Aphrodisiacs

Curious and exciting herbs, mysterious plants, exotic foods, rare scents - are the ancient legends about natural aphrodisiacs true? Or is it all hogwash?

Welcome to aphrodisiacs-info.com, the site that explores this fabulous mystery of nature - well known aphrodisiacs, obscure aphrodisiacs, aphrodisiacs for men and aphrodisiacs for women!

Some of the items claimed as aphrodisiacs have been revered since ancient times and are commonly known; while others have remained obscure, lost in far corners of the globe - until recent times. Now, more are coming to light and being discovered! What do you have faith in - modern science, ancient tradition, or a bit of both? Learn more about these exciting natural and herbal alternatives now!

Aphrodisiac Herbs, Plants and Spices

 

Abutilon |  Amla |  Ashwagandha |  Bois Bande |  Carom |  Cascarilla | Catuaba | Chocolate | Cistanche | Cnidium | Damiana (Turnera diffusa) | Dendrobium | Dragon-herb (Dracontium or Dracunculus) | Fo-Ti | Galangal (Galanga or Blue Ginger) | Gotu Kola | Guduchi | Horny Goat Weed | Lovage | Maca | Moringa | Mucura | Muira Puama | Pittosporum | Polygala | Psoralea | Rauwolfia | Rehmannia | Rhodiola rosea | Saffron | Sarsaparilla | Saw Palmetto | Schizandra | Shallaki | Shatavari | Tongkat ali | Tribulus | Truffles | Verbena | Xanthoparmelia Scabrosa | Yohimbine

Aphrodisiac Scents

Amber | Ambergris | Cedarwood | Cinnamon | Clove | Jasmine | Lavender | Musk | Neroli | Patchouli | Pittosporum | Rose | Sandalwood | Vetivert | Vanilla | Ylang Ylang

Further Aphrodisiac articles

Aphrodisiac Definition | Appetite For Destructon - Aphrodisiacs and the Environment | Animal Aphrodisiacs | Aphrodisiacs and nutrition (coming soon) | Dangerous Aphrodisiacs | Do Aphrodisiacs Work? | Libido | Philtre

* * * * * * *

About this site:

The word Aphrodisiac conjures all kinds of things to all kinds of people: From images of stamina-driven nights of wild passion, to exotic concoctions of rare, possibly even repulsive ingredients for which unlikely-sounding claims abound.

In the whole of human history, there are few, if any, subjects which have been more prone to exaggeration, trickery, superstition, sheer misinformation - and, conversely, deliberate debunkery - than the subject of aphrodisiacs. This website is determined to penetrate deep into the mystery with some true independent, unbiased research.

I'm not attempting either to validate or debunk aphrodisiacs; but to get past the shams and scams to some real facts. Many tales contain a mixture of truth and fiction - and the mystery of aphrodisiacs is a mountain of such stories.

Since the dawn of time this subject has been one of controversial legend, intriguing mystery and sometimes downright deception; but even after centuries, people every day are still asking the same question: Do aphrodisiacs work?

All the hyperbole has caused hard science to reject old traditions as being totally unreliable - however, is it wise to discredit long-standing beliefs and fables - some with a history of use spanning thousands of years - without a deeper investigation into whether there may be some truth to the tales? There are numerous cases in modern medicine in which old herbal remedies have been validated by science - and renowned "hot plant" researcher Chris Kilham states confidently that the notion that "nature offers no true aphrodisiacs" is "at best incorrect, and at worst conspiratorial."

But one thing is for sure - the quest for effective aphrodisiacs is as popular as ever, and probably always will be.

When you begin to see what's at stake in the world of aphrodisiacs - the livelihood of farmers, multi-million dollar pharmaceutical empires, the needs of honest people wanting to improve their relationships in whichever way they can, and the complexities of desire and the arousal process - you can see why the subject has been one of vested interests and confusion. But there are real needs at stake - and the search for plant-based medicines and supplements is in one sense a "race against time" with so many species being lost as rainforests are felled and desertification increases.

This website makes a deep investigation into the subject of aphrodisiacs - taking in all angles: Hard science, historical accounts, myths and folklore. On this site, I am aiming to be as unbiased as possible: I don't care for either the wild claims of pill-sellers - or the narrow minded-ness of the blind debunkers. My goal is to be an "aphrodisiac detective" - a researcher interested in finding the truth, and a good tale. I've done my best to make this web site interesting, readable, truthful, informative and entertaining.

It's my hope that this work might help form some kind of platform for some further research, and I've created a mountain of articles with all references and sources. However, there are so many substances - animal, vegetable or mineral - that have been suggested or believed to be aphrodisiacs, that the work is expanding faster than my ability to report it: Each item investigated turns up several others that need to be researched and I currently have several hundred more alleged aphrodisiacs waiting to be written up.

A note on the content: Some of the items suggested as aphrodisiacs in old times are ordinary foodstuffs - and any suggestion that items such as milk, eggs or potatoes are aphrodisiac would be quite ridiculous to the modern mind; probably a waste of time to investigate, despite ancient beliefs that they held aphrodisiac powers. Therefore I have stuck in general to the investigation of plants, herbs, essential oils and other substances for which some pharmacological action has been reported.

One more thing - whatever you do, play safely, do your due diligence - and remember: There's no substitute for love.