An Ancient Medicinal Herb Helps Women’s Sex Problems

The berries of the ironically named “chaste” tree boosts libido and much more.

• The ancients believed chaste tree berries suppress libido. Actually, they enhance it.
• Chaste tree berries boost women's arousal, vaginal self-lubrication, and orgasms, and ease sex-related pain.
• Nonsexual benefits of chaste tree include increasing lactation, and easing PMS, cyclic breast pain, and discomforts of menopause.

The lovely lavender flowers of the chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus), a shrub native to the Mediterranean, produce small, dark fruits (berries) resembling peppercorns. Ancient European herbalists believed the berries suppressed libido, aiding those who sought chastity—hence the “chaste” in its name, and its Latin species name, agnus-castus, meaning chaste lamb. Ironically, chaste tree berries are actually less likely to kill libido than boost it. A recent Iranian study shows that the dried, powdered berries increase women’s sexual desire, and have several other effects many women would welcome.

An Ancient Medicinal Herb Helps Women’s Sex Problems