A three-year study by a group of scientists at the Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI) in south Indian state Kerala, claims to have discovered a natural substitute for impotency drugs.
An aphrodisiac content obtained from a common orchid plant can cure impotency, the scientists, in their study, have concluded.
The aphrodisiac compond found in the orchid species called Vanda tessellata, known as 'mara vazha' in local parlance, has the capacity to activate cells and nerves in the male organ and enhance the levels of nitric oxide, according to the study.
Though the orchid variety had been used as a herbal cure-all by local communities in India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar for long, the sexual stimulation capability of its property had not been discovered yet, it said.
"We have been carrying out experiments in the area for the last three years. Our trials on mice have proved positive and the pups were found to be quite normal," Dr Subramonian who led the study, said.
As per the study, the aphrodisiac property in the plant has explicit advantage over existing stimulation drugs like Sildenafil.
With leafy stem, thick leathery and curved leaves, the 30-60 cm long Vanda tessellata grows on the surface of plants.
The greenish-yellow coloured lower parts and the purple out-growth makes it different from other orchid species.
According to botanists, the plant is used as a medicinal ingredient for various treatments. It has anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic, anti-microbial and anti-pyretic contents and also found to be effective in healing wounds.
According to sexologists, various lifystyle diseases like diabetes, kidney disorders, vascular ailments, high blood pressure and endocrine diseases are contributing to impotency at large.