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Horny Goat Weed
Horny goat weed, which is also known as Yin Yang Huo or epimedium, reportedly is true to its name. The high altitudes in Korea, China, and Japan are the home of horny goat weed, which has a millennia-old history of use as an aphrodisiac in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The leaves of the plant contain flavonoids, polysaccharides, and sterols, any of which could be responsible for the benefits attributed to the plant. For now, however, experts have not determined exactly how horny goat weed works, even though both men and women report that it enhances sexual desire, improves erectile function, and reduces fatigue.
Horny Goat Weed and Erectile Function
A limited number of studies have been conducted to back up the claims of Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners. One of the flavonoids in horny goat weed is icariin, a substance that reportedly increases levels of nitric oxide, which relaxes smooth muscle. One study in rabbits showed that icariin relaxed penile tissue by nitric oxide and by inhibiting PDE-5 activity, which is the same way Viagra and other erectile dysfunction drugs work. (Chiu 2006) Another study in rats showed that injecting horny goat weed directly into the penis of the animal raised penile blood pressure. (Chen 2006)
In two laboratory studies, the impact of icariin against PDE-5 activity was examined. Experiments in Italy revealed that modification to icariin—replacing both sugars with hydroxyethyl residues—gave the substance the ability to inhibit PDE-5A1 nearly as well as sildenafil (Viagra). (Dell’Agli 2008) In the other lab study, icariin was effective in inhibiting activity in three different PDE-5 isoforms (different forms of the same protein). (Ning 2006)
A recent study (Shindel 2010) conducted at the University of California in rats suggested that icariin showed some indications of improving sexual function, but the study is preliminary. The investigators used rat models of erectile dysfunction and administered low-dose, purified icariin daily for 4 weeks to the rats after cavernous nerve injury. Treated rats showed improvement in erectile function associated with an increase in penile nitric oxide and smooth muscle content. The authors noted that their findings are of interest “not just as a validation of this traditional treatment for erectile problems but also as a new and potentially important means to study and treat nerve injuries in human patients.”
How To Take Horny Goat Weed
There are several horny goat weed products on the market, with typical capsules of 375 to 500 mg, standardized for 10 to 20 percent icariin. However, 40 percent icariin is believed to be more effective. No side effects have been reported. (Drugs.com)
References
Chen KK, Chiu JH. Effect of Epimedium brevicornum Maxim extract on elicitation of penile erection in the rat. Urology 2006; 67:631-35
Chiu JH et al. Epimedium brevicornum Maxim extract relaxes rabbit corpus cavernosum through multitargets on nitric oxide/cyclic guanosine monophosphate signaling pathway. Int J Impot Res 2006; 18:335-42
Drugs.com:
http://www.drugs.com/npc/horny-goat-weed.html
Shindel AW et al. Erectogenic and neurotrophic effects of icariin, a purified extract of horny goat weed (Epimedium spp) in vitro and in vivo. J Sex Med 2010 Feb 5
