Aphrodisiacs

Welcome to aphrodisiacs-info.com, the unique site that investigates this intriguing mystery of nature in depth, with full, original research articles on a wide variety of items that have acquired aphrodisiac legends. Curious herbs, mysterious plants, exotic foods, rare scents - are the ancient legends about natural aphrodisiacs true?

Some of the items claimed as aphrodisiacs have been revered by aficionados since ancient times, 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 the fascinating subject of aphrodisiacs with our professionally researched reference guides.

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Aphrodisiacs Investigated: Herbs, Plants, Spices and other Ingredients

Aphrodisiac* Scents Investigated:

Further Aphrodisiac Research Articles:

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About this site - from the author:

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 repulsive or even dangerous 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, "the jury is still out" and people every day are still asking the same question: Do aphrodisiacs work?

The hyperbole has likely been a strong factor in causing 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 deep 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: To quote the Journal of Ethnopharmacology "Many valuable drugs of today (e.g., atropine, ephedrine, tubocurarine, digoxin, reserpine) came into use through the study of indigenous remedies." Renowned "aphrodisiac plant" researcher Chris Kilham states confidently that the notion that "nature offers no true aphrodisiacs" is "at best incorrect, and at worst conspiratorial."

To illustrate rapidly this disparity in perspective on aphrodisiacs, a quick Google search (July 2011) for the term "aphrodisiacs" brings up en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphrodisiac as the number one result. From the first paragraph - "Western medical science has no substantiated claims that any particular food increases sexual desire or performance". The reference for this claim turns up a broken link on the FDA website; but other Western scientists also hold this view - for example see "Natural Aphrodisiacs" (2010 - The Journal of Sexual Medicine).

However, turning to Pubmed and performing a search on "damiana aphrodisiac" brings up immediately a 2009 paper from the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, which upholds a claim for damiana's aphrodisiac efficacy from an animal study! There are further positive results from scientific journals for Damiana visible within the same search results; also there are numerous positive testimonies from orthodox Western physicians dating back to the 19th century.

A similar pattern is found for many plants and a very large number of papers from pharmacological / medical research institutions around the world have reported aphrodisiac effects from a wide range of plant-based extracts and substances.

What gives? For one, it should be noted that not all scientific papers are the same - and experiments should be replicable. Also, some scientists are simply more rigorous, whereas others may be swayed by pressure to achieve a certain result - and there is documentation suggesting that bias is often imparted by the desire to find a result that would be pleasing to the agency providing the funding! In extreme cases, it is possible that entire studies may be fraudulent - and I have just read an (as yet unverified by me) claim that an early study on Tribulus terrestris was deliberately falsified in order to generate a cash crop for a impoverished region. On the other hand, equal rigor and equanimity must be demanded from review studies finding negative conclusions. It sometimes appears as though there may also be motives behind such work - and one hears much talk of possible bias exerted by industry on medical research. For a grounded overview of this complex arena, see this article on conflict of interest in the funding of science from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

In short, the field of aphrodisiac research is something of a minefield. Vested interests abound.

In the majority of cases there is simply not enough hard science - yet - to either ascertain or deny the aphrodisiac claim. In such instances I have endeavoured to present such information as exists without forming conclusions.

One thing is certain: The quest for effective aphrodisiacs is as popular as ever (and probably always will be) - and great market demand continues for "pro-sexual" supplement products - whether scientifically verified or not. When you begin to see what's at stake in the world of aphrodisiacs - the livelihood of farmers and marketers, multi-million dollar pharmaceutical empires, the needs of honest people seeking to improve their relationships or romantic adventures in whichever way they can, and the subtle 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 natural plant-based / plant-derived 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 spectacular 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. If you find bias, incompletion or inaccuracy in my work, I want to know about it: Contact info below in the small print.

It's my hope that my work might help form some kind of platform for 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 currently 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 in ancient times as aphrodisiacs are ordinary foodstuffs - and any suggestion that items such as milk, eggs or potatoes are aphrodisiac would probably be quite ridiculous to the modern mind; probably a waste of time to investigate, despite ancient beliefs that they actually held aphrodisiac powers. Therefore I have kept in general to the investigation of plants, herbs, essential oils and other substances for which some pharmacological action has been reported or for which a long-standing tradition of lore has existed.

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

aphrodisiacs-info.com "small print":

* Disclaimer: This Website (aphrodisiacs-info.com) and its contents are provided for general information, reportage, background research and entertainment purposes only. Terms such as Aphrodisiac are used to categorize products, plants or preparations which have been purported to have such qualities - and This Website makes no actual recommendations or claims whatsoever as to the use of any items mentioned, nor makes any guarantees whatsoever as to either the efficacy of such products or the accuracy of any claims made about them. While great care has been taken in the creation of This Website to provide information that is up to date, accurate, well researched and unbiased, no guarantee is made as to the suitability of This Website or its contents for any purpose whatsoever, nor of the accuracy, timeliness or usefulness of the information therein. This Website's owner specifically disclaims responsibility for any consequences of using This Website and its contents.

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