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Damiana has long been used around the world as a general sexual tonic for both men and women.* For more information damiana (Turnera aphrodisiaca), please refer to the Database File for Damiana in the Tropical Plant Database. See pictures of damiana here.

Traditional Uses:* as a male and female sexual stimulant used to treat erectile dysfunction and anorgasmia; to tone, balance, and strengthen the central nervous system and for emotional stress, depression, and anxiety; for general hormonal balancing; for nervous stomach, colic, and dyspepsia; for mood disorders (hypochondria, obsessive compulsive disorder, neurosis, paranoia, etc.)

Suggested Use: This plant is best prepared as an infusion (tea): Use one teaspoon of powder for each cup of water. Pour boiling water over herb in cup and allow to steep 10 minutes. Strain tea (or allow settled powder to remain in the bottom of cup) and drink warm. It is traditionally taken in 1 cup amounts, 2-3 times daily. For more complete instructions on preparing herbal infusions, see the Methods for Preparing Herbal Remedies Page.

Contraindications:

• 1. Not to be used while pregnant.
• 2. Animal studies suggest that damiana has hypoglycemic actions. People with low blood sugar should be monitored more closely for this possible effect.

Drug Interactions: Damiana might enhance the action of antidiabetic drugs.

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Published Research on Damiana

All available third-party research on damiana can be found at PubMed. A partial listing of the third-party published research on damiana updated through Feb 2019 is shown below:

Libido & Sexual Stimulation Actions:
Kwitowska, J., et al. "Turnera diffusa Willd. ex Schult. as medicinal plant." Postepy. Fitoterapii. 2015 Apr; 237-243.
Estrada-Reyes, R, et al. "Pro-sexual effects of Turnera diffusa Wild (Turneraceae) in male rats involves the nitric oxide pathway." J. Ethnopharmacol. 2013 Mar; 146(1): 164-72.
Singh, R., et al. "Some medicinal plants with aphrodisiac potential: A current status." J. Acute. Dis. 2013; 179-188.
da Silva, C., et al. "Phytochemistry of some Brazilian Plants with aphrodisiac activity, phytochemicals - a global perspective of their role in nutrition and health." Dr. Venketeshwer Rao (Ed.), 2012.
Patel, D., et al. "Pharmacologically screened aphrodisiac plant-A review of current scientific literature." Asian Pac. J. Trop. Biomed. 2011 Sep; 1(1)Sup: S131-S138.
Feistel, B., et al. "Damiana (Turnera diffusa Willd.) – a traditionally used aphrodisiac as modern PDE-5 inhibitor." Planta Med. 2010; 76 - P002.
Kumar, S., et al. "Evaluation of aphrodisiac activity of Turnera aphrodisiaca." Int. J. Pharmacogn. Phytochem Res 2009; 1(1): 1-4.
Estrada-Reyes, R., et al. "Turnera diffusa Wild (Turneraceae) recovers sexual behavior in sexually exhausted males." J. Ethnopharmacol. 2009 Jun 25; 123(3): 423-9.
Kumar, S., et al. "Pharmacognostic standardization of Turnera aphrodisiaca Ward." J. Med. Food. 2006 Summer; 9(2): 254-60.
Rowland, D., et al. "A review of plant-derived and herbal approaches to the treatment of sexual dysfunctions." J. Sex. Marital Ther. 2003 May-Jun; 29(3): 185-205.
Helmrick, L., et al. "Aphrodisiac properties of Turnera diffusa." J. Undergrad. Res. 2000; 9-13.
Arletti, R., et al. "Stimulating property of Turnera diffusa and Pfaffia paniculata extracts on the sexual-behavior of male rats." Psychopharmacology. 1999; 143(1): 15-19.
Jiu, J. "A survey of some medicinal plants of Mexico for selected biological activity." Lloydia. 1966; 29: 250-59.

Hormonal Actions:
Powers, C., et al. "A molecular docking study of phytochemical estrogen mimics from dietary herbal supplements." In Silico Pharmacol. 2015 Mar; 3: 4.
Zhao, J., et al. "Anti-aromatase activity of the constituents from damiana (Turnera diffusa)." J. Ethnopharmacol. 2008 Dec; 120(3): 387-93.
Zava, D., et al. "Estrogen and progestin bioactivity of foods, herbs and spices." Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 1998; 217(3): 369-78.

