Going by the findings of a new study, conducted by Florida State University's psychological scientists Saul L. Miller and Jon K. Maner, the scent that the female body produces biologically at the time of ovulation - that is, the time of release of a mature egg from the ovary - is the 'most seductive' scent for alluring men.

The study is the first one of its kind to find that the testosterone levels in men are most responsive to the 'natural' smell that a woman exudes during the peak of her fertility period.

The findings of the study were based on an analysis of testosterone levels in 68 male undergraduates, between 18 and 23 years of age. While some participants were made to inhale deeply in a plastic bag containing a T-shirt worn by women for three nights during their menstrual cycles; others were asked to smell ordinary T-shirts that had not been worn by women.

Upon the analysis of the testosterone levels of all the participants, via a saliva test, the researchers found that men who were made to smell the T-shirts of ovulating women showed more enhanced levels of testosterone as compared to their comtrolled-group counterparts.

Commenting on the findings, Miller and Maner said: "The relatively higher testosterone levels arising from exposure to ovulatory scents suggest that those scents might lead men to respond with greater mate-seeking behaviors than they would otherwise."