Damiana (Turnera diffusa / Turnera aphrodisiaca) essential oil
somethingforthewickend.co.uk (somethingforthewickend.co.uk)
Damiana Essential Oil
A sweet, spicy oil, often used for it’s sensual qualities. Reputedly helps to bring oxygen to genital areas, or create a sensual atmosphere when used in an oil burner.
http://www.organicformulations.com.au/aroma_quick_guide.asp (http://www.organicformulations.com.au/aroma_quick_guide.asp)
“DAMIANA (leaves) turnera diffusa - A sweet, spicy & sensual oil that is generally balancing & uplifting.”
http://www.bodyandfitness.com/Information/Herbal/Research/damiana.htm (http://www.bodyandfitness.com/Information/Herbal/Research/damiana.htm)
“The essential oil from damiana leaves contains small fragrant substances known as terpenes. A small body of research exists which associates terpenes with several other substances comprising the sexual communication chemicals known as pheromones. Out of four studies mentioning terpenes in relation to sexual behavior, three involve insect mating behavior, while one study found that male white-tailed deer produce terpene-containing pheromones in greater amounts during the breeding season (not exactly compelling “love potion” evidence unless you’re a deer or a bug). Furthermore, damiana leaves also contain alkaloids that have been associated with insect pheromones in a variety of studies. Despite this possible link, scientific studies have not been conducted to associate any causative effect of damiana with regards to pheromone production in humans.”
http://www.essentiallyoils.com/Newsletters/2002/December_2002_Newsletter/december_2002_newsletter.html (http://www.essentiallyoils.com/Newsletters/2002/December_2002_Newsletter/december_2002_newsletter.html)
“An aromatherapist discusses damiana.
Were you being disingenuous when you said you didn’t quite know why it** [damiana]** was so popular with therapists? e-mailed Victoria Plum, my mentor on aromatherapy matters. In fact I was not: I simply know little about it. Victoria explains.
The answer, apart from the fact that it is taught at the Tisserand Institute where the teachers are convinced of its efficacy and spread passion for it amongst their students, she thinks derives from its herbal use. Although she admits that whole herbal use into aromatherapy use may not be completely accurate, it is her experience that it is, as in herbal use, a tonic and a restorative to the nervous system. She suspects that its reputation as an “aphrodisiac” may have more to do with its effect on a more general sense of well-being.
Extrapolating much from its herbal use as a urinary antiseptic, a diuretic, and a stimilant and restorative where there is anxiety and depression she believes that it is used rather like Ginseng, particularly where clients are suffering from adrenal exhaustion due to long-term stress. She deduces from this that, if it were viewed in the light of traditional Chinese Medicine, it would be regarded as a kidney tonic.
Although she would certainly use it as a regulator of the menstrual cycle, particularly where there is a stress-linked disruption of the cycle, and for anxiety/depression premenstrually and menopausally, she uses it without regard to gender as a tonic/restorative for ‘adrenal exhaustion’ or, as she puts it, where clients have reached such a state of “running on empty” that they have almost forgotten how to listen to their bodies rest and restore.
Clients seem to experience the oil as being very grounding, calming and strengthening. However, as Victoria readily admits, how much this has to do with her own passionate conviction she does not know. She suspects, like many practitioners, that her own strong beliefs in the specific actions of oils, shared with clients who have a strong trust in her, have much to do with the success of her treatments.
Whilst she acknowledges willingly that the translation of herbal use into aromatherapy use may not bear pharmacological investigation, like many aromatherapists she regards “placebo” as her best friend: without saying an aromatherapy massage with damiana will ease whatever, she does say that this has been used herbally for whatever and that’s why I should like to use it with you today. If clients respond positively to the smell of damiana, she finds that many will feel it strong and calming.
In summary, she uses it where there is a general sense of fatigue, where vital energy is low, for LIFE - whether that affects appetite for sex or food. She uses it to bring clients more into their bodies, to encourage them to “be here”. She comments: This is very much an instinctive response to the oil, and it’s possible that this is all in my mind. Unfortunately, as it is so terribly hard to source for us, I doubt there’s much chance for aromatherapists as a group to compare and contrast how we use it. I’d be really interested to know who is using it and for what and with whom. If this spurs you on to try and find a source, so much the better!
That’s me under the gun: I had better get cracking! Many thanks Victoria, always a source of inspiration.”