Anti-Anxiety Actions:
Ana María, D., et al. "Neurobehavioral and toxicological effects of an aqueous extract of Turnera diffusa Willd (Turneraceae) in mice." J. Ethnopharmacol. 2019 Feb; 236: 50-62.
Sarris, J., et al. "Plant-based medicines for anxiety disorders, Part 1: a review of preclinical studies." CNS Drugs. 2013 Mar; 27(3): 207-19.
Kumar, S., et al. "Estimation of apigenin, an anxiolytic constituent, in Turnera aphrodisiaca." Indian J. Pharm. Sci. 2008 Nov; 70(6): 847-51.
Kumar, S., et al. "Pharmacological evaluation of bioactive principle of Turnera aphrodisiaca." Indian J. Pharm. Sci. 2008 Nov; 70(6): 740-4.
Kumar, S., et al. "Apigenin: The anxiolytic constituent of Turnera aphrodisiaca." Pharm. Biol. 2006; 44(2): 84–90.
Kumar, S., et al. "Anti-anxiety activity studies of various extracts of Turnera aphrodisiaca Ward." J. Herb Pharmacother. 2005; 5(4): 13-21.
Kumar, S., et al. "Anti-anxiety activity studies on homoeopathic formulations of Turnera aphrodisiaca Ward." Evid. Based Complement. Alternat. Med. 2005 Mar; 2(1): 117-119.

Anti-obesity Actions:
Ana María, D., et al. "Neurobehavioral and toxicological effects of an aqueous extract of Turnera diffusa Willd (Turneraceae) in mice." J. Ethnopharmacol. 2019 Feb; 236: 50-62.
Harrold, J., et al. "Acute effects of a herb extract formulation and inulin fibre on appetite, energy intake and food choice." Appetite. 2013 Mar; 62: 84-90.
Andersen, T., et al. "Weight loss and delayed gastric emptying following a South American herbal preparation in overweight patients." J. Hum. Nutr. Diet. 2001; 14(3): 243-50.

Antispasmodic, Pain-Relieving & Vasodilator Actions:
Kumar, S., et al. "Pharmacological evaluation of bioactive principle of Turnera aphrodisiaca." Indian J. Pharm. Sci. 2008 Nov; 70(6): 740-4.
Hnatyszyn, O., et al. "Argentinian plant extracts with relaxant effect on the smooth muscle of the corpus cavernosum of guinea pig." Phytomedicine. 2003 Nov; 10(8): 669-74.

Antibacterial Actions:
Snowden, R., et al. "A comparison of the anti-Staphylococcus aureus activity of extracts from commonly used medicinal plants." J. Altern. Complement. Med. 2014 May; 20(5): 375-82.
Bueno, J., et al. "Composition of three essential oils, and their mammalian cell toxicity and antimycobacterial activity against drug resistant-tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacteria strains." Nat. Prod. Commun. 2011 Nov; 6(11): 1743-8.
Hernandez, T., et al. "Ethnobotany and antibacterial activity of some plants used in traditional medicine of Zapotitlan de las Salinas, Puebla (Mexico)." J. Ethnopharmacol. 2003 Oct; 88(2-3):181-8.

Anti-diabetic & Hypoglycemic Actions:
Parra-Naranjo, A., et al. "Acute hypoglycemic and antidiabetic effect of teuhetenone A isolated from Turnera diffusa." Molecules. 2017 Apr 8; 22(4).
Alarcon-Aguilara, F., et al. "Investigation on the hypoglycaemic effects of extracts of four Mexican medicinal plants in normal and alloxan-diabetic mice." Phythother. Res. 2002; 16(4): 383-86.
Alarcon-Aguilara, F., et al. "Study of the anti-hyperglycemic effect of plants used as antidiabetics." J. Ethnopharmacol. 1998; 61(2): 101-10.

