Overview

Horny goat weed is an herb. The leaves are used to make medicine. As many as 15 horny goat weed species are known as "yin yang huo" in Chinese medicine.

Horny goat weed is commonly used by mouth for sexual performance problems, such as erectile dysfunction (ED) and low sexual desire. It is also used for weak back and knees, joint pain, arthritis, mental and physical fatigue, and memory loss along with many other conditions. But there is limited scientific research to support any of these uses.

Classification

Is a Form of:

Herb

Primary Functions:

Sexual performance problems

Also Known As:

Barrenwort, Épimède, Épimède à Grandes Fleurs, Épimède du Japon, Epimedium

How Does It Work?

Horny goat weed contains chemicals which might help increase blood flow and improve sexual function. It also contains phytoestrogens, chemicals that act somewhat like the female hormone estrogen. This might reduce bone loss in postmenopausal women.

Uses

• Taking a specific extract of horny goat weed for 24 months in combination with calcium supplements decreases bone loss of the spine and hip in women who have passed menopause better than taking calcium alone. Chemicals in the extract act somewhat like the hormoneestrogen.
• Postmenopausal conditions.Taking horny goat weed water extract for 6 months can decrease cholesterol and increase estrogen levels in postmenopausal women.
• Ejaculation problems.
• Erectile dysfunction (ED).
• Heart disease.
• High blood pressure.
• HIV/AIDS.
• Joint pain.
• Liver disease.
• Memory loss.
• Sexual problems.
• Other conditions.

Recommended Dosing

The appropriate dose of horny goat weed depends on several factors such as the user's age, health, and several other conditions. At this time there is not enough scientific information to determine an appropriate range of doses for horny goat weed. Keep in mind that natural products are not always necessarily safe and dosages can be important. Be sure to follow relevant directions on product labels and consult your pharmacist or physician or other healthcare professional before using.

Horny Goat Weed Supplements Frequently Asked Questions

How much Epimedium should I take?

Horny Goat Weed is an herbal supplement that can be used for erectile dysfunction, sexual dysfunction (male or female) and menopausal symptoms.
Dosages of Horny Goat Weed:

• 2 caps (1,000 mg, may vary with manufacturer) orally per day.
• 3-4 caps orally 90 minutes before sexual activity.
• May also be taken as a tea.

 What does Epimedium look like?

Individual leaves are generally compound, often with three leaflets, but also with more. Leaflets usually have spiny margins. The leaves may be annual, making the plant deciduous, or longer lasting, so that the plant is evergreen. The inflorescence is an open raceme or panicle, the number of flowers varying by species.

Does epimedium increase testosterone?

One main function of Leydig cells in the testes is testosterone production. Icariin has testosterone mimetic properties [18] and may increase testosterone secretion in Leydig cells by affecting cAMP in vitro [19].

Can you divide epimediums?

To propagate Epimedium, lift clumps in early spring or early fall and divide them with a sharp knife. Replant each division in well-draining soil amended with compost, and keep them moist while they settle in.

