DAA, cholesterol, and testosterone

swan1209

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I was just reviewing for a cell biology test and came across a figure showing the similarity of cholesterol to testosterone. Its basically the same thing except you drop a carbon side chain and a hydrogen and then move a double bond to the oxygen. This got me thinking about PP's claim that D-aspartic acid converts cholesterol to testosterone. I'm just speculating, and probably over simplifying the process here but if DAA does convert cholesterol to testosterone couldn't one make testosterone by reacting DAA with cholesterol? Maybe there is some organic chemists who could help answer this question?
 

swan1209

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Thanks for the input. Yeah i did a bit more research after I posted that and I discovered that there was a lot more too it. I remember reading about how DAA is just one input that regulates test production... can't remember it now but at the very least it made my cell bio class a bit interesting haha. I always try to relate my science classes to things that will help me in the gym, helps me stay sane haha
 
Robboe

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It's not that easy, there are at least 4-5 enzymes and steps required in the process to convert cholesterol into testosterone.

See the flow diagram here
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Steroidogenesis.svg/1000px-Steroidogenesis.svg.png

Oh, and for DAA, it doesn't convert cholesterol itself, it just increases the rate at which these chemical processes occur in the testes.
Even that diagram is somewhat simplified. The cholesterol has to become 20,22 di-OH-cholesterol before it becomes pregnenolone. This is done by cytochrome system enzyme from CYP11A1.
 

swan1209

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so DAA is just one step in the production of test. shouldn't supplement companies looking into ways to increase the enzymes that regulate test production?
 
kingdong

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I wish someone would get their cholesterol checked after about a month and see if if this stuff eats up a significant amount of cholesterol.
 
MAxximal

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Even that diagram is somewhat simplified. The cholesterol has to become 20,22 di-OH-cholesterol before it becomes pregnenolone. This is done by cytochrome system enzyme from CYP11A1.
"cytochrome system enzyme from CYP11A1" is in the liver?
 
Patrick Arnold

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so DAA is just one step in the production of test. shouldn't supplement companies looking into ways to increase the enzymes that regulate test production?

DAA positively affects the rate limiting step in testosterone biosynthesis. the rate limiting step is the transport of cholesterol across the mitochondrial membrane to where the enzyme that splits off the cholesterol side chain is located. this transport is mediated by steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR).

There really would not be any benefit to increasing stroidogenic enzyme activity unless cholesterol transport was so vastly upregulated that it no longer was the bottleneck. Thats probably unlikely
 

alexmittaluk

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Hey guys,

Since we are talking about converting cholesterol to testosterone... I found something that might work ... Read below

The researchers, working at the Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquimicas de La Plata, did an experiment with male rats. For sixty days, the rats were given feed to which seventy grams of soya oil , olive oil [O], coconut oil [C] or grapeseed oil [G] per kilogram had been added. At the end of the period the researchers measured how much testosterone the animals were producing.The testes of the rats that had had olive oil added to their feed were also heavier.

... Long story short ...

Natural athletes could optimise their testosterone production by making olive oil their main form of fat. Another nutritional strategy that might help is to eat cranberries. Cranberries increase the uptake of cholesterol by the testes.
 

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