Eden Apothecary · Herb Profile
Epimedium brevicornu
Also known as Epimedium, Yin Yang Huo
Pronounced Horny Goat Weed: plain English. Yin Yang Huo: yin yahng HWOH. Epimedium brevicornu: eh-pih-MEE-dee-um brev-ih-KOR-noo.
Warm, dry, and building: a stimulating Kidney-yang tonic and aphrodisiac that rekindles the cold, depleted reproductive and endocrine fire, strengthens weak sinew and bone, and drives cold damp from the aching joints.
Avoid in pregnancy. There is insufficient reliable human safety data, and the herb has documented estrogenic/hormonal activity (icariin), so standard modern supplement monographs advise against use in pregnancy. Not a traditional pregnancy herb; it is a Kidney-yang tonic and aphrodisiac with no established obstetric role. Source: Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database / WebMD Horny Goat Weed monograph; Drugs.com Horny Goat Weed (natural products) monograph.
Avoid while breastfeeding. There is no reliable data on transfer of icariin or other constituents into milk or on effects in the nursing infant, and given the herb's hormonal activity the prudent modern course is to avoid it during lactation unless directed by a qualified practitioner. Source: Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database / WebMD Horny Goat Weed monograph.
Not recommended for children. There is no established pediatric dosing and essentially no modern pediatric safety data for a warming, hormonally active yang tonic, so use in children should be avoided except under qualified professional supervision. Source: Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database / WebMD Horny Goat Weed monograph (insufficient data in children).
Yin Yang Huo is generally well tolerated at ordinary doses for short courses, but it is a warming, stimulating yang tonic and not a casual daily herb. Large or prolonged doses can cause dizziness, dry mouth and thirst, vomiting, nosebleed, and, per case reports, tachyarrhythmia and, rarely, severe muscle spasms with elevated creatine kinase and creatinine. Because icariin has phytoestrogenic activity, it should be avoided in hormone-sensitive conditions. Its warmth and dryness can injure the fluids, so it is unsuited to yin-deficient, dry, or overheated patients and should not be pushed to heroic doses. Sexual-enhancement products sold under the horny goat weed name are a common vehicle for undeclared adulterants (including hidden PDE5 drugs), so source only reputable, tested material.
Pregnancy and lactation (insufficient modern safety data plus hormonal/estrogenic activity; avoid). Yin deficiency with heat and any marked heat or fire pattern. Hormone-sensitive conditions (estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer, uterine or ovarian cancer, endometriosis, uterine fibroids), given icariin's estrogenic action. Known hypersensitivity. Caution in cardiovascular disease and arrhythmia, in bleeding disorders or before surgery, and alongside anticoagulant, antihypertensive, nitrate, PDE5-inhibitor, or CYP3A4-metabolized medication (see drug interactions). Any unexplained sexual, urinary, or musculoskeletal symptom warrants evaluation rather than self-treatment.
Wild Epimedium in China has come under real harvesting pressure from booming demand for Herba Epimedii, and several species are locally depleted or of conservation concern, though E. brevicornu is not a North American plant and so is not tracked by United Plant Savers. Prefer cultivated material (cultivation is expanding to relieve wild stands) or ethically wildcrafted, traceable supply, and buy from vendors who can name a cultivated or stewarded, icariin-tested source.
Not a plant of the biblical Near East and not named in canonical Scripture. Yin Yang Huo belongs to the Chinese materia medica, first recorded in the Shennong Ben Cao Jing; its Chinese name (the licentious-goat plant) preserves the folk observation that grazing goats grew notably more sexually active after eating it, the origin of the horny goat weed name. Included here as a cross-traditional (TCM) entry, honestly sourced to its Chinese origin.
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