Hi Guys in this episode I give my opinion on whether PEO is a DHT blocker Typically the main constituents of PEO are menthol (40.7%) and menthone (23.4%). Further components were (+/-)-menthyl acetate, 1,8-cineole, limonene, beta-pinene and beta-caryophyllene (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19768994) I have seen evidence the peppermint plant itself has Rosmarinic Acid at 4x the amount of rosemary ( strong DHT blocker) (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3307200/table/…/) which is an ester of caffeic acid, (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12482446 ) that has been shown to inhibit DHT (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24080105 ) However this is talking about the plant as a whole and not the distilled essential oil so we have to be somewhat cautious to assert that the oil contains Rosmarinic Acid. I can’t find any credible sources that the oil does include this and the composition above would also back that it probably isn't present. Studies on peppermint has shown that when orally ingested (tea – was mainly based on spearmint which peppermint is related to www.goldjournal.net/a…/S0090-4295(04)00418-2/abstract) it seems to reduce levels of testosterone ( there is a better study I will upload when I come across it again) But if we look at something like caffine it is known that consumption leads to increased DHT levels however topical application was shown to inhbit 5a-reductase and thus DHT We have to be cautious as there can be two polarising effects of the same product. Take Zinc for example, too much lowers dht, but if you are deficient in zinc this also lowers DHT so essentially you don’t need to take it unless you are deficient otherwise you could have the opposite reaction Lets look at one of the ingredients Limonene Limonene is broken out into two types L-Limonene and D-Limonene. D-Limonene and L-Limonene. A patent has been requested for D-Limonene as a anti androgen dht inhibitor (www.google.com/patents/EP0467660A2?cl=en) . As for L-Limonene I have read on websites that it is also a blocker but I can’t find any evidence to substantiate this and It is for what I can find anecdotally more likely what is in our PEO. I cant find a study that shows d-limonene is a blocker only the application for a patent Regardless the amount of Limonene in our oils is relatively low (link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02859215) based on harvests from Tasmania but I suspect elsewhere also regardeless of geography I don’t know either which Limonene is in our PEO but here is the overall conclusion on my part. This is based on logic but should be stated that this is just my interpretation on the data available Whilst Limonene is present it is in such small quantities it is unlikely to make a difference especially considering we dilute the peo itself all the way to 5% so I suspect we will end up with trace amounts. The positive action of the menthol should far outweigh any potential for DHT inhibition from the small amounts of Limonene ( which isn’t shown conclusively that I have found to be a dht blocker.) As for the Rosmarinic Acid – if it exists its in such small quantities that it shouldn’t have a strong effect. Although higher levels are found in the Peppermint Plant than in rosemary itself we typically use rosemary as is and don’t dilute it to a 5% solution . So my point would be. we can’t say for sure – what we can say is that it appears the positives far outweigh any of the (possible but not prove) negatives

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