Clinical Studies

• ^ a b Guidance for Industry: Estimating the Maximum safe starting dose in Initial Clinical Trials for Therapeutics in Adult Healthy Volunteers.
• ^ Effect of Epimedium sagittatum on quality of life and cellular immunity in patients of hemodialysis maintenance.
• ^ a b c d e f g h i Li WK, Zhang RY, Xiao PG. Flavonoids from Epimedium wanshanense. Phytochemistry. (1996)
• ^ a b Zhang ZB, Yang QT. The testosterone mimetic properties of icariin. Asian J Androl. (2006)
• ^ a b c d Ye HY, Lou YJ. Estrogenic effects of two derivatives of icariin on human breast cancer MCF-7 cells. Phytomedicine. (2005)
• ^ Wei Y, et al. Metabolite profiling of four major flavonoids of Herba Epimedii in zebrafish. Molecules. (2012)
• ^ Chen Y, et al. Role of intestinal hydrolase in the absorption of prenylated flavonoids present in Yinyanghuo. Molecules. (2011)
• ^ a b c Li Y, et al. In vivo pharmacokinetics comparisons of icariin, emodin and psoralen from gan-kang granules and extracts of herba Epimedii, Nepal dock root, Ficus hirta yahl. J Ethnopharmacol. (2009)
• ^ a b c d e f g Chen Y, et al. Intestinal absorption mechanisms of prenylated flavonoids present in the heat-processed Epimedium koreanum Nakai (Yin Yanghuo). Pharm Res. (2008)
• ^ Liu Y, et al. Enteric disposition and recycling of flavonoids and ginkgo flavonoids. J Altern Complement Med. (2003)
• ^ Xu W, et al. LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of icariin and its major metabolites in rat plasma. J Pharm Biomed Anal. (2007)
• ^ Cheng S, et al. HPLC analysis and pharmacokinetics of icariin in rats. J Sep Sci. (2007)
• ^ a b Yang W, et al. Pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution profile of icariin propylene glycol-liposome intraperitoneal injection in mice. J Pharm Pharmacol. (2012)
• ^ a b Comparative pharmacokinetics of icariin in plasma after oral administration of Er-Xian decoction or pure icariin in rats.
• ^ a b c d Wu YT, et al. Analysis of biliary excretion of icariin in rats. J Agric Food Chem. (2010)
• ^ Chen Y, et al. Absorption mechanism of icariin across Caco-2 monolayer model. Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. (2008)
• ^ Li L, Wang XM. Progress of pharmacological research on icariin. Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. (2008)
• ^ Liu M, et al. Studies on target tissue distribution of ginsenosides and epimedium flavonoids in rats after intravenous administration of Jiweiling freeze-dried powder. Biomed Chromatogr. (2011)
• ^ Li WW, et al. Icariin inhibits hydrogen peroxide-induced toxicity through inhibition of phosphorylation of JNK/p38 MAPK and p53 activity. Mutat Res. (2011)
• ^ Liu B, et al. Neuroprotective effects of icariin on corticosterone-induced apoptosis in primary cultured rat hippocampal neurons. Brain Res. (2011)
• ^ Li F, et al. Icariin isolated from Epimedium brevicornum Maxim attenuates learning and memory deficits induced by d-galactose in rats. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. (2010)
• ^ Zeng KW, et al. Icariin attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced microglial activation and resultant death of neurons by inhibiting TAK1/IKK/NF-kappaB and JNK/p38 MAPK pathways. Int Immunopharmacol. (2010)
• ^ Guo J, et al. Protective effects of icariin on brain dysfunction induced by lipopolysaccharide in rats. Phytomedicine. (2010)
• ^ a b He XL, et al. Neuroprotective effects of icariin on memory impairment and neurochemical deficits in senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) mice. Brain Res. (2010)
• ^ Zhu HR, et al. Icariin protects against brain injury by enhancing SIRT1-dependent PGC-1alpha expression in experimental stroke. Neuropharmacology. (2010)
• ^ Ma HP, et al. Icariin is more potent than genistein in promoting osteoblast differentiation and mineralization in vitro. J Cell Biochem. (2011)
• ^ Chen KM, et al. Icariin enhances the osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow stromal cells but has no effects on the differentiation of newborn calvarial osteoblasts of rats. Pharmazie. (2007)
• ^ Zhang G, Qin L, Shi Y. Epimedium-derived phytoestrogen flavonoids exert beneficial effect on preventing bone loss in late postmenopausal women: a 24-month randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled trial. J Bone Miner Res. (2007)
• ^ Herba Epimedii water extract elevates estrogen level and improves lipid metabolism in postmenopausal women.
• ^ Jia X, Wu J, Mao Q. Chemical constituents of Epimedium acuminatum Franch. (II). Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. (1998)
• ^ Li J, et al. Bioassays for estrogenic activity: development and validation of estrogen receptor (ERalpha/ERbeta) and breast cancer proliferation bioassays to measure serum estrogenic activity in clinical studies. Assay Drug Dev Technol. (2009)
• ^ Kang HK, et al. Estrogenic/antiestrogenic activities of a Epimedium koreanum extract and its major components: in vitro and in vivo studies. Food Chem Toxicol. (2012)
• ^ Le Bail JC, et al. Estrogenic and antiproliferative activities on MCF-7 human breast cancer cells by flavonoids. Cancer Lett. (1998)
• ^ Proliferation-stimulating effects of icaritin and desmethylicaritin in MCF-7 cells.
• ^ a b c Liu WJ, et al. Effects of icariin on erectile function and expression of nitric oxide synthase isoforms in castrated rats. Asian J Androl. (2005)
• ^ a b c d e f g h i Shindel AW, et al. Erectogenic and neurotrophic effects of icariin, a purified extract of horny goat weed (Epimedium spp.) in vitro and in vivo. J Sex Med. (2010)
• ^ a b Ning H, et al. Effects of icariin on phosphodiesterase-5 activity in vitro and cyclic guanosine monophosphate level in cavernous smooth muscle cells. Urology. (2006)
• ^ Jiang Z, et al. Effect of icariin on cyclic GMP levels and on the mRNA expression of cGMP-binding cGMP-specific phosphodiesterase (PDE5) in penile cavernosum. J Huazhong Univ Sci Technolog Med Sci. (2006)
• ^ Xin ZC, et al. Effects of icariin on cGMP-specific PDE5 and cAMP-specific PDE4 activities. Asian J Androl. (2003)
• ^ Dell'Agli M, et al. Potent inhibition of human phosphodiesterase-5 by icariin derivatives. J Nat Prod. (2008)
• ^ Tian L, et al. Effects of icariin on the erectile function and expression of nitrogen oxide synthase isoforms in corpus cavernosum of arterigenic erectile dysfunction rat model. Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi. (2004)
• ^ Zhang J, et al. Icarisid II, a PDE5 inhibitor from Epimedium wanshanense, increases cellular cGMP by enhancing NOS in diabetic ED rats corpus cavernosum tissue. Andrologia. (2012)
• ^ Chung BH, et al. Icariin stimulates angiogenesis by activating the MEK/ERK- and PI3K/Akt/eNOS-dependent signal pathways in human endothelial cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. (2008)
• ^ Senbel AM, Mostafa T. Yohimbine enhances the effect of sildenafil on erectile process in rats. Int J Impot Res. (2008)
• ^ a b Partin JF, Pushkin YR. Tachyarrhythmia and hypomania with horny goat weed. Psychosomatics. (2004)
• ^ Metz D, Weston P, Barker D. Case report of vasculitic rash induced by Ginkgo biloba and/or Horny Goat Weed. BMJ Case Rep. (2009)