Food Products That Contain Yohimbe Extract

Before there was Viagra, there was yohimbe. Yohimbe has been traditionally viewed as an aphrodisiac for men. Yohimbe is a West African evergreen tree. Its bark produces an alkaloid called yohimbine, which has been used in African medicine for centuries. (An alkaloid is an organic compound containing nitrogen found in certain plants.) In the United States and elsewhere, yohimbe extract is sold raw, in capsules or as a liquid, and is not typically found in food products.

Capsules

• Capsules contain powder or liquid, and are usually sold in 500 mg dosages. They are generally marketed today for male potency and as a cure for impotency.

Yohimbe Liquid Extract

• Yohimbe extract is also available in 1- and 2-oz. bottles, with eye dropper applicators for easy dispensing. This makes it a little safer to use, in that you can more easily take a lower dosage or adjust the amount per dose. Herbal Remedies.com states that this extract should only be used short term, for about two weeks or so at a time, and that there may not be scientific evidence to back its use.

Raw Herb

• You can also purchase yohimbe bark in its raw form, from 1- to 8-oz., from herbal suppliers in the United States. Africans traditionally have used the raw bark in a tea or in smoking to treat leprosy, fever, coughs, and as an anesthetic or as a hallucinogen, in addition to its properties as an aphrodisiac.

Dosages and Side Effects

• Only 15- to 30-mg daily of yohimbine is recommended to treat most conditions, which includes erectile dysfunction, according to the Natural Herbs Guide, and you should never take more than 40 mg daily. That amounts to five or 10 drops a day only.

  The U.S. government health site Medline Plus states that some serious side effects are associated with yohimbe, such as rash, problems with breathing, lupus-like symptoms, nausea, kidney failure, tremors, irritability, anxiety, excitability. Yohimbe can also precipitate panic attacks, anxiety, manic episodes or psychosis with those who have a history of these disorders.

  If dosages are kept low, many of the adverse symptoms can be avoided. Discontinuing use of the natural drug usually alleviates side effects.

  Pregnant women and women breast feeding should avoid this natural drug. Yohimbe has similar properties to MAOIs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors), an older type of anti-depressant, so you should never mix yohimbe with anti-depressants, especially MAOIs.

  Yohimbe is also sold in prescription form in the United States. Because herbal treatments are not strictly regulated and tested in the United States, consumers should be cautious, according to MedLine Plus.