Muira Puama root and bark herb health benefit

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Muira Puama plant grows in the Amazon rainforest
Also called "potency wood," it is a small tree up to 15 feet in height native to the Brazilian Amazon. The bark and roots are the primary parts of muira puama that are utilized. Indigenous peoples use muira puama for the therapy of sexual debility, fatigue, neuromuscular problems, and rheumatism. Muira puama's botanical name is Ptychopetalum olacoides. Don't be surprised to see muira puama spelled in many different ways, including mara puama, marapuama, and marapama.
   Recently, muira puama has been gaining in popularity in the US where herbalists are using it for sex, menstrual cramps and PMS, and central nervous system disorders. Muira puama has been traditionally known as a nerve tonic. Amazonian natives use traditional remedies prepared with muira puama roots for treating various central nervous system conditions, including those associated with aging.

Muira Puama research
In 1990, at the Institute of Sexology in Paris, France, a clinical study with 262 patients complaining of lack of sexual desire demonstrated muira puama extract to be effective. Within two weeks, at a daily dose of 1 to 1.5 grams of muira puama 4:1 extract, 62% of patients with loss of libido claimed that the treatment was helpful. I found this study mentioned all over the internet, but could not find an official Medline mention. 
   In 2000, researchers at the Institute of Sexology published another study. The effectiveness of a herbal formulation of muira puama and Ginkgo biloba was assessed in 202 healthy women complaining of low libido. Various aspects of their sex life were rated before and after 1 month of treatment. Statistically significant improvements occurred in frequency of sexual desires, sexual intercourse, and sexual fantasies, as well as in satisfaction with sex life, intensity of sexual desires, excitement of fantasies, ability to reach orgasm, and intensity of orgasm. Reported tolerability of the muira puama and ginkgo combination was good.

Mechanisms of action
The root and bark of muira puama are rich in free long-chain fatty acids, essential oils, plant sterols, coumarin, lupeol, and a new alkaloid named "muirapuamine." Because of its various constituents, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact chemicals in muira puama responsible for its sex boosting effects. One study in rabbits indicates that muira puama has the ability to relax the corpus cavernosa of the penis, thus allowing for engorgement. Another study indicates that muira puama may block an enzyme known as acetylcholinesterase. By blocking the activity of this enzyme, more acetylcholine is available in the central nervous system, which may be helpful in Alzheimer's disease. Acetylcholine is involved in memory, and it also helps dilate blood vessels in the genital region.

Additional benefits of Muira Puama
We find that muira puama increases energy and also has mild mood-enhancing properties. However little research is available to confirm these findings. We based these findings on our personal experience, and also feedback from users who have tried muira puama herbal extracts.

Antioxidants
Muira puama roots are used by Amazonian peoples for traditional remedies in treating various central nervous system conditions in which free radicals are likely to be implicated. Muira puama herb use can reduce free-radical production in the brain, lead to significant decrease in lipid peroxidation in the cerebral cortex, striatum and hypothalamus, as well as in the carbonyl content in cerebellum and striatum. The use of muira puama can increase catalase activity and glutathione peroxidase activity. Therefore, it appears muira puama has antioxidants that protect brain cells from oxidation.

Availability
Muira puama is available in various dosages and extracts. It's difficult to give exact dosage recommendations since each herbal supplier or vitamin company may have a different way of presenting the final product. Also, muirap puama is available in various potencies, including a 4 to 1 extract. Thus, it becomes complicated when recommending exact dosages.

Muira Puama side effects
One of the most common side effects of muira puama when used in high doses is insomnia. This is because of the alertness it produces, and, logically, if you are too alert when you go to bed, you are likely to toss and turn in bed.

Reports from users
At least two thirds of users find it to be helpful.  Ken, 48, says, “Muira puama definitely helps my libido, and I notice the effects within four days. I also find it to be a mood enhancer, helping me deal with life’s emotional events easier.”

Ted, a 44 year-old dentist reports, “I took Muira puama for one week and noticed that in the mornings my erections were lasting longer. I use an alcoholic tincture. The Muira puama bottle is a 2 oz container and I use about 25 drops in a glass of water. I’m also starting to feel more sensual with a stronger desire.”

Carol, a 34 year-old writer says, “I have had difficulty feeling aroused since my psychiatrist put me on Prozac. I started Muira puama liquid extract and within 2 weeks my libido is coming back, although not as much as before Prozac.”

Mark, a 39 year-old therapist, says, “I took one gram of Muira puama for two days. I didn’t notice anything the first two days, however, when I awoke the third day, my libido was definitely higher. I was still in bed, and unfortunately my wife had already left for work.”

