Damiana

DisclaimerThis Web site — Information About Herbs, Botanicals and Other Products — is for general health information only. This Web site is not to be used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment of any health condition or problem. Users of this Web site should not rely on information provided on this Web site for their own health problems. Any questions regarding your own health should be addressed to your own physician or other healthcare provider.Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center makes no warranties nor express or implied representations whatsoever regarding the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, comparative or controversial nature, or usefulness of any information contained or referenced on this Web site. Memorial Sloan Kettering does not assume any risk whatsoever for your use of this website or the information contained herein. Health-related information changes frequently and therefore information contained on this Web site may be outdated, incomplete or incorrect. Statements made about products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Use of this Web site does not create an expressed or implied physician-patient relationship.Memorial Sloan Kettering does not record specific website user information and does not contact users of this website. You are hereby advised to consult with a physician or other professional health-care provider prior to making any decisions, or undertaking any actions or not undertaking any actions related to any health care problem or issue you might have at any time, now or in the future. In using this website you agree that neither Memorial Sloan Kettering nor any other party is or will be liable or otherwise responsible for any decision made or any action taken or any action not taken due to your use of any information presented at this website.

For Patients & Caregivers

How It Works

There is limited evidence of Damiana’s stimulant effects. It has not been shown to treat cancer in humans.

Damiana is a wild shrub found in Mexico, Central America and parts of South America. It is used in traditional medicine as a diuretic, laxative, stimulant, aphrodisiac, and also to treat diabetes and venereal diseases. Animal studies show that damiana can reduce anxiety and affect sexual behavior but there are no human data. Damiana has also not been studied in cancer patients.

Purported Uses

Diabetes
Damiana may affect blood sugar level based on animal studies.
Sexual dysfunction
Traditional use is widespread. A small study in women with sexual dysfunction showed that ArginMax, which contains damiana, improved sexual function.
Anxiety
Data from studies done on mice show that damiana reduced anxiety but human studies are lacking.
Constipation
There are no data to substantiate this use.
Kidney disorders
No scientific evidence supports this use.
Menstrual disorders
Traditional use is widespread but there are no data to validate this use.

For Healthcare Professionals

Scientific Name

Turnera diffusa, Turnera aphrodisiaca

Clinical Summary

Damiana is a wild shrub prevalent in South America. It is used in traditional medicine as a diuretic, laxative, stimulant, aphrodisiac and for treating diabetes and venereal diseases.

In vitro and animal studies have shown that damiana exerts anxiolytic ⁽¹⁾ ⁽¹⁷⁾ and antidepressant effects ⁽¹⁷⁾; stimulates sexual behavior ⁽³⁾ ⁽¹³⁾ ⁽¹⁴⁾; and has hypoglycemic ⁽⁷⁾ ⁽⁹⁾, anti-ulcer ⁽¹⁵⁾ as well as cytotoxic ⁽¹⁶⁾ properties. It is used in the botanical formulation ArginMax ⁽⁴⁾, which is marketed for the treatment of sexual dysfunction in women. But data from studies of damiana’s estrogenic activity are conflicting ⁽⁸⁾ ⁽¹²⁾.

Oral intake of capsules containing a mixture of damiana, Yerba Mate, and Guarana resulted in weight loss in healthy volunteers ⁽⁵⁾. Damiana has not been studied in cancer patients.

Purported Uses

Diabetes
Sexual dysfunction
Anxiety
Constipation
Kidney Disorders
Menstrual Disorders

Mechanism of Action

Damiana’s anti-ulcer activity is believed to be due to the inhibition of lipid peroxidation, immuno modulation and antioxidant effects of its major constituent, arbutin ⁽¹⁵⁾. In other studies, a damiana extract and pinocembrin and acacetin, compounds derived from the herb, suppressed aromatase activity. Other compounds including apigenin 7-glucoside, Z-echinacin and pinocembrin demonstrated estrogenic activity ⁽¹²⁾.The pro-sexual activity of damiana was shown to involve the nitric oxide pathway, with the anxiolytic property of the herb thought to contribute to such effects ⁽¹⁴⁾.

Dosage (OneMSK Only)

References

Kumar S and Sharma A. Anti-anxiety Activity Studies on Homoeopathic Formulations of Turnera aphrodisiaca Ward. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2005; 2(1): 117-119.
Alarcon-Aguilar FJ, et al. Investigation on the hypoglycaemic effects of extracts of four Mexican medicinal plants in normal and alloxan-diabetic mice. Phytother Res 2002;16(4): 383-6.
Arletti R, et al. Stimulating property of Turnera diffusa and Pfaffia paniculata extracts on the sexual-behavior of male rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 1999;143(1): 15-9.
Polan ML, et al. Estrogen bioassay of ginseng extract and ArginMax, a nutritional supplement for the enhancement of female sexual function. J Womens Health (Larchmt) 2004; 13(4): 427-30.
Andersen T and Fogh J. Weight loss and delayed gastric emptying following a South American herbal preparation in overweight patients. J Hum Nutr Diet 2001;14(3): 243-50.
Brinker F. Herb Contraindications and Drug Interactions. Sandy, OR: Eclectic Medical Publications, 2001.
Perez RM, et al. A study of the hypoglycemic effect of some Mexican plants. J Ethnopharmacol 1984; 12(3): 253-62.
Zava DT, Dollbaum CM, and Blein M. Estrogen and Progestin bioactivity of foods, herbs, and spices. P.S.E.B.M. 1998; 217: 369-378.
Alarcon-Aguilara FJ, et al. Study of the anti-hyperglycemic effect of plants used as antidiabetics. J Ethnopharmacol. 1998; 61(2):101-10.
Dr. Duke’s Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. https://phytochem.nal.usda.gov/phytochem/plants/show/2053?qlookup=damia… Accessed April 28, 2020.
PDR for Herbal Medicines. Montvale, NJ: Medical Economics Company, 1998.
Zhao J, Dasmahapatra AK, Khan SI, Khan IA. Anti-aromatase activity of the constituents from damiana (Turnera diffusa). J Ethnopharmacol. 2008;120(3):387-93.
Estrada-Reyes R, Ortiz-López P, Gutiérrez-Ortíz J, Martínez-Mota L. Turnera diffusa Wild (Turneraceae) recovers sexual behavior in sexually exhausted males. J Ethnopharmacol. 2009 Jun 25;123(3):423-9.
Estrada-Reyes R, Carro-Juárez M, Martínez-Mota L. Pro-sexual effects of Turnera diffusa Wild (Turneraceae) in male rats involves the nitric oxide pathway. J Ethnopharmacol. 2013 Mar 7;146(1):164-72.
Taha MM, Salga MS, Ali HM, Abdulla MA, Abdelwahab SI, Hadi AH. Gastroprotective activities of Turnera diffusa Willd. ex Schult. revisited: Role of arbutin.J Ethnopharmacol. 2012 May 7;141(1):273-81.
Avelino-Flores Mdel C, Cruz-López Mdel C, Jiménez-Montejo FE, Reyes-Leyva J. Cytotoxic activity of the methanolic extract of Turnera diffusa Willd on breast cancer cells.J Med Food. 2015 Mar;18(3):299-305.
Ana María DB, Rosa María VV, Lilian MN, Lucía MM, Oscar GP, Rosa ER. Neurobehavioral and toxicological effects of an aqueous extract of Turnera diffusa Willd (Turneraceae) in mice. J Ethnopharmacol. 2019 May 23;236:50-62.

Email your questions and comments to aboutherbs@mskcc.org.

Last Updated

Tuesday, April 28, 2020