Epimedium brevicornum Maxim and its Efficacy in the Treatment of Sexual Dysfunction

Epimedium sp. is a famous plant as sexual enhancer. In Chinese Pharmacopeia, Five species of Epimedium brevicornum, E. sagittatum, E. pubescens, E. koreanum, and E. wushanense were recorded as Epimedium Herba (Yin Yang Huo). The aim of this review article was to evaluate the potential efficacy of E. brevicornum as a remedy for sexual dysfunction and infertility. For preparing of this manuscript, we searched in all accessible resources (PubMed, Science Direct, Wiley, Springer, and Google), books, thesis, and pharmacopeias. There are different traditional prescriptions containing E. brevicornum, which are recommended for the treatment of impotence and sexual disorders. Although, there is no clinical study on efficacy and safety of E. brevicornum on sexual functions, but animal and experimental analysis exhibited that E. brevicornum is an estrogenic plant and its flavonoid glycosides are inhibitors of phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE 5) and improved the erectile dysfunction, libido, impotence, sperm quality and fertility. Due to the lack of clinical study on the efficacy of E. brevicornum, designing the human clinical study on safety and efficacy of standard E. brevicornum can be the subject of future studies.