Damiana
Species Name: Turnera aphrodiseaca or Turnera diffusa.
Other Names Known as: Damiana is also known as Damania (misspelling), damiane, oreganillo, the bourrique, Mexican damiana, Mexican holly, and damiana de Guerrero.
Is Damiana truly the answer to sexual dysfunctions? Can it aid in sexual arousal, pleasure, stamina, or erectile function and climax?
Damiana was recorded to be used as an aphrodisiac in the ancient Mayan civilization, as well as for "giddiness and loss of balance."
A Spanish missionary first reported that the Mexican Indians made a drink from the damiana leaves, added sugar, and drank it for its purported power to enhance lovemaking.
What is Damiana: Damiana is a small shrub with an aromatic leaf found on dry, sunny, rocky hillsides in south Texas, Southern California, Mexico, the West Indies, as well as in parts of South and Central America.
It bears aromatic, serrate leaves and small yellow flowers that bloom in early to late summer, followed by small, sweet smelling, fig-like fruits.
The medicinal part of the plant is its leaves, which are harvested during the flowering season. The damiana leaf has been used as an aphrodisiac, and to boost sexual potency, by the native peoples of Mexico, including the Mayan Indians.
The two species used in herbal healing, both of which are referred to as damiana, are Turnera aphrodisiaca and Turnera diffusa.
Home Remedies Using Damiana:
Benefits of Damiana:
Damiana has a long history of use in traditional herbal medicine, the world over. It is thought to act as an aphrodisiac, antidepressant, tonic, diuretic, cough-suppressant, and mild laxative.
It has been used for such conditions as depression, anxiety, sexual inadequacy, debilitation, bed-wetting, menstrual irregularities, gastric ulcers, and constipation.
In Mexico, the plant is also used for asthma, bronchitis, neurosis, diabetes, dysentery, dyspepsia, headaches, paralysis, spermatorrhea, stomachache, and syphilis. Damiana first was recorded with aphrodisiac effects in scientific literature more than 100 years ago.
Uses of Damiana:
Though the chemical composition is complex, and has yet to be identified completely, from 1888 to 1947 damiana leaf, and damiana elixirs, were listed in the National Formulary in the United States. For more than a century, damiana's use has been associated with improving sexual function in both males and females.
It has been said that damania also relieves headaches, controls bed-wetting, and stimulates muscular contractions of the intestinal tract. The leaves are also used in Germany to relieve excess mental activity and nervous debility, and as a tonic for the hormonal and central nervous systems.
In Holland, damiana is renowned for its sexual-enhancing qualities and its positive effects on the reproductive organs.
The British Herbal Pharmacopoeia cites indications for the use of damiana for anxiety, neurosis with a predominant sexual factor, depression, nervous dyspepsia, atonic constipation, and coital inadequacy, as well as helping to balance female hormone levels and control menopausal symptoms.
Damania is available in a variety of forms, from tea blends, capsules, and tablets, to liquid tinctures and extracts. Most herbalists prefer to use damiana in combination with other medicinal plants, so it can be found in quite a few herbal combination formulas for sexual potency, weight loss, depression, hormonal balancing, and overall tonics.
Most of the damiana sold in herbal commerce today originates from Mexican and Latin American cultivation projects.
Side Effects of Damiana:
May reduce the absorption of iron, damiana has demonstrated mild hypoglycemic effects in animals, so people with diabetes and hypoglycemia should use this plant with caution, and blood sugar levels should be monitored accordingly for this possible effect. Damiana has a traditional use as an abortive and should not be used during pregnancy.
