Butea Superba for sexual enhancement
butea information

Butea Superba is a plant found in Thailand. Butea is used by middle aged and older Thai men as a tonic and sexual enhancer. There are many natural sexual enhancing herbs, including Horny Goat Weed herb, Avena-Sativa and the ayurvedic herb Ashwagandha. Another one that is often added to Chinese herbal sexual enhancers is cistanche. Another one from the Amazon is clavo huasca and the Chinese herb cnidium.

Mechanism of Action of Butea
Very little Western research is available on butea. One study indicates that butea superba has some anticholinesterase activity.

Antimicrobial properties of Butea
Compounds within butea have antimicrobial activity against several organisms.

Butea Aphrodisiac Properties
Butea superba is used as a sex enhancer in Asia. One human trial shows butea can improve erectile function in males (see below). Another study showed that when butea (the frondosa koen species) was given to male rats, they mounted female rats more often and they also ejaculated more frequently. For more natural treatment options for impotence.

Side Effects of Butea
Studies in rodents do not indicate butea superba to have any significant side effects, but long term studies are not yet available.

Butea study
Aphrodisiac activity of Butea frondosa Koen. ex Roxb. extract in male rats.
Ramachandran S. C. L. Baid Metha College of Pharmacy, Thorapakkam, Old Mahabalipuram Road, Chennai, India.
Phytomedicine. 2004 Feb;11(2-3):165-8.
In the present study, the aphrodisiac activity of Butea frondonsa Koen. ex Roxb (Papillionaceae) bark extract was investigated. The extract (400 mg/kg body wt./day) was administered orally by gavage for 28 days. Mount latency (ML), intromission latency (IL), ejaculation latency (EL), mounting frequency (MF), intromission frequency (IF), ejaculation frequency (EF) and post-ejaculatory interval (PEI) were the parameters observed before and during the sexual behavior study at day 0, 7, 10, 14, 21, and 28. The extract reduced significantly ML, IL, EL and PEI (p < 0.05). The extract also increased significantly MF, IF and EF (p < 0.05). These effects were observed in sexually active and inactive male rats.

Screening for acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity in plants used in Thai traditional rejuvenating and neurotonic remedies.
Ingkaninan K. Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2003 Dec;89(2-3):261-4.
Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor has been used as a drug for the symptomatic treatment of Alzheimer's disease. In order to search for new AChE inhibitors, 32 plants used in Thai traditional rejuvenating and neurotonic remedies were collected. The plant methanolic extracts were tested for AChE inhibitory activity using Ellman's colorimetric method in 96-welled microplates. The results showed that the methanolic extracts from roots of Stephania suberosa Forman. and Tabernaemontana divaricata (L.) R.Br. ex Roem. & Schult. at concentration of 0.1 mg/ml inhibited more than 90% of AChE activity. At the same concentration, four extracts, i.e. stems of Piper interruptum Opiz., seeds of Piper nigrum L., rootbarks of Butea superba Roxb. and roots of Cassia fistula L. extracts showed 50-65% inhibitory activity on AChE. The rest of the extracts showed the AChE inhibitory activity below 50%.

The toxicology of Butea superba, Roxb.
Pongpanparadon A. Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health. 2002;33 Suppl 3:155-8.
A study to determine the primary toxicological effects of Red Gwow Kreur (Butea superba, Roxb.) dry powder by micronucleus and dominant lethal tests was undertaken. Aqueous solution of Red Gwow Kreur dry powder in doses of 2, 20, 200 and 1,000 mg/kg/day were fed to male rats for 9 weeks. The results showed that 1,000 mg/kg/day of Red Gwow Kreur solution was significantly more effective in inducing the formation of micronuclei in polychromatic erythrocytes than the control (p<0.01), whereas dominant lethal test indicated that none of the doses had a toxic effect on male reproduction. There were no abnormal changes in the number of implantation sites and the number of dead fetuses produced by females that had mated with Red Gwow Kreur treated males in comparison with the controls. In addition, the Red Gwow Kreur solutions had no effect on the body weights of the treated rats.

Clinical trial of Butea superba, an alternative herbal treatment for erectile dysfunction.
Cherdshewasart W. hulalongkorn University, Phyathai Road, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
Asian J Androl. 2003 Sep;5(3):243-6.
To study the effect of Butea superba on erectile dysfunction (ED) in Thai males. A 3-month randomized double-blind clinical trial was carried out in volunteers with ED, aged 30 years approximately 70 years, to evaluate the therapeutic effect of the crude preparation of Butea superba tubers on ED. There was a significant upgrading in 4 of the 5 descriptive evaluations of the IIEF-5 questionnaire. Estimation of the sexual record indicated that 82.4% of the patients exhibited noticeable improvement. Haematology and blood chemistry analysis revealed no apparent change. The plant preparation appears to improve the erectile function in ED patients without apparent toxicity.

Butea Superba emails
Q. I tried lots of herbal products for sexual problems that did nothing...until I tried the butea superba. The butea superba works like you say the Passion Rx does, in that you don't get the effects for about a day or so. But, taking it every 2nd or 3rd day allowed me to perform at anytime. It was so much better than Viagra, no side effects, and you didn't have to time it.

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