It's an advertising man's dream – a spray that turns women on.

And now scientists have discovered a potion that really does have a aphrodisiac effect – with women who have inhaled it finding their partners 15 per cent more attractive.

The spray contains syntocinon, a synthetic form of the hormone oxytocin, which is naturally released in the brain when people fall in love.

Oxytocin plays a key role during childbirth, stimulates milk production in mothers, and helps them bond with babies.

But until now its effect on how women perceive men has been little understood.

Researchers at the University of Bonn in Germany asked 40 female volunteers to take part in an experiment.

All the women were in their 20s and 'passionately in love'. Half the women were given the syntocinon nasal spray to inhale, while the others were given a placebo. They were then presented with pictures of men – including their partners.

The researchers then switched the test group around and gave the spray to the 20 who had inhaled the placebo and vice versa. The women rated their partners as 15 per cent more attractive after inhaling the spray than after inhaling the placebo.

Women on the pill, however, found their partners no more alluring after inhaling the spray.