What is Yohimbe?

Yohimbe is also known by the name Johimbe. This plant is native to tropical West Africa, and was frequently used by the Bantu people. The part of this plant used medicinally is the bark. Yohimbe Bark has a long folk history of helping increase libido or sexual energy and desire. Historically, Yohimbe Bark was used in western Africa for treatment of fevers, leprosy, and coughs.

It has also been used to dilate pupils, for heart disease, and as a local anesthetic. It has a more recent history of use as an aphrodisiac, and as a hallucinogen. Currently, Yohimbe is the only natural drug with enough credible evidence to be listed as a sensual stimulant and sexual booster in The Physician's Desk Reference.

The primary chemical constituents of Yohimbe Bark include indole alkaloid (yohimbine, yohimbiline, ajmaline, pseudoyohimbine), and tannins. Yohimbe Bark affects both the male and female reproductive, nervous, circulatory and respiratory systems. It contains an alkaloid yohimbine, which expands the blood vessels in the extremities of the body, including the genitals (similar to the prescription drug Viagra™), skin, and fat cells. This compound has now been isolated, and is synthesized by pharmaceutical companies for use in the treatment of impotence.

• Yohimbe acts as an alpha adreno receptor blocker, reducing the effect of hormones that cause constriction of blood vessels, which typically increases as we age(Erectile Dysfunction). Yohimbe Bark particularly aids blood flow to the corpus cavernosom to more readily engorge the penis.
  
• This herb concurrently increases the body's production of norepinephrine which is essential to the formation of erections, and steps up adrenaline to nerve endings which enhance sexual stimulation.

Thousands of Urologists in the U.S. and abroad have been recommending the drug forms of Yohimbe for years. Many studies have shown that Yohimbe Bark can help impotence caused by poor blood circulation (i.e. age, diabetes, emotional problems, etc.). A recent clinical study in Rhode Island (published in the Journal of Urology) tested the active ingredient yohimbine on a group of men who had experienced chronic sexual dysfunction - for those who had been impotent for less than two years, the improvement rate was an astounding 81% as a direct result of consuming a moderate dosage over a period of one month.

Yohimbe Bark has also been recommended as an herb for weight loss, though there are more effective herbs one can choose for this purpose. Topical applications of this herb include its use as a poultice for pain relief, and as an analgesic so that surgeries may be performed. The powdered bark has been smoked, used as snuff, and rubbed on the body as an aphrodisiac. The species Pausinystalia yohimbe was formerly named Coryanthe yohimbe.