Natural remedies for ED: what the evidence shows

Search for a natural fix for erection problems and you'll find a long list of roots, barks, and amino acids, most of them sold with more confidence than the research supports.

Some have real studies behind them. One has none at all in humans. And a good number of products sold as "natural" have been found to contain prescription medicine that isn't on the label.

Here's what each one actually has behind it, and what to check before you buy anything.

If it's sold as "natural viagra", be careful what's in it

The MHRA has warned against herbal products sold to treat erectile dysfunction, after finding many contained undeclared sildenafil, tadalafil, or similar drugs.¹

One published survey of 20 supplements sold for erectile dysfunction found 14 contained undeclared ingredients, with sildenafil in 12 of them.² In one MHRA case a single unlicensed product contained more than twice the maximum licensed dose of tadalafil.¹

Supplements aren't tested after production the way medicines are. So "natural" on the packet tells you about the marketing, not the contents.

What the evidence actually supports

Taking them roughly in order of how much research exists.

Korean red ginseng (Panax ginseng)

A systematic review pooled the randomised trials and found a significant effect across 349 men, with a risk ratio of 2.40.³ The reviewers described the evidence as suggestive, and said the number of trials, the sample sizes, and the quality were all too low for firm conclusions.³

Caution is advised alongside warfarin, insulin, diabetes medication, and phenelzine.⁴ Reported side effects are headache, insomnia, and stomach upset.⁴

We've covered the doses used and what the trials measured in more detail in our guide to ginseng for erectile dysfunction.

L-citrulline

An amino acid the body converts to L-arginine, which it uses to make nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is what allows blood vessels in the penis to widen, so the mechanism is sound.

The study most often cited involved 24 men with mild erectile dysfunction, of whom 12 reported a return to normal erection hardness.⁵ That's a real result from a small trial, and the paper itself described L-citrulline as less effective than PDE5 inhibitors.⁵

If you're reading about L-citrulline you'll probably come across L-arginine too, since one becomes the other in the body.

Maca

A root from the Andes, used traditionally as an aphrodisiac.

A small study found men with mild erectile dysfunction reported improvement after 12 weeks on maca extract.⁶ A later review of aphrodisiacs used for erectile dysfunction noted that this was essentially the only trial supporting it.⁷

Side effects are reported as uncommon and mild, and include mood changes, cramps, and difficulty sleeping.⁸

Propionyl-L-carnitine

An amino acid studied mainly in men who have both erectile dysfunction and diabetes, rather than in the general population.

Horny goat weed

There are no published studies on whether it works in humans.

What exists is laboratory and animal work on icariin, the compound in the plant, which does appear to affect nitric oxide and PDE5 in rats. Whether any of that translates to people hasn't been tested, and there are no long-term safety studies in any species.

It's on this list because people ask about it, not because there's anything to report.

Yohimbe

Bark from a central African tree, sold in unlicensed preparations.

The evidence for it is weak, and the side effects are the issue: raised blood pressure, fast or irregular heartbeat, anxiety, agitation, and stomach upset.

What's "the horny goat trick"?

If you've arrived after seeing that phrase in an advert, here's the plain answer.

There's no trick. "Horny goat weed" is the common name for a plant, Epimedium, and it's the one with no human studies behind it. The same applies to "the golden root trick", which is Rhodiola rosea.

These phrases come from long video adverts that withhold the ingredient name to keep you watching. What's being withheld is usually a herb you can buy in any health food shop, and the evidence behind it is set out above.

If an advert won't name the ingredient until you've watched twenty minutes, the ingredient isn't the point of the advert.

Is there a natural version of Viagra?

No.

Sildenafil and tadalafil are specific molecules that block a specific enzyme. Nothing growing in the ground does that in the same way, and there's no recipe that produces one at home.

What does exist is a market of products sold as "natural viagra", a significant proportion of which have been found to contain the real thing, undeclared, at doses nobody has checked.^1,2 That's the opposite of a natural alternative: it's a prescription medicine with no prescription, no dose control, and no warning about the interactions that make it dangerous for some people.

If what you want is something that works, the licensed versions are available with a clinical assessment, which is there to check it's safe for you.

What works better than any of this

Erection problems are often the first visible sign of something else: blood flow, blood sugar, hormones, or a medication you already take. The vessels involved are small, which is why they show strain before anything else does.

If it happens every time, has come on gradually, or your morning erections have faded, that's worth investigating rather than supplementing. A blood test will tell you whether low testosterone, cholesterol, or blood sugar is involved.

The numan take

Korean red ginseng has the most behind it, and the reviewers who pooled the trials still stopped short of calling the evidence sufficient. L-citrulline and maca have small supporting studies. Horny goat weed has no human evidence. Yohimbe has side effects worth taking seriously.

The thing worth carrying away isn't about any one of them. It's that products sold as natural treatments for erectile dysfunction have repeatedly been found to contain undeclared prescription medicine, and nobody is checking the bottle you buy.

If something isn't working, finding out why will get you further than any of these.

References

^{1 Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. 20 million illegal erectile dysfunction pills seized as MHRA warns against risky online buys. Gov.uk. 2026. [accessed 13 Oct 2026] Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/20-million-illegal-erectile-dysfunction-pills-seized-as-mhra-warns-against-risky-online-buys} 

^{2 Petkova-Gueorguieva E, Gueorguiev S, Lebanova H, Madzharov V, Mihaylova A. Survey on sildenafil, tadalafil, and vardenafil concentrations in food supplements for erectile dysfunction. Int J Anal Chem. 2022;2022:3950190.} 

^{3 Jang DJ, Lee MS, Shin BC, Lee YC, Ernst E. Red ginseng for treating erectile dysfunction: a systematic review. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2008;66(4):444–450.} 

^{4 Coon JT, Ernst E. Panax ginseng: a systematic review of adverse effects and drug interactions. Drug Saf. 2002;25(5):323–344.} 

^{5 Cormio L, De Siati M, Lorusso F, Selvaggio O, Mirabella L, Sanguedolce F, et al. Oral L-citrulline supplementation improves erection hardness in men with mild erectile dysfunction. Urology. 2011;77(1):119–122.} 

^{6 Zenico T, Cicero AFG, Valmorri L, Mercuriali M, Bercovich E. Subjective effects of Lepidium meyenii (Maca) extract on well-being and sexual performances in patients with mild erectile dysfunction. Andrologia. 2009;41(2):95–99.} 

^{7 Srivatsav A, Balasubramanian A, Pathak UI, et al. Efficacy and safety of common ingredients in aphrodisiacs used for erectile dysfunction: a review. Sex Med Rev. 2020.} 

^{8 Ulloa Del Carpio N, Alvarado-Corella D, Quiñones-Laveriano DM, Araya-Sibaja A, Vega-Baudrit J, Monagas-Juan M, et al. Exploring the chemical and pharmacological variability of Lepidium meyenii: a comprehensive review of the effects of maca. Front Pharmacol. 2024;15:1360422.}