A flavonoid compound found in bee pollen and propolis. Can boost Testosterone when injected into testicles, it is just a shame it isn't absorbed at all. Unless better absorption arises, Chrysin remains a pretty interesting colon cancer preventative agent that doesn't boost testosterone
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Chrysin is a Bioflavonoids compound found in high levels in propolis and in honey. It is a flavonoid known for supposedly increasing testosterone levels in humans.
It has the general health benefits that are shared with many bioflavonoids, and has limited but promising evidence for its usage in increasing testosterone. It does this via inhibiting the enzyme that converts testosterone to estrogen, and by sensitizing the testicular cells to produce more testosterone.
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Propolis, Honey extract, Passiflora caerulea Linn
At this moment in time, there does not appear to be enough evidence for an optimal dosage amount or technique for boosting testosterone. In aged rats at least, low doses (1mg/kg) have been shown to enhance male sexuality.
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The Human Effect Matrix looks at human studies (excluding animal/petri-dish studies) to tell you what effect Chrysin has in your body, and how strong these effects are.
| Grade | Level of Evidence |
|---|---|
| A | Robust research conducted with repeated double blind clinical trials |
| B | Multiple studies where at least two are double-blind and placebo controlled |
| C | Single double blind study or multiple cohort studies |
| D | Uncontrolled or observational studies only |
| Level of Evidence | Effect | Change | Magnitude of Effect Size | Scientific Consensus | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Testosterone | 100% See study | Has failed to increase testosterone levels in one study. |
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Chrysin is a bioflavonoid compound that is touted to enhance testosterone levels and male virility.
Sources of Chrysin include:
Like many Bioflavonoids, they suffer from poor bioavailability in isolated form[2] which limits their practical usage. This poor bioavailability does not seem to be related to intestinal transport per se,[3] but more related to extensive metabolism by P450 enzymes of sulphation and glucuronidation in the intestines and liver limiting how much bioactive Chrysin reaches systemic circulation.[4][5]
When tested in humans, 400mg of Chrysin supplementation resulted in approximately 0.2-3.1mg of unchanged Chrysin excreted in the urine; this confers a relative bioavailability of less than 1% unchanged Chrysin.[5] When measuring Chrysin and its two serum metabolites (Sulphate and Glucuronide), total urinary recovery was 1-7% of the oral dose whereas the other 93-99% was lost in the feces.[5] Over 99% of an oral dose of Chrysin reaching the blood is in the conjugated form.[5]
One study found Chrysin to induce UGT1A1 expression in intestinal cells (Caco-2), which increases glucuronidation rates. When tested in vivo, the side-effects of a pro-drug associated with insufficient glucuronidation were reduced, contributing some validity to the results seen in vitro.[6]
After oral ingestion of 400mg Chrysin, plasma levels of Chrysin sulphate appear to be 30-fold higher than plasma levels of bioactive Chrysin.[5] Glucuronide conjugates appear to be present in plasma, but at undetectable levels.[5]
The Cmax or 400mg Chrysin was 3-16ng/mL while the AUC was 5-193 ng/mL/h.[5] The Cmax was reached (Tmax) about 1 hour after ingestion, fell rapidly at 6 hours, and returned to baseline 48 hours after ingestion.[5] The half-life for the first 12 hours was 4.6 hours.[5]
When tested in vivo and vitro, there does not appear to be any evidence of oxidative metabolism of Chrysin.[5][3]
When injected into rats at doses of 1-5mg/kg bodyweight, it appears that glucuronide conjugates are 10-fold more prevalent than sulphate conjugates; this contrasts oral dosing, where in both rats and humans glucuronide conjugates are quite low relative to sulphation.[5] This may be due to Chryin's ability to active sulphation enzymes in the intestines and liver,[7][6][8] which would lead to enhanced intestinal auto-metabolism.
A plant that Chrysin comes from, Passionflower, is known to be an anxiolytic compound;[9] it appears Chrysin plays a central role in Passionflower-induced anxiolysis.[10]
In aged rats, oral doses of 1mg/kg bodyweight Chrysin appear to be effective at increasing mounting frequency and impregnantions suggesting it may exert pro-fertility actions in aged animals.[1] Sperm count was also increased at this dosage after 30 days.[1]
Chrysin is one of the more potent flavonoid compounds in inhibiting aromatase in vitro[11] with similar efficacy to Apigenin,[12][13] which can potentially be a mechanism to increase testosterone secondary to preventing conversion of testosterone into estrogen. A direct steroidogenic effect may also occur in the leydig cells of the testes, where mRNA levels of the StAR regulatory protein (rate limiting step of testosterone synthesis) are unregulated and the suppressor of StAR, DAX-1, inhibited;[14] the increase in StAR activity appears to be secondary to suppressing DAX-1 and possible COX-2 (both negative regulators) rather than a direct stimulatory effect like D-Aspartic Acid.[15][16]
Chrysin has mechanisms to increase testosterone levels via both sensitizing testicles to luteinizing hormone and by inhibiting aromatase
Chrysin is somewhat limited by its poor intestinal absorption rates, with a bioavailability of less than 1%,[2] and most studies conducted with Chrysin are confounded with the inclusion of other nutrients known to increase testosterone such as DHEA.[17][18][19][20] In these blends, Chrysin appears to be dosed at around 300-625mg despite societal usage being reported to be in the range of 2,000-3,000mg.[6]
One study with of propolis with eucalyptus honey) at 1,280mg and 20g, respectively (54mg/g collective flavonoids in the propolis, 1mg/g Chrysin in the honey) supplementation failed to significantly influence testosterone levels in otherwise healthy men.[21] In rats, an increase of approximately 30% has been noted with oral intake of 50mg/kg bodyweight for 60 days,[22] which is a human estimated dose of 8mg/kg bodyweight.
Secondary to the poor absorption, there may not be a practically relevant increase in testosterone synthesis seen in humans orally consuming chrysin. There is still a possibility of this occurring if absorption is increased
Chrysin appears to be an modifier of P-glycoprotein efflux pumps and reduce their activity; this can act synergistically with compounds that are subject to P-gp efflux, such as the anti-cancer drug epirubicin.[23] It shows potential at alleviating multi-drug resistance and exhibits anti-proliferative properties in isolation and in conjunction with other compounds.[23][24]
In humans, 500mg of Chrysin (in two divided dosages) is not associated with many adverse effects, although this one study was not fully designed to test Chrysin as it was confounded with another compound.[6] Acute dosages of 400mg Chrysin do not observe any toxic effects in humans.[5]
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