Muira Puama Research
Ptychopetalum olacoides a traditional Amazonian "nerve tonic", possesses anticholinesterase activity.
Siqueira IR. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, RS, 90035-003, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2003.
The cholinergic hypothesis of Alzheimer disease (AD) has provided the rationale for the current pharmacotherapy of this disease, in an attempt to downgrade the cognitive decline caused by cholinergic deficits. Nevertheless, the search for potent and long-acting acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors that exert minimal side effects to AD patients is still an ongoing effort. Amazonian communities use traditional remedies prepared with Ptychopetalum olacoides roots for treating various central nervous system conditions, including those associated with aging. The fact that muira puama ethanol extract  has been found to facilitate memory retrieval in the step down procedure in young and aged mice prompt us to evaluate its effects on AChE activity in memory relevant brain areas. Muira puama significantly inhibited AChE activity in vitro in a dose- and time-dependent manner in rat frontal cortex, hippocampus and striatum; a significant inhibition was also found in these same brain areas of aged (14 months) mice after acute administration of muira puama (100 mg/kg ip). We propose that such AChE inhibitory activity is a neurochemical correlate of a number of therapeutic properties traditionally claimed for muira puama, particularly those associated with cognition.

Anxiogenic properties of Ptychopetalum olacoides Benth. (Muira puama).
da Silva AL, Bardini S. muira puama bark muira puama side effects
Universidade Federaldo Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Phytother Res. 2002.
Alcohol infusions of roots of Ptychopetalum olacoides Benth, known as Marapuama or Muira puama, are used in the Brazilian Amazon as a 'nerve tonic'. Over the years muira puama has been found increasingly in phytoformulations and regarded as a stimulant, claimed to enhance physical and mental performances. This study determined that a muira puama ethanol extract (30, 100 and 300 mg/kg) decreased exploratory behaviour in the hole-board test, without interfering with locomotion or motor coordination (rota-rod test). The data are comparable to that obtained with pentylenetetrazol (40 mg/kg), suggesting an anxiogenic effect of muira puama.

The relaxation of isolated rabbit corpus cavernosum by the herbal medicine Catuama (ginger, muira puama, and others) and its constituents.
Antunes E.  UNICAMP, Campinas (SP), Brazil.
Phytother Res. 2001.
The effects of the Brazilian herbal medicine Catuama and each of its plant constituents (Paullinia cupana, Trichilia catigua, Zingiber officinalis and Ptychopetalum olacoides- muira puama) were investigated on rabbit corpus cavernosum (RbCC) using a bioassay cascade. Catuama caused short-lived and dose-dependent relaxations. Our results show that of the four extracts assayed, P. cupana was the most effective, indicating that it is the main extract responsible for the relaxing effect of Catuama on rabbit cavernosal tissue. muira puama research, muira puama nitric oxide, muira puama erectile.

Communications
Q. I see you mention that catuaba can be taken with muira puama. Can muira puama be combined with other herbs such as yohimbe or tribulus?
A. I can only speak from my personal and professional experience. Thus far I have combined muira puama with several herbs and have not found any major problems with the combinations except that when high doses of muira puama are taken with other herbs that have stimulating properties, such as ginseng, there is the potential for insomnia.

Q. Is muira puama a mood lifter?
A. In our experience, after several days of taking the plant there is a general sense of wellbeing that comes. However, with a high dose of muira puama, the resulting shallow sleep from the overstimulation has lowered my mood. Therefore, it can be a mood lifter when used in the proper dosage.

Q. Can I take muira puama regularly for many months?
A. As with most herbs, I recommend taking breaks from use. In the case of muira puama, you could take one week on, one week off.

Q. How many different types of Muira Puama extracts are available?
A. The ones I have seen are the following: Muira puama powder, Muira puama 4:1 extract. They may be other muira puama extracts but I'm not up to date on them yet.

Q. I just purchased muira puama product by Physician Formulas, but have a question. Research quotes a French study that stated, "at a daily dose of 1 to 1.5 grams of muira puama 4:1 extract." How, exactly, does your powdered product relate to the strength of the 4:1 extract? Put otherwise, how many 500mg capsules would one need to take daily in order to be getting the same effective dose as with the 4:1 extract?
   A. There are no standardization for extracts for Muira Puama. One raw material supplier's 4:1 extract may be less or more potent than another company's product. But, as a general rule, a 4:1 extract may be 2 or 3 times as potent as regular powder since concentrating a powder may remove some other active components. Each manufacturer has their own method of concentrating and extracting so it is difficult to have accurate comparisons.

Q. Does the use of muira puama over several weeks lead to penis enlargement?
   A. We seriously doubt that it does.

Q. I am currently in the process of making a presentation on muira puama herb. Would you tell me the active constituents of the plant? And what is up for the sexual tone?
   A. The root and bark of muira puama are rich in free long-chain fatty acids, essential oils, plant sterols, coumarin, lupeol, and an alkaloid named muirapuamine. Because of its various constituents, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact chemicals in muira puama responsible for its sex boosting effects.