Horny goat weed: An unpublished clinical trial
As a follow-up to an earlier post about horny goat weed here is a positive clinical study using horny goat weed in the management of erectile dysfunction.
One caveat: this study has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal, but on a website that sells horny goat weed. That said, the study design and results are interesting.
Healthy men (some not taking Viagra (sildenafil) [HM], others using Viagra [VM]) volunteered for the study. They were permitted to take medicine for hypertension, depression, asthma, etc. Both groups were told they would receive either a 45-day supply of a placebo or a commercially prepared herbal complex (epimedium grandiflorum, maca pure [lepidium meyenii], mucuna pruriens, and polypodium vulgare) to take daily. The HM group took an additional dose taken 60 minutes prior to sexual activity. The VM group took the extra dose of the herbal product 2 hours before sexual encounter and Viagra 60 minutes before a sexual encounter. A questionnaire was used to record the results.
Statistically significant sexual satisfaction was observed among the men taking the herbal complex product. A significant number of healthy men reported that the product enhanced their overall sexual satisfaction.
The investigators noted that the patient answers in the questionnaires and telephone interviews suggested that the herbal complex product seemed to significantly increase sexual satisfaction in healthy men and in men taking Viagra. There were no toxic side effects observed.
The researchers hypothesized that the particular ingredients working in concert produced a stimulating effect on most men.
Whether it is really necessary to take the herbal product every day or if a dose just prior to a sexual encounter is sufficient to achieve positive results is not answered by this study. It is also a bit disconserting that publication of the study results is confined to a commercial website. However the concept sounds like an intelligent complementary approach to managing erectile dysfunction.
7/2/06 21:44
