Androsterone/[email protected]

Androsterone, or 3α-hydroxy-5α-androstan-17-one, is an endogenous steroid hormone, neurosteroid, and putative prehormone. It is a weak androgen with a potency that is approximately 1/7th that of testosterone.In addition, it can be converted to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) from 3α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, bypassing conventional intermediates such as androstenedione and testosterone, and as such, can be considered to be a metabolic intermediate in its own right.Androsterone is also known to be an inhibitory androstane neurosteroid,acting as a positive allosteric modulator of the GABAA receptor,and possesses anticonvulsant effects.The unnatural enantiomer of androsterone is more potent as a positive allosteric modulator of GABAA receptors and as an anticonvulsant than the natural form. Androsterone's 3β-isomer is epiandrosterone, and its 5β-epimer is etiocholanolone.