Muira Puama

Species Name: Ptychopetalum ovate.

Also known as: Marapuama, Muira Puama, Potency Wood, and Potenzholz.

What is Muira Puama: Very difficult to identify, scientists eventually identified Muira Puama as the stem-wood and root of two Brazilian shrubs, Ptychopetalum olacoides Benth, and Ptychopetalum uncinatum Anselmino.

Home remedies using Muira Puama:

Benefits of Muira Puama:

Muira puama is a powerful aphrodisiac and nerve stimulant.

It is used in some parts of the world as a neuromuscular tonic, for asthenia, paralysis, chronic rheumatism, sexual impotency, grippe, ataxia, and central nervous system disorders.

Muira Puama is used to treat impotency, infertility, neurasthenia, menstrual disturbances and dysentery.

It has gained popularity in the United States where herbalists and health care practitioners are using muira puama for impotency, menstrual cramps and PMS, neurasthenia, and central nervous system disorders.

The benefits in treating impotency with muira puama have recently been studied in two human trials which proved Muira Puama to be effective in improving libido and treating erectile dysfunction.

In a study conducted in Paris, France, of 262 male patients experiencing lack of sexual desire and the inability to attain or maintain an erection, 62% of the patients with loss of libido reported that the extract of muira puama was very effective, and 51% of patients with erectile dysfunctions felt that muira puama was beneficial.

Uses of Muira Puama:

Muira Puama is used to treat sexual impotence, but is also beneficial in treating dyspepsia, menstrual irregularities, rheumatism, and paralysis caused by poliomyelitis, and as a general tonic and appetite stimulant.

Muira puama has long been valued as an aphrodisiac and a tonic for the nervous system. It is soothing and helpful for nervous exhaustion, stress, and trauma, and helps alleviate symptoms of depression.

It is also used in formulations designed to treat male pattern baldness.

Benefits of muira puama for specific health conditions include impotence and diminished sex drive. Muira puama is a good addition to or replacement for treatment with yohimbe. Clinical studies of muira puama in France have found that using the herb as a sole treatment restores sex drive and erectile function in 51 to 62 percent of cases. From the preliminary information, it appears that it works by enhancing both psychological and physical aspects of sexual function.

The medication is administered by mouth, either as a powder, an alcoholic extract, or a decoction (extract formed by boiling in water). An alternative method of obtaining the aphrodisiac effect is to bathe the genitals with a concentrated decoction.

Muira puama is available as a tincture. It is included in many blends of South American herbs marketed for treatment of male pattern baldness and erectile dysfunction, typically combined with catuaba, iporuru, and other rainforest herbs.

Side Effects of Muira Puama:

Muira puama has risen to the top of this class of products, and it may well be the most effective natural therapeutic approach for erectile dysfunctions. The drug alternatives are few.  

Consumers must be aware however that to achieve the beneficial effects of the plant, proper preparation methods must be employed. The active constituents found in the natural bark thought to be responsible for Muira Puama's effect are not water soluble, and are not broken down in the digestive process.

For that reason, taking a ground bark or root powder in a capsule or tablet will not be very effective. High heat for at least twenty minutes (or longer) in alcohol, is necessary to dissolve and extract the volatile and essential oils, terpenes, gums and resins found in the bark and root that have been linked to Muira Puama's beneficial effects.