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Herb library · Herb · Turnera diffusa

Damiana

A fragrant Mexican shrub long sold as an aphrodisiac and today in mixed supplements for sexual desire and weight. The only studies in people tested blends, so what damiana itself does is unknown.

Traditional use

A small shrub of Mexico's dry lands, damiana is among the most prized plant aphrodisiacs in traditional medicine. Damiana and related Turnera species have also been used for coughs and other breathing complaints, digestion, fever, pain, skin problems and women's health. It entered American pharmacy in the 1870s, when counterfeit "damiana" from unrelated plants was already on the market. Today it is sold as a tea, tincture and capsule, often in blends.

What studies show

  • Insufficient

    Sexual desire and function: two placebo-controlled trials in women found improvements with a supplement combining damiana with ginseng, ginkgo, L-arginine, vitamins and minerals. Because damiana was one ingredient of many, the results cannot be credited to it.

  • Insufficient

    Weight: a blend of yerba mate, guarana and damiana slowed stomach emptying and was followed by weight loss in small studies of overweight people; the effect of damiana alone was not tested.

  • Insufficient

    Anxiety, blood sugar and other uses: studied only in the laboratory and in animals.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • NoteIts safety has not been studied on its own. The ArginMax trial reported no significant side effects over 4 weeks, but that product contained other active ingredients. Caffeine and cyanogenic glycosides (compounds that can release cyanide) have been found in plants of the damiana genus.
  • PregnancySome Turnera species are used as abortion remedies in traditional medicine, and there is no safety information for pregnancy or breastfeeding. Avoid it then.
  • NoteBuy from a source that names Turnera diffusa: other plants have been sold under the name damiana.
  • Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.

From the old books

What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.

“Many physicians who have tried it, deny its possession of such virtues”
Harvey Wickes Felter and John Uri Lloyd, King's American Dispensatory (1898), vol. 1, p. 646. See the page of King's American Dispensatory, vol. 1, p. 646 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from King's American Dispensatory, vol. 1, p. 646
“This spurious damiana need never be unintentionally employed, as both the general appearance of the leaf, and the sensible characteristics, are entirely different from all the species of Turnera. It has been offered at half the price of true damiana.”
Harvey Wickes Felter and John Uri Lloyd, King's American Dispensatory (1898), vol. 1, p. 646. See the page of King's American Dispensatory, vol. 1, p. 646 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from King's American Dispensatory, vol. 1, p. 646

Sources

  1. Ethnobotany, phytochemistry, and bioactivity of the genus Turnera (Passifloraceae) with a focus on damiana—Turnera diffusa (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. Plants from Arid and Semi-Arid Zones of Mexico Used to Treat Respiratory Diseases: A Review (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  3. A double-blind placebo-controlled study of ArginMax, a nutritional supplement for enhancement of female sexual function (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  4. The enhancement of female sexual function with ArginMax, a nutritional supplement, among women differing in menopausal status (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  5. Weight loss and delayed gastric emptying following a South American herbal preparation in overweight patients (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.