Saliva testosterone time-course response to hCG in adult normal men. Comparison with plasma levels

Testosterone time-course response to 5000 IU hCG was studied simultaneously in the saliva and the plasma of 13 adult normal men. Baseline levels in saliva and plasma were: 93 +/- 9 pg/ml (mean +/- SEM) and 4.9 +/- 0.3 ng/ml respectively. After hCG the same biphasic pattern was observed in both fluids with a similar early response but the delayed peak at 72 h was relatively higher in saliva than in plasma. Thus it was suggested to collect saliva instead of plasma for the evaluation of testicular secretion of testosterone after hCG administration.