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    Pregnenolone Dosage Guide: Protocols, Calculator & Safety

    Everything you need to know about Pregnenolone dosing: protocols, safety, and where to buy.

    Half-Life

    No published human value for the elimination half-life. A 2024 Yale pilot noted that pregnenolone's clinical use had been questioned because of limited human bioavailability data, and in the 5 of its 7 participants given pregnenolone (2 took placebo), twice-daily oral pregnenolone kept plasma levels raised and stable across 32.5 hours of repeated sampling (PMID: 39598281).

    Administration Routes

    OralTransdermal

    Dosage Calculator

    Calculate exact dosing for Pregnenolone.

    Dosing data for Pregnenolone is being researched. Check the compound page for the latest information.

    Side Effects & Safety

    ## What the trials recorded Three randomized trials that used pregnenolone doses up to 500 mg a day, in schizophrenia, bipolar depression and chronic low back pain, each described pregnenolone as well tolerated (PMID: 19339966, PMID: 24917198, PMID: 32119096). The 120-patient Singapore schizophrenia trial also reported that pregnenolone was well tolerated (PMID: 25030803). In the 94-veteran low back pain trial, no serious adverse events occurred, and the few adverse events reported were spread evenly between the pregnenolone and placebo groups (PMID: 32119096). In a 64-patient trial in adolescents with autism, pregnenolone added to risperidone did not differ from placebo in the frequency or severity of adverse effects (PMID: 32947424). In a 12-week open-label study of 12 adults with autism, single episodes of tiredness, diarrhea and low mood were reported that could have been related to pregnenolone, with no severe side effects and no significant vital sign changes (PMID: 24849255). In 17 healthy volunteers given 15 mg and then 30 mg a day over four weeks, pregnenolone was generally well tolerated (PMID: 14749094). In the 43-person alcohol use disorder laboratory study, both pregnenolone doses (300 and 500 mg a day) raised the heart rate response to stress and the systolic blood pressure response to stress and alcohol cues compared with placebo, which the authors described as normalizing autonomic arousal (PMID: 36445398). ## Hormone and neurosteroid changes Oral pregnenolone raises blood levels of pregnenolone and of the neurosteroids made from it: in a placebo-controlled study of 31 healthy men, the 16 given a single 400 mg dose had three times their starting serum pregnenolone and seven times their starting allopregnanolone at three hours, with cortisol and DHEA unchanged against placebo and DHEA sulfate about 5 percent lower (PMID: 23348009). In the low back pain trial, serum pregnenolone reached almost five times the placebo level after two weeks at 500 mg a day, while androsterone fell slightly (PMID: 32119096). In the bipolar depression trial, large baseline-to-exit changes in neurosteroid levels appeared with pregnenolone but not with placebo (PMID: 24917198). ## Gaps in the safety record The human studies summarized on this page ran from a single dose to 12 weeks, so they do not describe long-term use. No human safety data in pregnancy or breastfeeding were found. FDA scientists wrote in 2022 that no USP monograph existed for judging the quality of pregnenolone drug substance or products, and that compounded hormone products carry a risk of underdosing, overdosing or contamination (PMID: 36206694).

    Contraindications

    **Hormone-sensitive conditions.** Pregnenolone is the starting material for the body's steroid hormones (PMID: 21051590). The developers of a pregnenolone derivative wrote that the body quickly turns pregnenolone into other active steroids, which might cause unwanted effects, and in their receptor screen pregnenolone at 10 micromolar displaced more than 80 percent of binding at glucocorticoid, androgen and progesterone receptors (PMID: 37291212). These are mechanism-based reasons for caution in hormone-sensitive conditions. **Benzodiazepines.** In 11 volunteers given a single dose of diazepam, the 5 who had taken pregnenolone for four weeks were less sedated than the 6 who had taken placebo, and the authors raised the possibility of antagonist action at the benzodiazepine site of the GABA-A receptor (PMID: 14749094). **Drug-tested athletes.** Oral pregnenolone shifts the carbon isotope ratios of urinary steroids that doping laboratories use as reference markers (PMID: 15763596, PMID: 21538944). The authors of the 2011 study proposed that the World Anti-Doping Agency consider listing pregnenolone as a masking agent (PMID: 21538944). **Pregnancy and breastfeeding.** No human safety data were found.

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    Frequently Asked Questions

    What is the recommended Pregnenolone dosage?

    Dosage for Pregnenolone varies by protocol. Consult a qualified healthcare provider.

    How often should I take Pregnenolone?

    Administration frequency depends on the specific protocol. Consult current research literature.

    Does Pregnenolone need to be cycled?

    Cycling requirements depend on the protocol. Follow established research guidelines.

    What are Pregnenolone side effects?

    ## What the trials recorded Three randomized trials that used pregnenolone doses up to 500 mg a day, in schizophrenia, bipolar depression and chronic low back pain, each described pregnenolone as well tolerated (PMID: 19339966, PMID: 24917198, PMID: 32119096). The 120-patient Singapore schizophrenia trial also reported that pregnenolone was well tolerated (PMID: 25030803). In the 94-veteran low back pain trial, no serious adverse events occurred, and the few adverse events reported were spread evenly between the pregnenolone and placebo groups (PMID: 32119096). In a 64-patient trial in adolescents with autism, pregnenolone added to risperidone did not differ from placebo in the frequency or severity of adverse effects (PMID: 32947424). In a 12-week open-label study of 12 adults with autism, single episodes of tiredness, diarrhea and low mood were reported that could have been related to pregnenolone, with no severe side effects and no significant vital sign changes (PMID: 24849255). In 17 healthy volunteers given 15 mg and then 30 mg a day over four weeks, pregnenolone was generally well tolerated (PMID: 14749094). In the 43-person alcohol use disorder laboratory study, both pregnenolone doses (300 and 500 mg a day) raised the heart rate response to stress and the systolic blood pressure response to stress and alcohol cues compared with placebo, which the authors described as normalizing autonomic arousal (PMID: 36445398). ## Hormone and neurosteroid changes Oral pregnenolone raises blood levels of pregnenolone and of the neurosteroids made from it: in a placebo-controlled study of 31 healthy men, the 16 given a single 400 mg dose had three times their starting serum pregnenolone and seven times their starting allopregnanolone at three hours, with cortisol and DHEA unchanged against placebo and DHEA sulfate about 5 percent lower (PMID: 23348009). In the low back pain trial, serum pregnenolone reached almost five times the placebo level after two weeks at 500 mg a day, while androsterone fell slightly (PMID: 32119096). In the bipolar depression trial, large baseline-to-exit changes in neurosteroid levels appeared with pregnenolone but not with placebo (PMID: 24917198). ## Gaps in the safety record The human studies summarized on this page ran from a single dose to 12 weeks, so they do not describe long-term use. No human safety data in pregnancy or breastfeeding were found. FDA scientists wrote in 2022 that no USP monograph existed for judging the quality of pregnenolone drug substance or products, and that compounded hormone products carry a risk of underdosing, overdosing or contamination (PMID: 36206694).

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