Compound or practice · Supplement
Pregnenolone
The 'grandmother' steroid hormone sold for memory and mood — it IS a hormone, and the human data are thin.
- Overall grade
- Grade D
- Last revised
- 1
- graded outcome
- 0
- references listed
A structured monograph in Prometheus's bundled library. Its grades are the monograph's own reading of the evidence, not a peer-reviewed review.
1 at grade D — 1 graded row
What is known
Each outcome with its grade (how strong the evidence is, A to D), the size of the effect where the entry records one, and how often studies agree.
- Memory / moodEvidence grade D
Weak, old
Triviallow
What is uncertain
Read off the same rows as above. Nothing here is added that the entry does not itself record.
- Thin evidence: Memory / mood (grade D).
The evidence in words
What it is
Pregnenolone is the upstream precursor to all steroid hormones, marketed for memory, mood, and 'anti-aging.'
How it works
It converts into DHEA, progesterone, cortisol, and sex hormones, and acts as a neurosteroid.
What the evidence shows
Human evidence for cognition/mood is weak and old; because it feeds the entire steroid cascade, its downstream hormonal effects are unpredictable. This is a hormone, not a benign supplement.
Safety & interactions
Unpredictable hormonal effects; not for casual use; banned in some sport contexts.
Bottom line
A hormone precursor with thin evidence and unpredictable downstream effects. Not a supplement to self-prescribe.
Related reading
Entries that share this one's tags or conditions.
- DHEAAn actual hormone precursor — meaningful only where DHEA is genuinely low (aging, adrenal insufficiency), and a banned substance in sport.Evidence grade C
- Pregnenolone for Memory / moodEvidence grade D — Weak, oldEvidence grade D
- Pregnenolone: side effects, safety & interactionsUnpredictable hormonal effects; not for casual use; banned in some sport contexts.Evidence grade D
- DHEA for Deficiency (adrenal insufficiency)Evidence grade B — Under careEvidence grade B
Sources
This entry lists no references of its own.
Last revised . A grade is this entry's reading of the evidence, not medical advice.