Aphrodisiacs have a long history, and their ingredients and effects were quite mysterious in previous documents. Foods in modern daily life, such as onions and garlic, are almost always described as substances with significant effects in these documents. In this sense, modern people seem to live a life immersed in aphrodisiacs. But then again, do aphrodisiacs work?
Text: Saito Katsuhiro｜Translator: Lin Yongchun
Aphrodisiacs, in a broad sense, are drugs that stimulate love emotions, and in a narrow sense, they are drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction. The effects of using aphrodisiacs vary greatly from person to person, and will also change with your trust and confidence in the drug. Results like this are called the placebo effect.
Aphrodisiacs have a long history, and their ingredients and effects were quite mysterious in previous documents. Foods in modern daily life, such as onions and garlic, are almost always described as substances with significant effects in these documents. In this sense, modern people seem to live a life immersed in aphrodisiacs.
Ingredients contained in aphrodisiacs
Photo Credit: Shutterstock / Dazhi Image
There are many kinds of ingredients used in aphrodisiacs, from which we can also see the rich imagination of human beings. Botanical ingredients include cocoa, coffee, vanilla, Korean ginseng, etc. Poisons such as datura and aconite are included, perhaps because of their role as cardiotonics.
Mandragora, a plant that has never been heard of in modern times, also appears frequently. Its roots are human-shaped like the Korean ginseng. When pulled out of the ground, it screams, causing those who hear it to go crazy. Therefore, it must be pulled out by a dog on a rope, making it a difficult plant to handle.
As for animal ingredients, there are sea ginseng, sea lion penis, cow, sheep testicles, etc. Chinese people prefer antlers, Japan regards roasted black gecko as a treasure, and Europe likes lizards and also uses fragrant ambergris and musk. Among them, musk is the gonad of male musk deer, and ambergris is the diseased stone of whale.
Sincerity leads to spirituality, and it can work as long as you believe?
Photo Credit: Shutterstock / Dazhi Image
Drugs that improve erectile function have the effect of promoting genital congestion. Yohimbine and strychnine have been used in the past, but recently Viagra is more famous. Yohimbine is a chemical substance obtained from the yohimbe tree, a plant in the Rubiaceae family, that can block factors that weaken excitement, and the effect has been proven to be quite weak. To be honest, the effect of suggestion is even more significant, right?
Another ointment is a mixture of various herbs that seems to make orgasm easier. In addition to Korean ginseng and toad mucus, powder from insects such as tiger beetles seems to be used in both the East and the West.
These are the main ingredients of aphrodisiacs, but the actual effect is a placebo effect, which may have something to do with whether you think it is effective. After all, sincerity leads to success, even if it is a trivial thing, as long as you believe it, it will work.
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This article is excerpted from“Drugs and Poisons Active on the Historical Stage”published by Taiwan Tung Pai
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Book introduction
Poison and medicine may seem like two completely opposite things at first glance, but they are actually two sides of the same coin. For example, the highly toxic plant Aconitum is used as an important cardiotonic in traditional Chinese medicine. The highly poisonous opium that turns people into cripples and loses their social abilities is a good painkiller for cancer patients. Most poisons can become irreplaceable medicines when used in small amounts and with care, whereas drugs can become poisons if used in large quantities. In other words, “Poison and medicine are just the difference in dosage.”
Nature is full of poisons and medicines. It is said that there are approximately 5,000 species of mushrooms in Japan alone, one-third of which are poisonous. There are also many types of plants that are toxic. In the past, humans used these plants as poisonous bait for hunting, but now they are used for medical purposes and even as recreational hobbies. Algae and small animals in the ocean produce various highly toxic substances. These toxins not only remain in the bodies of the producers, but are also widely ingested and stored in the bodies of many fish, becoming a shield to protect themselves or a weapon to hunt prey.
Poisons and drugs not only come from animals, plants and minerals in nature, but many are also synthesized by us humans using our own knowledge and technology. For example, aspirin, which Americans rely on like a religion, sulfa drugs that saved the life of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill when he was suffering from pneumonia, vaccines and antibiotics that have saved countless lives as preventive medicine, and mRNA that appeared in the new coronavirus epidemic Vaccines etc are good examples.
Poisons are terrible because they can kill people in small amounts. On the contrary, drugs can save people’s lives and save people from pain because they can be killed in small amounts. This book will explain the differences and chemical similarities between poisons and drugs in an easy-to-understand and interesting way, so that readers can have a broader understanding of the world of poisons and drugs.
Editor in charge: Gu Jiaxuan
Review editor: Lin Junjue
2023-09-23 02:28:00
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