Lovage
Is this ancient herb an aphrodisiac? Some say yes, some say no... but even after centuries of use, the jury is still out.
Lovage (Levisticum Officinale) was once a much more well known plant than it is today. An herb of the Unbelliferae family, it had a wide reputation for aphrodisiac qualities that dates back to the middle ages - and it is often assumed that these are the reason for its name.
However, other sources state that the plant's aphrodisiac reputation came about after the name - and that Lovage has therefore been "debunked" as an aphrodisiac: Herbs 2000 says that the name Lovage originally dereived from Ligurian, meaning "coming from Liguria", an Italian province - and that by the time of Chaucer the name had shifted to "Love-ache" or "Love-Parsley". [1] Yahoo Education, providing information from Houghton Mifflin, states that the word came from Anglo-Norman luvesche, which in turn derived from Old English lufestice, which came from the Latin levisticum - meaning Ligurian [2] ( a region in north-western Italy [3], the original home of the plant). So it would appear from this that the name "Lovage" was not at all due to any aphrodisiac qualities the plant may have.
In modern times, Lovage is probably best known not as a plant but from the cordial that bears its name. This cordial was apparently very popular in England prior to the First World War but has since slipped into relative obscurity - although it can still be found in some English bars and pubs. It is still made by Phillips of Bristol to an old "secret recipe." and was apparently recommended for stomach upset, not as an aphrodisiac! [4] Lovage Cordial is traditionally drunk mixed with brandy - although only a true connoisseur bartender will be able to serve you a "Brandy and Lovage". Lovage was not the only ingredient in the old Lovage cordials: in her 1931 A Modern Herbal, Maud Grieve state that Lovage cordial contained not only Lovage, Ligusticum levisticum, but also a species of Milfoil or Yarrow Achillea ligustica and Tansy Tanacetum vulgare - "... and probably owes its merit more to these herbs than to Lovage itself." [5]
Lovage is apparently a little "too easy" to grow and can overwhelm the garden - it can grow over 6 feet high and live for several years. Originally native of the mediterranean region, it has long been used in cuisine and roots, seeds and leaves have all been used due to their aromatic, distinct flavor. The roots were used in herbal medicine [5] - yet good old Culpeper makes no mention of any aphrodisiac qualities. He doesn't even assign governance of the herb to Venus - although he does list ten other plants as "provoking venery" - Nettle Seed, Annis Seeds (aniseed), saffron, Clove-Gilliflowers, Satyrion (Satyrij utriusque), Galion (Ladies-bed straw), Artichokes, Common and Great Chevril (Caryfolium vulgare et Myrrhis), Spearmint... and... French Beans!
Here is the entry for Lovage from the 1816 edition of Culpeper's famous Complete Herbal:
LOVAGE
Descript: IT has many long and green stalks of large winged leaves, divided into many parts, like Smallage, but much larger and greater, every leaf being cut about the edges, broadest forward, and smallest at the stalk, of a sad green colout, smooth and shining; from among which rise up sundry strong, hollow green stalks, five or six, sometimes seven or eight feet high, full of joints, but lesser leaves set on them than grow below; and with them towards the tops come forth large branches, bearing at their tops large umbels of yellow flowers, and after them flat brownish seed. The roots grow thick, great and deep, spreading much, and enduring long, of a brownish colour on the outside, and whitish within. The whole plant and every part of it smelling strong, and aromatically, and is of a hot, sharp, biting taste.
Place: It is usually planted in gardens, where, if it be suffered, it grows huge and great.
Time: It flowers in the end of July, and seeds in August.
Government and virtues: It is an herb of the Sun, under the sign Taurus. If Saturn offend the throat (as he always doth if he be occasioner of the malady, and in Taurus is the Genesis) this is your cure. It opens, cures and digests humours, and mightily 'provokes women's courses and urine. Half a dram at a time of the dried root in powder taken in wine, doth wonderfully warm a cold stomach, helps digestion, and consumes all raw and moisture therein; eases all inward gripingssuperfluous and pains, dissolves wind, and resists poison and infection. It is a known and much praised remedy to drink the decoction of i the herb for any sort of ague, and to help the pains and torments of the body and bowels coming of cold. The seed is effectual to all the purposes aforesiad (except the last) and works more powerfully. The distilled water of the herb helps the quinsy in the throat, if the mouth and throat be gargled and washed therewith, and helps the pleurisy, being drank three or four times. Being dropped into the eyes, it takes awat the redness or dimness of them; it likewise takes away spots or freckles in the face. The leaves bruised, and fried with a little hog's lard, and put hot to any blotch or boil, will quickly break it.
So there it is, nothing from Culpeper - it's starting to sound like an old wives' tale. It would appear from this that it is "case closed" for the poor Lovage..... however...
Lovage in current use as an aphrodisiac?
Lovage is one of the ingredients in "Xzite" - an aphrodisiac product for women.
Xzite's sales materials on their homepage certainly make the product sound exciting - and they claim that the product is "the only herbal libido enhancer for women that has undergone extensive university (UCLA) testing." They state that it has proven extremely effective as a female libido enhancer in placebo trials - and list magnificent results in many areas of sexual enhancement. [6]
Here's where it get's interesting: A review of Xzite [7] states that its creator pored over Chinese medical texts to pick three herbs out of 300 to be the ingredients in Xzite: Chrysanthemum, Lovage, and Spiny Panax.
Perhaps the variety of Lovage they were referring to may be Chinese Lovage - Ligusticum sinense - (Chinese (pinyin) name gao ben) or Ligusticum jeholense (Chinese name liao gao ben). It's interesting to note also that an alternative name for Ligusticum jeholense is Cnidium jeholense [7] : The plant is of the same family as Cnidium Monnieri - another plant on our aphrodisiac list. There may just be more to this than meets the eye.
Further investigation of [1] revealed that Lovage has been shown by chemical analysis to contain coumarin family compounds including bergapten (also found in Bergamot) [8], psoralen [9] and umbelliferone [10]. Coumarin is also found in Cinnamon, which is a possible aphrodisiac. [11] Psoralen is also found in Psoralea. Is the name of this plant continuing after centuries to convince people that this ordinary herb possesses extraordinary powers? Or is there something to it after all? More research is clearly needed before Lovage is dismissed...
