Muira Puama

Botanical Name
Ptychopetalum ovata

Common Names
Muira puama, potency wood, marapuama, marapama, muiratã, muiratam, pau-homen, potenzholz.

Part Used
Bark, root, stem

Plant Introduction
Muira puama, also called “potency wood,” is a small tree that grows to 5 m high and is native to the Brazilian Amazon and other parts of the Amazon rainforest. The small, white flowers have a pungent fragrance similar to jasmine’s. The Ptychopetalum genus is a small one—only two species of small trees grow in tropical South America and five in tropical Africa. The two South American varieties, P. olacoides (found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, and Suriname) and P. uncinatum (found only in Brazil), are used interchangeably in South American herbal medicine systems. The olacoides variety is usually preferred, as it has a higher content of lupeol (one of the plant’s active phytochemicals). A completely different species of Brazilian tree, Liriosma ovata, also goes by the common name of muira puama (and is often sold in commerce as such); however, it is a completely different tree with a different phytochemical makeup.

Uses
Muira puama has long been valued as an aphrodisiac and a tonic for the nervous system. It is soothing and helpful for nervous exhaustion, stress, and trauma, and helps alleviate symptoms of depression. It is also used in formulations designed to treat male pattern baldness. Benefits of muira puama for specific health conditions include the following: • Impotence and diminished sex drive. Muira puama is a good addition to or replacement for treatment with yohimbe. Clinical studies of muira puama in France have found that using the herb as a sole treatment restores sex drive and erectile function in 51 to 62 percent of cases. From the preliminary information, it appears that it works by enhancing both psychological and physical aspects of sexual function.

Consideration
Muira puama is available as a tincture. It is included in many blends of South American herbs marketed for treatment of male pattern baldness and erectile dysfunction, typically combined with catuaba, iporuru, and other rainforest herbs.

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