Muira Puama Herbal Information

NAME
Muira Puama

LATIN NAME
Ptychopetalum

ALSO KNOWN AS
Potency wood, marapuama, marapama, muiratã, muiratam, pau-homen, potenzholz.

ORIGIN
Brazilian Amazon, South America.

PARTS USED
Root, bark.

TRADITIONAL HERBAL USES AND MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
Muira puama is known to be good for psychological and physical aspects of sexual function. Studies show a positive effect on erectile dysfunction, sexual desire, libido, menstrual cramps and PMS. It is also helpful with stress, trauma, and mild exhaustion and for tonifying the nervous system.

The short term effects of Muira Puama include increasing blood flow to the pelvic area, aiding erections in men as well as sensation and orgasm in women. Longer term use enhances the production of sex hormones in both sexes. It has no noted side effects though, as with many sexual stimulants, it can slightly raise blood pressure.

In Brazilian and South American herbal medicine, it is used a neuromuscular tonic, for asthenia, paralysis, chronic rheumatism, sexual impotency, grippe, ataxia, and central nervous system disorders. In Europe, it has used to treat impotency, infertility, neurasthenia, menstrual disturbances and dysentery. Because of the long history of use of Muira Puama in England, it is still listed in the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia, a noted source on herbal medicine from the British Herbal Medicine Association, where it is recommended for the treatment of dysentery and impotence. It has been gaining in 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.

While so-called "aphrodisiacs" have come and gone in history, Muira Puama has risen above this class of products and may well provide the most effective natural therapeutic approach for loss of libido in both sexes.

FOLKLORE AND HISTORY
It has been used in Brazil for centuries as an aphrodisiac, and is known as potency wood.

CONSTITUENTS
The main plant chemicals found in muira puama include: alpha-copaene, alpha-elemene, alpha-guaiene, alpha-humulene, alpha-muurolene, alpha-pinene, alpha-resinic acid, alpha-terpinene, arachidic acid, allo-aromadendren, behenic acid, beta-bisabolene, beta-caryophyllene, beta-pinene, beta-resinic acid, beta-sitosterol, beta-transfarnesene, borneol, campesterols, camphene, camphor, car-3-ene, caryophyllene, cerotic acid, chromium, coumarin, cubebene, delta-cadinene, dotriacontanoic acid, elixene, ergosterols, eugenol, essential oils, gamma-muurolene, hentriacontanoic acid, heptacosanoic acid, lignoceric acid, limonene, linalool, lupeol, melissic acid, montanic acid, muirapuamine, myrcene, nonacosanoic acid, para-cymene, pentacosanoic acid, phlobaphene, stigmasterols, trichosanic acid, and uncosanic acid.

TYPICAL PREPARATIONS AND DOSAGE
To take as a tincture
Extraction Ratio 1:2
Alcohol Vol. 25%
Dosage 2-4 ml up to twice daily
or as recommended by a herbal practitioner

PRECAUTIONS
None known.

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Muira Puama Herbal Information