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Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making
Published on: March 2, 2011
Pharmacokinetics of testosterone after percutaneous gel or buccal administration
C C Slater1, I Souter, C Zhang
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA. coulam@hsc.usc.edu
Objective:
To determine the pharmacokinetics of testosterone following its administration using transdermal gel or buccal lozenges.
Design:
Pilot study.
Setting:
University-based hospital.
Patient(S):
Ten bilaterally oophorectomized women.
Intervention(S):
Daily micronized testosterone gel (1 mg) and testosterone propionate lozenge (1 mg).
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Total testosterone, androstenedione, dihydrotestosterone, 3alpha-androstanediol glucuronide, and sex hormone-binding globulin were measured in serum by specific radioimmunoassays; free testosterone levels were also calculated.
Result(S):
Before treatment, serum testosterone levels in the groups using the lozenge and gel were 16 +/- 4.0 and 20 +/- 6.0 ng/dL, respectively. Mean maximum testosterone levels obtained with the lozenge occurred 1 hour after administration on days 1 (692 +/- 236 ng/dL) and 14 (836 +/- 309 ng/dL) of treatment and fell precipitously thereafter. In contrast, testosterone levels obtained with the gel showed a prolonged rise reaching maximal levels of 97 +/- 78 and 100 +/- 60 ng/dL after 18 hours. The serum level patterns of free testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, and 3alpha-androstanediol glucuronide were similar to the corresponding total testosterone levels.
Conclusion(S):
Administration of testosterone lozenge by buccal absorption produced a rapid and brief elevation of testosterone levels, with levels reaching upper limits of the male range. In contrast, transdermal testosterone gel absorption resulted in a prolonged elevation of testosterone levels, which were in the hyperandrogenic female range but resembled steady state pharmacokinetics.
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