Damiana

Turnera diffusa

También llamadaHierba del venado (Mexican Spanish) · Hierba de la pastora (Mexican Spanish) · Oreganillo (Spanish) · Mizxíhuitl · Mexican holly

En monografías antiguasTurnera aphrodisiaca Ward, Turnera microphylla Desv.

A small aromatic shrub of the dry lands of Mexico, Central and South America and the West Indies, best known as a traditional Mexican aphrodisiac and tonic. Almost all the human evidence comes from multi-herb supplements; damiana on its own has been tested in one small uncontrolled study. Most other claimed effects come from animal and cell work.

Para qué se usa

Función sexual y libido
Limitada
Tested mostly in mixtures: VigRx Plus (men with erectile dysfunction, 12 weeks) and Libicare and ArginMax (women) improved sexual-function scores, but the other ingredients may explain the effect. In the one study of a damiana-only traditional herbal product, 35 women with low sexual interest/arousal improved on the Female Sexual Function Index, without a placebo group. Rodent studies show more sexual behaviour in males.^1,2
Ansiedad y tensión nerviosa
Limitada
Damiana extracts reduce anxiety-like behaviour in mice; MSK notes there are no human data.^1,2
Azúcar en sangre y diabetes
Limitada
Traditional Mexican use for diabetes. Animal results are mixed: some extracts and the terpenoid teuhetenone A lowered blood sugar in mice, while a hydroalcoholic extract did not change glucose in diabetic rats over 5–8 weeks. No human trials.^1,2
Peso
Limitada
A South American herbal preparation of yerba mate, guarana and damiana (YGD) slowed stomach emptying and reduced body weight and food intake in small studies of overweight people; damiana's share cannot be separated.^1,2,3
Tos
Tradicional
In the arid and semi-arid zones of Mexico, leaf infusions or decoctions are used for bronchitis, cough and other respiratory complaints and as an expectorant; not tested clinically.⁴
Bronquitis
Tradicional
Same Mexican traditional use as for cough; laboratory antimicrobial work only.⁴
Estreñimiento
Tradicional
Used as a laxative in traditional medicine; MSK says there are no data to support this use.^1,3

Cómo se prepara

infusion

Leaves steeped or boiled in water (infusion or decoction), the form recorded in Mexican traditional use for respiratory complaints.

Tos · Bronquitis

dry extract / capsule

Standardised leaf extracts, usually combined with other herbs in commercial sexual-health supplements.

Las cantidades son las que registra la fuente citada, no una recomendación.

Seguridad

Embarazo: Datos insuficientes
Lactancia: Datos insuficientes
Niños: No data.

Interacciones con medicamentos

diabetes drugsLeveTheoretical: damiana affected blood sugar in some animal studies.

Comprobador de interacciones →

Efectos secundarios

Not well documented in humans

Toxicidad

In mice, a hydroalcoholic extract given by mouth at 5 g/kg caused no signs of toxicity, but injected into the abdomen at 2 g/kg it killed six of ten animals. The essential oil was toxic to cells in culture. Several Turnera species are used as abortives in traditional medicine.

En las tradiciones curativas

Mesoamerican
Damiana / hierba del venado
Described as one of the most important medicinal plants of Maya culture. In Mexican herbal medicine it has been used for centuries as an aphrodisiac, stimulant and tonic, and also against 'cerebral weakness', impotence and orchitis; leaf tea for coughs and bronchitis in the northern deserts.
Western herbalism
Damiana
Traded as a diuretic, laxative, stimulant and aphrodisiac, and for diabetes and venereal disease; today an ingredient of sexual-health supplements such as ArginMax.

Compuestos activos

arbutin: hydroquinone glycoside; linked to gastroprotective effects in rats
apigenin: flavone identified in animal studies as an antinociceptive (pain-reducing) principle
pinocembrin and acacetin: flavonoids that inhibit aromatase in the laboratory
hepatodamianol: luteolin C-glycoside found only in this species; protects liver cells in lab tests
cyanogenic glycosides: seven reported from the genus Turnera

Historia

Damiana is described as one of the most important medicinal plants of Maya culture, and has been used for centuries in Mexican herbal medicine as an aphrodisiac. The synonym Turnera aphrodisiaca records that reputation. A 2026 study traced the widely repeated claim that it contains caffeine to circular citation and found none in authenticated plants.

Fuentes

Referencia, no receta. Nada de esto es consejo médico. Las hierbas pueden interactuar con medicamentos y ser peligrosas en el embarazo; informa a tu médico o farmacéutico de todo lo que tomes.