What is yohimbe?

Yohimbe, also been called Pausinystalia yohimbe is an evergreen tree that is grown in western Africa, Cameroon, Gabon, and the Congo.  It’s in the bark of the tree where you can find the active compounds known as alkaloids;  the principal alkaloid being yohimine.

Yohimbe is an evergreen tree that grows in western Africa in Nigeria, Cameroon, the Congo and Gabon.  The bark of the tree contains the active compounds called alkaloids. The principal alkaloid is called yohimbine.

Yohimbine is a prescription drug sold in the United States that is used to treat erecticle dysfunction, although it’s popular has declined since the introduction of Viagra to the market some years ago.  The bark extracts of yohimbe are sold in health food stores, as well as on many popular bodybuilding supplement websites.

Why do people take Yohimbe?

Yohimbe was used in Africa for fever, leprosy, coughs, and as an aphrodisiac in past years.  Today though, yohimbe is used and marketed to target the following conditions:

Erecticle dysfunction - While no solid evidence exists that herbal supplements like yohimbe works, it’s widely promoted online and offline in health food stores as a natural aphrodisiac that increases libido and treats erectile dysfunction.  Yohimbine, the prescription medicine, is found to relax and dilate blood vessels in the penis, increasing blood flow and the size of an erection.

Weight loss - Yohimbine has shown an increase in lipolysis by increasing the release of norepinephrine available to fat cells.  It also has shown to block alpha-2 receptor activation.  However, a controlled study involving 43mg per day of yohimbe showed no effect on body weight, BMI, body fat, fat distribution, or cholesterol levels.