HERBAL VIAGRA : YOHIMBE

HERBAL VIAGRA : YOHIMBE

Studies show that the bark and its main active constituent, the alkaloid yohimbine, have some benefit on erectile dysfunction. It is interesting that yohimbine has been used for angina and arteriosclerosis, and that it lowers blood pressure by dilating the blood vessels. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported that commercial yohimbe products contain less than 10% of the yohimbine found in authentic yohimbe bark, and in some cases contained none. The FDA also found that commercial products are missing other alkaloids normally found in the bark which suggests that these products are made with the yohimbine alkaloid only and not the whole bark. Since most commercial yohimbe products appear to be made with yohimbine alkaloid only, I wonder if the herb – the natural alkaloid-rich bark – has been classified unfairly by the FDA as unsafe. A mantra oft-repeated, one to which I give some credence, is alkaloids can become more dangerous when separated from the crude leaf, bark or root, and administered in purified form. “Yohimbe 2000,” advertised on the Internet, is a powder sold in capsules. The advertising does not specifically make claims for the product but rather for yohimbe bark, the implied ingredient. It states that yohimbe “appears to increase blood flow into the penis while, at the same time, preventing blood from flowing out.” From the advertising it is impossible to tell whether the product has yohimbe bark or the yohimbine alkaloid instead.

To some yohimbe-based viagra alternatives other herbs are added. For example, “Herbal V,” promising a “New Sexual Revolution,” contains yohimbine, tribulus, oat (Avena sativa), and androstenedione. Another, “Great Sex For Men” (and its companion product, “Great Sex For Women”), contains oat, Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng), bee pollen, and vitamins, in addition to yohimbe (or yohimbine). Androstenedione, by the way, is the performance enhancing dietary supplement baseball slugger Mark McGwire admited to taking. Although it is found in some plants, I could not ascertain if commercial products such as “Herbal V” contain plant-source androstenedione.