Pheromones in sex and reproduction: Do they have a role in humans?

Pheromones are found throughout the living world and are a primal form of communication.These chemical messengers are transported outside the body and have a direct developmentaleffect on hormone levels and/or behaviour. This review article aims to highlight the role ofhuman pheromones in sex and reproduction. A review of published articles was carried out, usingPubMed, medical subject heading (MSH) databases and the Scopus engine. Key words used toassess exposure, outcome, and estimates for the concerned associations, were; olfaction; sex; pheromones; libido; behaviour; reproduction; humans; and smell. Although there are studies to supportthis phenomenon, they are weak because they were not controlled; others have proposed thathuman olfactory communication is able to perceive certain pheromones that may play a role inbehavioural as well as reproductive biology. Unfolding the mysteries of smells and the way theyare perceived requires more time and effort as humans are not systems that instinctively fall intoa behaviour in response to an odour, they are thinking individuals that exercise judgment and subjected to different motivations