Antioxidant & Cellular Protective Actions:
El-Demerdash, F., et al. "Modulatory effect of Turnera diffusa against testicular toxicity induced by fenitrothion and/or hexavalent chromium in rats." Environ. Toxicol. 2019 Mar; 34(3): 330-339.
Romualdo, E., et al. "Antioxidant effects of damiana (Turnera diffusa Willd. ex Schult.) in kidney mitochondria from streptozotocin-diabetic rats." Nat. Prod. Res. 2018 Dec; 32(23): 2840-2843.
Bernardo, J., et al. "Medicinal species as MTDLs: Turnera diffusa Willd. Ex Schult inhibits CNS enzymes and delays glutamate excitotoxicity in SH-SY5Y cells via oxidative damage." Food Chem. Toxicol. 2017 Aug; 106(Pt A): 466-476.
Urbizu-González A., et al. "Natural variability of essential oil and antioxidants in the medicinal plant Turnera diffusa." Asian Pac. J. Trop. Med. 2017 Feb; 10(2): 121-125.
Wong-Paz, J., et al. "Total phenolic content, in vitro antioxidant activity and chemical composition of plant extracts from semiarid Mexican region." Asian Pac. J. Trop. Med. 2015 8(2): 104-11.
Soriano-Melgar Lde, A., et al. "Antioxidant responses of damiana (Turnera diffusa Willd) to exposure to artificial ultraviolet (UV) radiation in an in vitro model; Part II; UV-B radiation." Nutr. Hosp. 2014 May; 29(5): 1116-22.
Soriano-Melgar Lde, A., et al. "Antioxidant responses of damiana (Turnera diffusa Willd) to exposure to artificial ultraviolet (UV) radiation in an in vitro model; Part I; UV-C radiation." Nutr. Hosp. 2014 May; 29(5): 1109-15.
Wong-Paz, J., et al. "Microplate quantification of total phenolic content from plant extracts obtained by conventional and ultrasound methods." Phytochem. Anal. 2014 Sep-Oct; 25(5): 439-44.
Soromou, L., et al. "Protection of mice against lipopolysaccharide-induced endotoxic shock by pinocembrin is correlated with regulation of cytokine secretion." J. Immunotoxicol. 2014 Jan-Mar; 11(1): 56-61.
Taha, M., et al. "Gastroprotective activities of Turnera diffusa Willd. ex Schult. revisited: Role of arbutin." J. Ethnopharmacol. 2012 May; 141(1): 273-81.
Lucio-Gutierrez, J., et al. "Multi-wavelength high-performance liquid chromatographic fingerprints and chemometrics to predict the antioxidant activity of Turnera diffusa as part of its quality control." J. Chromatogr. A. 2012 Apr; 1235: 68-76.
Torres-Gonzalez, L., et al. "Protective effect of four Mexican plants against CClv(4)-induced damage on the Huh7 human hepatoma cell line." Ann. Hepatol. 2011 Jan-Mar; 10(1): 73-9.
Garza-Juarez, A., et al. "Correlation between chromatographic fingerprint and antioxidant activity of Turnera diffusa (Damiana)." Planta Med. 2011 Jun; 77(9): 958-63.
Beserra, G., et al. "Effects of a hydroalcoholic extract of Turnera diffusa in tests for adaptogenic activity." 2011 Jan/Feb; Braz. J. Pharmacog. 21(1): 121-127.
Perez-Meseguer, J., et al. "Development and validation of an HPLC-DAD analytical procedure for quality control of damiana (Turnera diffusa), using an antioxidant marker isolated from the plant." J. AOAC Int. 2010 Jul-Aug; 93(4): 1161-8.

MAO-B Inhibitor & Neuroprotective Actions:
Chaurasiya, N., et al. "Selective Inhibition of human monoamine oxidase B by acacetin 7-methyl ether isolated from Turnera diffusa (Damiana)." Molecules. 2019 Feb; 24(4).
Bernardo, J., et al. "Medicinal species as MTDLs: Turnera diffusa Willd. Ex Schult inhibits CNS enzymes and delays glutamate excitotoxicity in SH-SY5Y cells via oxidative damage." Food Chem. Toxicol. 2017 Aug; 106(Pt A): 466-476.

Anticancerous Actions:
Willer, J., et al. "Cytotoxic properties of damiana (Turnera diffusa) extracts and constituents and a validated quantitative UHPLC-DAD assay." Molecules. 2019 Feb 28; 24(5).
Avelino-Flores Mdel, C., et al. "Cytotoxic activity of the methanolic extract of Turnera diffusa Willd on breast cancer cells." J. Med. Food. 2015 Mar; 18(3): 299-305.

Reviews:
Szewczyk, K., et al. "Ethnobotany, phytochemistry, and bioactivity of the genus Turnera (Passifloraceae) with a focus on damiana--Turnera diffusa." J. Ethnopharmacol. 2014 Mar; 152(3): 424-43.
Kumar, S., et al. "The Genus Turnera.: A Review Update." Pharm. Biol. 2005 43(5): 383-391.

Constituents Identified:
Alcaraz-Melendez, L., et al. "Analysis of essential oils from wild and micropropagated plants of damiana (Turnera diffusa)." Fitoterapia. 2004 Dec; 75(7-8): 696-701.
Godoi, A., et al. "Application of low-pressure gas chromatography-ion-trap mass spectrometry to the analysis of the essential oil of Turnera diffusa (Ward.) Urb." J. Chromatogr A. 2004 Feb; 1027(1-2): 127-30.
Auterhoff, H., et al. "Contents of damiana drugs." Arch. Pharm. Ber. Dtsch. Pharm. Ges. 1968; 301(7): 537-44.