{"id":9253,"date":"2016-07-22T01:46:03","date_gmt":"2016-07-22T01:46:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/?p=9253"},"modified":"2018-11-25T11:27:28","modified_gmt":"2018-11-25T11:27:28","slug":"himalayan-viagra-what-is-it-and-why-do-people-want-it-so-bad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/erectile-dysfunction\/himalayan-viagra-what-is-it-and-why-do-people-want-it-so-bad\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Himalayan Viagra’: What Is It and Why Do People Want It So Bad?"},"content":{"rendered":"

W<\/span>orth much more than gold, a parasitic fungus known as “Himalayan Viagra” is said to possess powerful aphrodisiac properties. Unfortunately, overharvesting of this caterpillar fungus could result in its eventual extinction.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

High in the fertile meadows of the Himalaya Mountains grows a parasitic fungus that is truly worth its weight in gold, and then some. Locally known in Nepal as yarsagumba, the so-called caterpillar fungus is reputed to have potent aphrodisiac properties, which explains why it’s sometimes referred to as “Himalayan Viagra.”<\/p>\n

However, overharvesting of the fungus, which grows at elevations between 10,000 and 16,000 feet, could soon drive the herb to the brink of extinction. In late 2017, a gram of the dried fungus was selling for as much as $100 on the Shanghai market and roughly $45 per gram on the streets in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu.<\/p>\n

Caterpillar-Fungus Fusion<\/h3>\n

In a 2014 article posted at TheDiplomat.com<\/a>, writer Gemima Harvey defines yarsagumba as “a unique caterpillar-fungus fusion that occurs when parasitic mushroom spores (Ophiocordyceps sinensis) infect and mummify a ghost moth larva living in the soil.” As a result of this fusion, a spindly fungus — 2 to 6 centimeters in length — eventually sprouts from the head of the dead caterpillar host. These finger-like projections above the soil make it easy for locals harvesting yarsagumba to spot the fungal prize.<\/p>\n

For harvesters of yarsagumba, the explosion in demand for the herb has been a bonanza. Pickers of the fungus in the Himalayan highlands of Nepal and neighboring countries derive the lion’s share of their annual income from harvesting the fungus. The harvesting season for yarsagumba runs from late May to July.<\/p>\n

\"Himalayan
This shop in downtown Lhasa, Tibet, proudly advertises its hottest product.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fungus Now Harder to Find<\/h3>\n

Overharvesting in recent years has made it increasingly difficult for pickers to find the caterpillar fungus and has resulted in a contraction in the total yarsagumba harvest, at least in some of the areas where it thrives. In her article at TheDiplomat.com, Harvey cites a research study that interviewed more than 200 yarsagumba pickers and 28 traders in the Dolpa District of western Nepal.<\/p>\n

Dolpa harvesters told researchers that the district’s yield of the fungus had increased steadily from 2001, the year that Nepal had legalized trade in yarsagumba, to 2009. In that year, the district’s harvest of yarsagumba reached an all-time high of 2,442.4 kilograms (about 5,385 pounds). By 2011, the yarsagumba harvest in Dolpa had dropped by more than 50 percent from its 2009 peak to 1,170.8 kilograms (about 2,581 pounds).<\/p>\n

Most See Sharp Drop in Supply<\/h3>\n

The overwhelming majority — more than 95 percent — of the pickers interviewed by the research team believe the availability of the fungus in their district is rapidly declining. And roughly two-thirds of the yarsagumba harvesters said they believe that current harvesting practices are unsustainable.<\/p>\n

In the research study, published in the March 2013 issue of Biological Conservation<\/em>,<\/a> the authors suggest that harvests might be better controlled “by changing policies and creating regulatory mechanisms or in extreme cases by provision of incentives for not harvesting.” They point out, however, that attempts in Nepal to limit the yarsagumba harvest were unsuccessful and was the reason that country in 2001 lifted its ban on harvesting the fungus.<\/p>\n

