Damiana

What is Damiana?

Damiana is a small shrub with yellow flowers and scented leaves. The dried leaf is taken as a tea, a capsule or a liquid extract. In Cuba the plant is known as misibis.

People take it mainly as a sex tonic. It is also used for nerves, low mood and tiredness.

Here is the honest verdict. Damiana has a long and well recorded history in the Caribbean and Mexico. Human proof that it works is thin, and long use is not well studied.

Traditional use is not proof that a plant works, and it is not proof that it is safe. Most damiana research so far has been done in test tubes and in animals.

How does Damiana work?

No one has shown how damiana works in people, or that it works at all.

In rat studies, damiana extract raised mating behaviour in males that were slow or worn out. Whether this happens in humans has not been tested.

In test tube work, parts of the plant appear to block aromatase. That is an enzyme that turns testosterone into oestrogen. This has not been shown in people.

Animal studies also hint at a mild calming effect. Other animal work points to a small drop in blood sugar. Both findings are early, and neither is a proven human effect.

Some sellers claim damiana is a stimulant like coffee. The leaf does not contain caffeine.

What forms does Damiana come in?

Dried leaf and capsules are the two forms you will meet most often.

- Loose dried leaf, brewed as a tea. - Capsules or tablets of powdered leaf. - Liquid extracts and tinctures made with alcohol.

- Blended formulas sold for sex drive, mood or energy. - Dried leaf sold for smoking as a tobacco or cannabis substitute. - A sweet Mexican liqueur flavoured with the herb.

Smoking any plant material harms the lungs. That use carries its own risk and is not made safer by the herb being natural.

Strength varies a lot between brands. Damiana is often mixed with other herbs, so you may not know how much you are getting.

Where it comes from:

Damiana has a long record in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Spanish missionaries wrote about its use as a sex tonic in the 1600s.

In Cuba the leaf was called misibis and brewed as a tea. Island healers gave it for nerves, low mood and tiredness. It was also used to bring on late periods.

In the late 1800s the leaf reached United States patent medicines. It was listed in the US National Formulary for a time. Modern sales grew out of that trade, not out of trials.

What does Damiana help with?

• Low sex drive: This is the main traditional use, in Cuba and across Mexico. Healers gave the leaf tea to men and women said to have lost interest in sex. The animal data is the strongest part. Rat studies show more mating behaviour after damiana extract. Human data is weak. A few small trials used supplements that held damiana plus arginine, ginseng and other herbs. Those trials cannot tell you what damiana on its own did. No good trial has tested damiana alone for sex drive in people.
• Mild anxiety and nerves: Caribbean folk use included damiana tea as a calmer for worry and restlessness. Mouse studies suggest a mild calming effect from flavonoids in the leaf. Apigenin is the usual suspect. There are no published human trials of damiana for anxiety. If worry is affecting your sleep, work or relationships, see a doctor rather than self-treating.
• Low mood and tiredness: Traditional healers gave damiana as a pick-me-up for people described as low or worn down. There is no human trial support for this use. The leaf is not a treatment for depression. Low mood that lasts more than two weeks needs a doctor, not a herbal tea.
• Mild stomach and bowel upset: The leaf is bitter, and bitters were long used in the Caribbean for poor appetite and sluggish digestion. Large amounts have a mild laxative effect, which is reported by users rather than measured in trials. No human study backs damiana for digestion. Blood in the stool, weight loss or lasting pain needs medical care.
• Period complaints: Folk use included damiana for late or painful periods. This is exactly why it is not for use in pregnancy. There is no human evidence that it helps cramps or regulates a cycle. Heavy bleeding or severe pain should be checked by a doctor.

Which foods are rich in Damiana?

Damiana is a herb, not a nutrient, so no food is rich in it. It does flavour a sweet Mexican liqueur and some herbal tea blends. If you drink the liqueur, the alcohol matters more than the herb.

What are the side effects of Damiana?

• Upset stomach or nausea
• Loose stools after large amounts
• Headache
• Restlessness or poor sleep
• Low blood sugar in people taking diabetes drugs
• Allergic rash, which is rare
• Fits after very large amounts, reported in rare old case notes

Good to know:

Most people who take ordinary tea-sized amounts report nothing worse than a mild stomach upset.

Serious harm is rare but it is on record. Old reports describe fits after someone took a very large extract dose.

The main day-to-day risk is a drop in blood sugar if you already take medicine for diabetes.

How much Damiana should you take?

• Recommended daily: Labels, not personal advice. Damiana capsules commonly list 400 mg to 800 mg of dried leaf per serving. Tea products often use about 2 to 4 grams of dried leaf per cup. These figures come from product labels and tradition. No trial has set a safe or useful amount for any person. More is not better. Very large amounts have been linked to fits in old case reports.
• Best time of day: Time of day has not been studied. People who use it for nerves tend to take it in the evening. Some users report restless sleep, so late doses may not suit everyone.
• With or without food: Food does not change how well it works, as far as anyone knows. Taking it with food may ease the stomach upset some people get. The tea is bitter, so many people sweeten it.
• Time to effect: Be realistic: it may do nothing at all. Any calming or warming feeling from the tea is usually reported within an hour. Claims about sex drive are said to build over days or weeks. None of this has been measured in a proper human trial.
• How long to take it: Traditional use was short. The tea was drunk for a few days or a few weeks, not year round. No study has tested long-term safety. The arbutin in the leaf is a reason not to take it for months without a break. If you feel you need it every day, that is a good moment to speak to a doctor.