Qaytona is free while it's in beta — Get started

Sign in
Ingredients

Pregnenolone

3beta-hydroxypregn-5-en-20-one · P5 · 5-pregnen-3beta-ol-20-one

Snapshot

IndicationsContraindications
  • Schizophrenia negative symptoms1, 2
  • Schizophrenia functional capacity3
  • Bipolar depression4
  • Stress-induced cocaine craving5
  • Autism-related irritability6, 7
  • Stress-induced anxiety in cocaine use5

    Pregnenolone is the parent steroid from which the body makes progesterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, and other steroid hormones, and it also acts as a neurosteroid. It is metabolized to allopregnanolone, which modulates inhibitory signaling and emotion-regulation circuits8. Supplementation is used to support neurosteroid tone, with research including adjunctive use in recent-onset schizophrenia and bipolar depression1, 4.

    In schizophrenia, add-on trials reported gains in negative symptoms, functional capacity, or attention, while cognitive results were inconsistent1–3, 9. A pooled analysis of placebo-controlled hormone augmentation trials found no overall effect of pregnenolone on symptoms10. A 2014 randomized controlled trial in bipolar depression found higher remission by a self-report scale but not by the clinician-rated scale4. A 2026 meta-analysis of randomized trials found a small pregnenolone effect in schizophrenia and judged routine clinical use unsupported outside research settings11. Supplement label records list 319 products containing pregnenolone, mostly capsules, with some powders and tablets; see Form comparison.

    The most practical caution is pharmacologic: in a small 2004 pilot study, four weeks of pregnenolone pretreatment attenuated sedation from the benzodiazepine diazepam in 5 versus 6 subjects, and the authors called for larger studies12.

    Last updated October 15, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

    In the full monograph

    43 sources, 34 studies

    • When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
    • SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
    • InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
    • Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
    • How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
    • Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
    • Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
    • Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.
    Sign in to read the full monograph

    Sources

    1. 1Pregnenolone treatment reduces severity of negative symptoms in recent-onset schizophrenia: an 8-week, double-blind, randomized add-on two-center trial.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govRitsner, Bawakny, Kreinin · Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2014 · Pubmed
    2. 2Proof-of-concept trial with the neurosteroid pregnenolone targeting cognitive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govMarx, Keefe, Buchanan et al. · Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2009 · Pubmed
    3. 3Proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial of pregnenolone in schizophrenia.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govMarx, Lee, Subramaniam et al. · Psychopharmacology · 2014 · Pubmed
    4. 4A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of pregnenolone for bipolar depression.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govBrown, Park, Marx et al. · Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2014 · Pubmed
    5. 5Pregnenolone Reduces Stress-Induced Craving, Anxiety, and Autonomic Arousal in Individuals with Cocaine Use Disorder.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govMilivojevic, Charron, Fogelman et al. · Biomolecules · 2022 · Pubmed
    6. 6Does Pregnenolone Adjunct to Risperidone Ameliorate Irritable Behavior in Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial?pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govAyatollahi, Bagheri, Ashraf-Ganjouei et al. · Clinical neuropharmacology · 2020 · Pubmed
    7. 7Brief report: an open-label study of the neurosteroid pregnenolone in adults with autism spectrum disorder.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govFung, Libove, Phillips et al. · Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2014 · Pubmed
    8. 8Allopregnanolone elevations following pregnenolone administration are associated with enhanced activation of emotion regulation neurocircuits.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govSripada, Marx, King et al. · Biological psychiatry · 2013 · Pubmed
    9. 9Pregnenolone and dehydroepiandrosterone as an adjunctive treatment in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder: an 8-week, double-blind, randomized, controlled, 2-center, parallel-group trial.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govRitsner, Gibel, Shleifer et al. · The Journal of clinical psychiatry · 2010 · Pubmed
    10. 10Sex hormones and oxytocin augmentation strategies in schizophrenia: A quantitative review.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govHeringa, Begemann, Goverde et al. · Schizophrenia research · 2015 · Pubmed
    11. 11Efficacy and safety of anti-inflammatory drug-assisted treatment of symptoms in patients with schizophrenia: a meta-analysis.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govLi, Shen, Duan et al. · BMC psychiatry · 2026 · Pubmed
    12. 12Chronic pregnenolone effects in normal humans: attenuation of benzodiazepine-induced sedation.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govMeieran, Reus, Webster et al. · Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2004 · Pubmed