serious side-effects of this compound – the rest is history! Needless to say the pharmaceutical industry sees this as a threat, and is running active, vicious and extensive – and costly – discrediting campaigns, including spreading incorrect, even falsified, information on the “danger”/ safety using products like Pregnenolone.
The same is true for substances like Melatonin, DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), Progesterone, Human Growth Hormone etc. It is interesting to note that there is a clear difference in the metabolism of Pregnenolone in human males and females – in males the metabolic pathway seems to favor conversion into Testosterone and in females the conversion into Estrogens.