Since Viagra became available on the market in 1998, the interest in natural alternatives has also peaked in terms of sexual potentiators. And maybe we don’t have to look very far. Traditional Chinese Medicine has an herbal product they’ve been using for that purpose for 2000 years called Cordyceps sinensis.

The mushroom Cordyceps sinensis does have a common name in English, Caterpillar fungus, although many more people know it by its Latin name as just “Cordyceps.” In its natural environment, it can be found only at high altitudes in the mountains of China and Tibet. Considering its minute size, it is a ‘small’ (pun intended) miracle that anyone ever discovered it and thought to use it as a medicinal mushroom.

Since around the dawn of our age, Chinese physicians have prescribed Cordyceps as an aphrodisiac and general vitalizing tonic. The first reference to Cordyceps as a medicinal fungus occurred around 200 A.D. in a book titled, The Classic Herbal of the Divine Plowman.

In its natural environment, Cordyceps sinensis infects caterpillars and then sprouts out of their dead carcasses. While that certainly doesn’t sound very appetizing, modern advances allow potent strains of Cordyceps sinensis to be grown on a rice medium. Cordyceps extract produced in this way has been shown to contain the same medicinal compounds as the wild harvested fungi, with the added advantage of being free from contamination by other species of fungi or bacteria.

A Chinese paper published in 1985, thirteen years before the release of Viagra, found a statistically significant improvement in erectile dysfunction (64%) when the subjects were administered 1,000 mg of Cordyceps sinensis per day. [1]

Three possible factors may help explain why Cordyceps could have an effect on erectile dysfunction:

- At least three studies have demonstrated that Cordyceps sinensis helps improve physical stamina and prowess in general. [2,3,4] In the early 1990′s, nine Chinese women broke world records when the Chinese National Games were held. When interviewed about their success, they unanimously gave credit to their use of Cordyceps extract. [5,6]

- Increasing blood flow appears to be another function of Cordyceps sinensis, which could help explain its effect on erectile dysfunction. Two studies have indicated that it does so by diluting blood vessels, thus increasing blood perfusion. [7,8]

- Thirdly and perhaps most important of all is that two studies have shown Cordyceps sinensis to “significantly increase” the production of testosterone in males. [9,10]

Note: Always consult a licensed health care provider before using any herb for medicinal purposes. This article is solely intended as a source of information and does not prescribe or advice the use of any substance mentioned herein.