Chinese herb may be the fix for sexual performance problems
It sounds like the punch line of a Jay Leno joke, but it's actually a natural alternative to prescription drugs for sexual performance. I'm talking about horny goat weed.
The Chinese herbal remedy is showing a lot of promise in the erectile dysfunction field. Italian researchers tested a number of herbs touted for their help with sexual performance. Horny goat weed's active ingredient, icariin, showed the most potency in counteracting the enzyme phosphodiesterase-5A1 (PDE5A1), which limits blood flow to the penis.
This gives chemists some room to experiment with different compounds that contain icariin. And we'll probably see horny goat weed tested on animals next.
The hope is that horny goat week will treat erectile dysfunction without the side effects such as headache, stomach ailments and vision problems that accompany some of the prescription drugs. That will have a whole lot of men breathing easier.
