Washington, Feb 11 : Forget pricey perfumes. Eau naturale might be more than enough for women seeking a mate.

That’s the conclusion of a study which shows that when men smell T-shirts worn by women while ovulating, it triggers a surge in the sex hormone testosterone, reports Discovery News.

The finding could lead to the development of new fragrances that mimic this effect, and answer basic questions about human biology.

"This is an issue that has been hotly debated: whether or not ovulation is concealed in human females," said Jon Maner, a co-author of the recent paper in Psychological Science. "In lots of other species, there are very obvious indicators, but it has long been assumed that human females didn''''t give off these cues."

"This is one of the first papers to show (a change in testosterone) in response to a chemical stimulus," said Jim Roney, a scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara. "It''''s a new area of research." (ANI)