Has ecklonia cava ever reduced libido?

I was just curious in regards to its effects on 5 ar

Thanks in advance!

sizzlinghairs wrote:I was just curious in regards to its effects on 5 ar

Thanks in advance!

Not sure how many billions I would have earned if a I had a dollar for each time I heard that one....actually kidding...

However, long ago, the 5-AR question would pop up now and again.

There is the natural reduction of 5-AR and then there's the harm-a-ceutical mechanism of 5-AR breakdown.

One has side-benefits and the other one has direct attack effects, which is similar to a 20 round chamber with a live bullet or two that could go off in the wrong person, who eventually might find themselves on sites such as https://propeciahelp.com/

Putting it another way, one could call it natural oxidation reduction versus gene expression suppression.

The harm-a-ceutical way usually involves just one or two mechanisms. Either break an enzyme or block a physiological pathway that's usually supposed to work.

Thanks for the reply.

I apologize if you’ve explained this before. Can you explain how 5ar is reduced and why that reduction wouldn’t lead to side effects? Is it lowered in an adaptogenic way?

sizzlinghairs wrote:Thanks for the reply.

I apologize if you’ve explained this before. Can you explain how 5ar is reduced and why that reduction wouldn’t lead to side effects? Is it lowered in an adaptogenic way?

Finasteride selectively inhibits 5-alpha reductase type 2, which is mainly expressed in the hair follicles and the prostate. Finasteride 'works' by binding to the active site of the enzyme and preventing it from converting up to 70%

Ecklonia cava contains polyphenols, such as dieckol, that can inhibit both 5-alpha reductase type 1 and type 2, which are more widely distributed in the body. Ecklonia cava works by scavenging the hydrogen atoms from the enzyme and causing oxidative damage to its structure. Ecklonia cava can inhibit 5-alpha reductase by over 66% and show the same level of inhibition as finasteride within statistical significance.

That being said, 5-alpha reductase inhibition is really only a fraction of the whole story. You might have noticed that 5-AR is more of an archaic concept these days.

It's more that DHT is a conditional effect, if the body is inflamed in that tissue site, oxygen and hence blood flow is reduced. The body will stimulate its response such as elevated 5-AR, which will then induce levels of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and TGF-β2 in dermal papilla cells, which leads to decreased proliferation of epithelial cells.

After that, an up-regulation of dickkopf related protein-1 (DKK-1) then causing repression of the growth of epithelial cells in hair follicles.

DKK-1 is most concentrated in areas of the body where no hair is found, such as the palms of the hands and the bottom of the feet.

So Ecklonia cava can regulate the levels of TGF-β1/β2 and DKK-1 in dermal papilla cells.

There are dozens of anti-inflammatory effects that have diverse functions, which ultimately improve blood flow, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and much more.

Aside from just the mechanisms of 5-AR, there is another remarkable difference. Unlike "Finish-your-ride" (Finasteride), "Devastate-your-ride" Dutasteride, Ecklonia cava helps increase IGF-1 and without enough of that....inhibiting 5-AR will do nothing to help hair at all.

Because in those cases where finasteride was refractory (resistant to that treatment), it was found that IGF-1 levels were below normal.

Also, unlike Ecklonia cava, finasteride will derange the steroid pathway, such as pregnenolone, progesterone, DHEA,  dihydrotestosterone (DHT), cortisol and respective metabolites, the way each person's body adapts is not predictable.

Waw!
Thanks CS for that explanation, never seen that before here.

Jean-Guy wrote:Waw!
Thanks CS for that explanation, never seen that before here.

Almost forgot, there's something I forgot to address, which was probably the original question from the post.

One of the primary reasons why inhibiting 5-AR via finasteride is that can partially (or sometimes significantly) wreak an erection. Finasteride decreases nitric oxide synthase activity due to decreased dihydrotestosterone.

I used to joke that who needs a a full head of hair if we have a perpetual flaccid state.

However, Ecklonia cava promotes "rigidity" by increasing nitric oxide.

Thanks for the firm advice. It's hard to resolve this problem with all the stiff competition out there.