2 replies to this topic

[agwoodliffe]

First, Horny Goat Weed, or Epimedium (active ingredient: Icariin) has been long hailed as an aphrodisiac with purported beneficial effects on testosterone. Problem is, a recent study shows it enhances Aromatase:

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/23261485

 

Resveratrol, often cited as an anti-aging chemical, that has also been found to have some beneficial effect on male fertility, partially through blockade of the Aromatase enzyme. Problem is, it also seems to have a directly negative impact on Testosterone itself:

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/24472608

 

Cistanche, another herb long praised by the Chinese. They recently found a toxic effect on the testes, though may be linked to higher doses?:

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/22002114

 

Fenugreek, this is something a lot of people are already familiar with, but it's effects on raising Testosterone are simply the result of blocking the conversion to DHT. This obviously won't be a problem if you are having issues with the prostate or baldness:

http://digitalcommon...b/vol2/iss1/13/

 

Calcium-D-Glucarate - from what I've read, seems beneficial as an estrogen blocker. But it does this effectively through a detoxification process ''glucoronidation''. Problem is this may affect other steroid hormones as well.

 

If there are any others you can find, feel free to point them out. Also, if you can shoot any holes in the references above, I would love to hear them.

 

Peace out.

Edited by agwoodliffe, 11 November 2014 - 10:23 PM.

[krillin]

The resveratrol reference says the IC60 for 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase is 8.48 microM, which is difficult to achieve, much less maintain all day. You only need a spike of about 1 microM for Nrf2 activation. Revgenetics Nitro-250 does not affect my testosterone or estradiol.

[GoingPrimal]

The study on HGW was an in vitro study, and further they used human ovarian cells. This does not equate to a healthy male consuming the whole herb and whether or not that would increase or decrease aromatase activity.

 

As per the cistanche study (which was quite alarming to me), this study here concluded "Roucongrong (Herba Cistanches Deserticolae) reversed reproductive toxicity in mice induced by GRT." 

 

It just goes to show that studies can be misleading or even contradictory. I look to other factors, such as How long has this herb been used medicinally, and what are it's traditional effects? Combined with modern scientific knowledge about an herb to paint a more accurate picture. I certainly don't want to be taking any reproductively toxic substances, that's for sure.