{"ok":true,"entry":{"slug":"horny-goat-weed","kind":"supplement","name":"horny goat weed","aliases":["Epimedium","icariin","yin yang huo"],"brands_sg":["NOW Foods","Nutricost","Lemme","Nature's Craft","Force Factor"],"class":"botanical","tags":["mens-health"],"use_for":"traditional tonic and aphrodisiac use — human data thin","use_after":null,"use_duration":"the one placebo-controlled arm ran 30 days per dose","take_with":null,"pros":["one placebo-controlled crossover trial in 29 men exists","long recorded use as a tonic in asian herbal practice"],"cons":["that trial: no symptom change at either dose","hepatobiliary adverse reports have grown with use","some epimedium flavonoids are tied to liver toxicity"],"dose_note":"the one placebo-controlled human trial found here ran 30 days of placebo then 30 days each at a lower and a higher daily dose, and neither dose changed symptoms; its abstract states no milligram amount","dosage":{"ul":null,"unit":"mg","fda_dv":null,"rda_ai":null,"ul_status":"none_established","population":"general adult","hsa_max_daily":null},"ul_status":"none_established","sg_class":null,"cautions":["liver — hepatobiliary adverse reactions have been reported as use of epimedium preparations widened","icariside II and related epimedium flavonoids are the components tied to liver-cell injury in lab models","the one human trial enrolled 29 men with gulf war illness, not a general population"],"clashes":[],"sources":[{"id":"hgw_review2016","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC4925704","label":"Anti-cancer properties of the naturally occurring aphrodisiacs: icariin and its derivatives (Tan et al., Front Pharmacol 2016)","quote":"Epimedium (family Berberidaceae), commonly known as Horny Goat Weed or Yin Yang Huo, is commonly used as a tonic, aphrodisiac, anti-rheumatic and anti-cancer agent in traditional herbal formulations in Asian countries","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"hgw_gwi2021_design","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC8037868","label":"A placebo-controlled, pseudo-randomized, crossover trial of botanical agents for Gulf War Illness (Younger et al., Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021)","quote":"We used a placebo-controlled, pseudo-randomized, crossover design to test the effects of … epimedium (Epimedium sagittatum) in 29 men with GWI … 30 days of placebo, followed by 30 days each of lower-dose and higher-dose botanical","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"hgw_gwi2021","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC8037868","label":"A placebo-controlled, pseudo-randomized, crossover trial of botanical agents for Gulf War Illness (Younger et al., Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021)","quote":"Epimedium showed no significant decreases of GWI symptoms in the lower (p = 0.936) or higher (p = 0.183) dose conditions … Epimedium does not appear to beneficially affect GWI symptom severity","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"hgw_liver2026","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42341855","label":"Screening of hepatotoxic components of Epimedium brevicornu Maxim. by liver microfluidic-organ-chip (Cui et al., J Ethnopharmacol 2026)","quote":"Epimedium brevicornu Maxim., a traditional tonic Chinese herbal medicine traditionally regarded as non-toxic … the number of adverse reactions such as hepatobiliary toxicity has gradually increased, thereby raising concerns about its safety","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"hgw_hep2024","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC10975178","label":"Evaluation on the potential for hepatotoxic components from Herba Epimedii to induce apoptosis in HepG2 cells (Zhang et al., Molecules 2024)","quote":"The potential hepatotoxicity of Herba Epimedii is a focal point … the flavonoid constituents of Herba Epimedii, sagittatoside A, icariside I, baohuoside I and icaritin, are related to the hepatotoxicity of this herb","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"hsa_prohibited_2025","url":"https://file.go.gov.sg/hsa-chp-prohibited-restricted-ing-guidelines.pdf","label":"HSA — Guidelines on Prohibited and Restricted Ingredients in Health Supplements and Traditional Medicines, GL-CHPB-1-012 Rev 001 (Oct 2025)","quote":"The objective of this guideline is to highlight the substances of concern when used in HS and TM and is not meant to be an exhaustive list [Epimedium spp. / horny goat weed not listed in Annex A or B]","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"iherb_sg","url":"https://sg.iherb.com/c/horny-goat-weed","label":"iHerb Singapore — Horny Goat Weed category (default order)","quote":"NOW Foods, Horny Goat Weed Extract, 90 Tablets … Nutricost, Horny Goat Weed, 600 mg … Lemme, Play, Daily Intimacy Gummies … Nature's Craft, Horny Goat Weed, Xxtra Strength Herbal Complex … Force Factor, Fundamentals, Horny Goat Weed Max","accessed":"2026-08-27"}],"brand_certs":[{"brand":"Lemme","example":null,"programme":"NSF Certified for Sport","matching_products":0,"brand_total_certified":1},{"brand":"Force Factor","example":null,"programme":"NSF Certified for Sport","matching_products":0,"brand_total_certified":6}],"updated_at":"2026-08-30T17:59:36.026222+08:00"},"disclaimer":"kozen-x is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. it lists what published sources have written down. absence of a record is not the same as safe."}