Ambrien, from sperm whales’ guts, was used for libido enhancement by Arab folk medicine.
Aphrodisiacs
Other so-called aphrodisiacs from different countries include crushed pearls, elk antlers, rhino horn powder (costs more than platinum, and common in Africa, China and India), ambergris (China, South East Asia and India), kasturi in paan (in India), eating live oysters, bird’s nest soup (delicacy of China), honey (used in ancient Egypt for impotence), truffles and even the stench of rotten eggs (both French aphrodisiacs), consuming bear bile and gall bladders, python bile, cow gallstones, geckos, pangolins, roosters, sea slugs,sea cucumbers (Chinese cuisine), penises of serpents, otters, seals and tigers as well as tiger/leopard bone wine (common in China, Taiwan and South Korea), freshly made cobra/snake wine (China, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Korea, Cambodia), and sex portions made from bones of lions (South Africa). Also ambrien from the guts of sperm whales was used in Arab folk medicine to improve libido.
The musk deer is not the only Himalayan creature from which an aphrodisiac (kasturi) is derived. There are caterpillars found in the region whose mummified bodies are sold. Called keeda jadi in India but called yasar gumba or yatcha gumbo across the border, weight-wise they fetch up to three times the price of gold and are frequently smuggled to Nepal and China. Actually it is a fungus which grows as a parasite on the larvae of a particular caterpillar thus killing and mummifying it.
2024-25 saw a sudden worldwide demand for tiger bone glue which was the reason for tigers being poached in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Tiger bone glue is made by pressure-cooking tiger bones for 2-3 days resulting in a brown, sticky sap-like substance sold in the form of cakes. It is used as an aphrodisiac and in traditional medicine for muscle and bone ailments.
Mexicans consider turtle eggs aphrodisiacs. In South America’s Colombian culture the wings and legs of queen leaf cutter ants soaked in salt and roasted are traditional wedding gifts.
The consumption of the Kadaknath/Kali Masi – completely black wild hens of Madhya Pradesh – has been recently advocated for infusing vigour. And, the latest are house sparrows, their decline in numbers being attributed by some to people eating them as aphrodisiacs after Hakims claimed to have prepared a potion from the male bird’s meat. Khanasutra author also lists game birds and sparrows as one of the foods that work as aphrodisiacs.
In 2017 the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau with the help of some NGOs who did undercover investigations, caught traders of hatha-jodi (claimed to be the root of a plant, but actually the dried penis of a monitor lizard) saying it imparted good luck and mystical powers on the libido. Male lizards having hemi penis are captured from the wild. The area around the living lizard’s penis is burnt so it protrudes. It is then excised with a sharp knife and sun-dried. It resembles joined hands hence called hatha-jodi. In 2021 Traffic-WWF announced that “buying was stealing” with the demand for hatha-jodi having resulted in an increase in poaching and illegal trade in monitor lizards, so much so that the survival of the 4 species found in India was at stake.
In November 2024 monitor lizard’s genitalia or hatha-jodi (along with porcupine quills and peacock feathers) were illegally offered for sale in the Mahatma Phule Mandai market area in Pune. Again in March 2025 the Maharashtra Forest Department arrested 3 persons at Solapur for smuggling 151 genital parts of monitor lizards.
Distilled liquor from sugarcane called Mattu is considered an aphrodisiac in Tamil Nadu. In fact, a number of alcoholic intoxications of different cultures are said to have aphrodisiac properties, but whether veg or not, is any one’s guess.
Some Alternatives
Almonds, saunf/fennel/aniseed (Roman doctors prescribed it), anantamul/nannari, ashwagandha (Ayurvedic herbs – nannari is available as a syrup and the addition of soda converts it to American kind of root beer), red sandalwood (ingredient in Ayurvedic herbal medicine and agarbatti aphrodisiacs), annatto/sinduri, asafoetida/hing, asparagus, avocados, bananas (considered a sign of fertility in India – they contain bromelain associated with testosterone); also Americans drink red banana sap as an aphrodisiac), basil/tulsi, carrots, celery, chocolate (the Aztecs were the first to use it as an aphrodisiac), hot chilli peppers (in Mexico and Peru), coffee, coriander/dhaniya, fresh figs (Cleopatra of Egypt is said to have eaten them regularly), galangal root (a spice closely related to ginger and turmeric that boosts male fertility), garlic, ginger/adrak, ginsing, Himalayan/Tibetan gojiberry/“fruit Viagra”, yohimbe (bark of an African tree), horny goat weed (used in traditional Chinese medicine to stimulate hormones of males and females), pistachio (contain flavonoids), jackfruit seeds (roasted), liquorice/jethimadh, lotus seed/thamchet/makhana, maca root (similar to radish grown in Peru), mustard paste and mustard greens/sarson, nutmeg/jaiphal (an Unani stimulant), pineapple, pine nuts, raspberries, rocket salad/tara mira, saffron (Persians sprinkle it on beds of newlyweds), strawberries and vanilla are all believed to be vegetarian culinary aphrodisiacs.
Page last updated on 04/03/25