Reasons Why Nepal’s Initiative Failed<\/h3>\n

Nepal’s attempts at regulating the harvest and trade in yarsagumba failed, write the authors, because of three key factors: (1) The growing habitat for yarsagumba is extremely remote, (2) the government presence in the area is insufficient to prevent unauthorized collection of the caterpillar fungus, and (3) harvesting the fungus plays a central role in the livelihoods of the pickers, making them willing to defy government edicts so they can continue receiving this stream of income.<\/p>\n

Yarsagumba has been prized as a potent medicinal herb in the pharmacopeia of traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. However, demand for the herb surged after 1993 when it was revealed that three world record-breaking female Chinese runners had consumed yarsagumba shortly before competing. The women’s coach told the press that he had fed them yarsagumba in a soup of turtle blood. There’s no indication that this revelation resulted in a similar surge in the demand for turtle blood.<\/p>\n

A Panacea in Chinese Medicine<\/h3>\n

Something of a panacea in traditional Chinese medicine, caterpillar fungus is known there as dong chong xia cao (winter worm summer grass). Chinese folk medicine practitioners claim that the herb improves cardiac and respiratory function, while also helping to keep total cholesterol levels down. They also point to studies that indicate that the powdered fungus can shrink cancerous tumors and reduce the damage done by free radicals.<\/p>\n

Other health claims for yarsagumba, supposedly supported by scientific studies, include an ability to reduce fatigue, relieve the discomfort of tired legs, and improve stamina and athletic performance. The female Chinese runners’ performance in 1993 is offered as proof of this.<\/p>\n

\"Himalayan
Widely sought for its purported aphrodisiac properties, Himalayan Viagra sells on the Chinese market for $45,000 a pound or more.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Aphrodisiac Properties<\/h3>\n

However, it is perhaps the reputed aphrodisiac properties of the caterpillar fungus that account for the high demand witnessed over the past two decades. A review of the scientific literature regarding the herb’s effects on sexual function was published in the January-June 2016 issue of Pharmacognosy Review<\/em>. The review was conducted by Thai researchers who were at the time affiliated with Mahidol University in Bangkok.<\/p>\n

After a painstaking review of previous research studies into the effects of caterpillar fungus on sexual function, the Thai researchers said they found promising evidence of the herb’s positive effects on sexual desire and function. In particular, they cited a 1988 study in which 189 men and women were given an herbal supplement of Cordyceps sinensis (caterpillar fungus). That study revealed a 66 percent increase in sexual desire and function among the study participants.<\/p>\n

Boosts Female Sexual Desire<\/h3>\n

A more recent study, published in 2008, focused on the herbal supplement’s effects on sexual desire in women. That study showed that women given the supplement experienced an 86 percent increase in sexual desire.<\/p>\n

Yet another study offered promising evidence of the herbal supplement’s positive effects on male fertility. Researchers treated 22 men with the supplement for a period of eight weeks. At the conclusion of the dosing period, the men showed a 33 percent increase in sperm count, a 29 percent decrease in sperm malformations, and a 79 percent increase in sperm survival rate.<\/p>\n

Proof positive of the caterpillar fungus’s medicinal properties will be of little consequence if overharvesting eventually results in wiping out the world’s supply of the fungus. Researchers warn that failure to bring the yarsagumba harvest under control in the region could sound the death knell for the “fungus boom,” a development that would have “devastating consequences for the ecosystem and local economy.”<\/p>\n

If you’d like to read additional articles about topics of interest to health consumers, check out our blog<\/a>.\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Worth much more than gold, a parasitic fungus known as “Himalayan Viagra” is said to possess powerful aphrodisiac properties. Unfortunately, overharvesting of this caterpillar fungus could result in its eventual extinction. High in the fertile meadows of the Himalaya Mountains grows a parasitic fungus that is truly worth its weight in gold, and then some. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9263,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_autoblog_aioseo_focus_keyphrase":"","_autoblog_aioseo_title":"","_autoblog_aioseo_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-erectile-dysfunction"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t