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Page 23
| levels, and oat baths have long been prescribed for sunburned skin, psoriasis, eczema and related conditions. |
| Yohimbe Bark (Pausinystalia yohimba) |
| The most famous herbal aphrodisiac, yohimbe, long used by native Africans for that purpose, is also the most controversial. Its list of alleged side effects reads like the warning notice on a prescription drug label. According to Varro Tyler, yohimbe is a monoamine oxidase inhibitor, which means that users should avoid foods such as liver, cheese and red wine, which contain tyramine, and diet aids containing phenylpropanolamine while taking yohimbe products. The herb should not be taken by anyone suffering from low blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, liver disease or kidney disease or by anyone taking tranquilizers, narcotics, antihistamines or large quantities of alcohol. Yohimbe has been shown to produce anxiety and similar psychological reactions; in cases of schizophrenia, it may actually activate psychoses. Some researchers claim the herb is harmful when used to treat impotence caused by prostate inflammation or chronic inflammatory disease affecting the organs of reproduction. "These unpleasant and potentially hazardous reactions make it impossible to recommend the use of yohimbe for self-treatment," Tyler concluded. |
| Health warnings notwithstanding, yohimbe and its active ingredient, yohimbine, enjoy an undying reputation as sexual stimulants, reputations that may be well-deserved. Yohimbe extracts dilate the skin's blood vessels, lower blood pressure and stimulate reflex excitability in the lower regions of the spinal cord. In 1984, an experiment involving male rats showed that small doses of the herb increased their sexual arousal. Previous experiments, which used larger doses, produced other behavioral changes in test |
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