Ingredient: horny goat weed
Horny Goat Weed for Men: What 10 mg of Epimedium Extract Means
Horny goat weed is the common name for Epimedium, a leafy herb used in traditional Chinese medicine. HoneyBoost prints 10 mg of 8:1 horny goat weed extract per gummy, equal to 80 mg of plant. The research is limited, and we found no human erection trial. No study tested HoneyBoost.
Written by the HoneyBoost label deskUpdated
The basics01
What is horny goat weed and what is epimedium extract?
Horny goat weed is the popular name for plants of the genus Epimedium. An epimedium extract is the concentrated material pulled from the leaves.
Traditional use covers fatigue and sexual problems. Memorial Sloan Kettering calls the evidence limited. It found no clinical trials for fatigue, and says more studies are needed for sexual dysfunction (MSK, Epimedium (Horny Goat Weed)).
The name is a sales hook, not a finding. A product name does not tell you a dose or a result. The photo below shows the plant material, not the amount in a gummy.
| Name on the label | Horny Goat Weed (Epimedium spp.) Extract 8:1, 10 mg (equivalent to 80 mg horny goat weed) |
|---|---|
| What it is | A plant (Epimedium species) also called yin yang huo |
| Printed amount per gummy | 10 mg of extract printed, which the label says equals 80 mg of horny goat weed |
| Plant equivalent on the label | 80 mg (8:1 extract) |
| Amount used in research | No human erection or desire trial of Epimedium was found, so there is no studied dose; LiverTox lists a usual product dose of one 250 or 500 mg tablet a day |
| Strength of evidence | Lab and animal findings only for its main compound icariin; human evidence is thin |
| Main caution | MSK lists cautions for blood pressure, heart rhythm and hormone-sensitive conditions and says it may affect blood clotting; ask a pharmacist if you take heart or blood pressure medicine. |
On the label02
How much horny goat weed extract is in one HoneyBoost gummy?
One HoneyBoost gummy holds 10 mg of horny goat weed extract, printed as "Horny Goat Weed (Epimedium spp.) Extract 8:1." The label says that equals 80 mg of plant.
An 8:1 ratio means about 8 parts of plant went into 1 part of extract. The panel prints this on its own line, and there is no blend.
| Printed amount | 10 mg extract per gummy |
|---|---|
| Extract ratio | 8:1 |
| Plant equivalent | 80 mg |
| Daily Value | Not established |
| Species or active level (icariin) | Not printed |
"Epimedium spp." means the maker did not name one species. See all seven lines on the supplement facts page.
The evidence03
Does horny goat weed work like a prescription ED drug?
No source we read says so. Horny goat weed is not an ED medicine, and we found no human trial of it for erections.
Lab work found that icariin, a compound in epimedium, has a mild PDE5-blocking effect (MSK, Epimedium (Horny Goat Weed)). PDE5 is the enzyme that prescription ED drugs block. A test-tube effect is far from a result in a man. Memorial Sloan Kettering still asks for more studies.
Prescription ED drugs are tested, dosed and matched to your health. A supplement is none of those. Keep any prescribed medicine and ask your doctor about it (NIDDK, Treatment for ED).
HoneyBoost does not claim to treat ED, and neither do we. For the basics of erection problems, see erectile dysfunction basics.
Printed vs studied04
How does 10 mg compare with the amounts people take?
There is no studied dose to compare, because we found no human trial. The only yardstick is the usual product size, and 10 mg is a small share of it.
LiverTox says a usual product dose is one 250 mg or 500 mg tablet a day (LiverTox, Horny Goat Weed). Ten milligrams is 4% of 250 mg and 2% of 500 mg. Tablets differ in what they hold, so treat this as a rough scale, not a match.
| Item | Amount | One gummy as a share |
|---|---|---|
| HoneyBoost gummy | 10 mg extract (80 mg plant) | - |
| Usual tablet, lower | 250 mg | 4% |
| Usual tablet, higher | 500 mg | 2% |
| Human erection trial dose | None found | Not comparable |
That is why the dose bars on the ingredients page leave this line empty.
Safety05
What are horny goat weed side effects and who should avoid it?
People with heart disease are told to avoid epimedium. A rapid, irregular heartbeat has been reported with it.
Memorial Sloan Kettering also lists a case of fast heart rhythm and hypomania in a heart-failure patient. It says to avoid epimedium with hormone-sensitive cancers and with aromatase inhibitors. For drugs processed by CYP3A4, it notes a possible interaction whose clinical meaning is not known (MSK, Epimedium (Horny Goat Weed)).
- Heart disease or a fast, irregular pulse: ask your doctor first.
- Hormone-sensitive cancer or an aromatase inhibitor: ask your oncology team.
- Any prescribed medicine: ask your pharmacist about CYP3A4.
Chest pain, fainting or a racing heart that will not settle means 911. An erection lasting more than 4 hours needs emergency care (Mayo Clinic, Priapism).
LiverTox rates epimedium an unlikely cause of liver injury (LiverTox, Horny Goat Weed). See HoneyBoost side effects for the rest.
HoneyBoost: from $49 a bottle30 gummies a bottle · 2, 3 or 6 bottles · shipping shown at checkout · 60-day money-back guarantee
See packsQuality06
Is the horny goat weed in a gummy tested?
The label prints the amount, but no lab report for this lot is published, and no lab is named.
The front says "Lab Tested, No Artificial Additives," while the Other Ingredients list "artificial color." We cannot reconcile the two from the bottle, and the seller should explain. Ask the order desk for the lot's results. More on the testing and quality page.
FDA has found sexual-enhancement products with hidden drugs (FDA, Sexual Enhancement and Energy Product Notifications). Nothing here says HoneyBoost is one of them.
Your decision07
Is HoneyBoost worth it for the horny goat weed?
If this herb is your reason, know what you are buying: a printed 10 mg, a limited evidence base and a cautions list that includes the heart.
- For: the amount is printed and no blend hides it.
- Against: no human trial dose, and 10 mg is a small tablet share.
- Also: 3 g of added sugar per gummy, and a 60-day guarantee listed at checkout.
Two bottles cost $158; see the pricing page. We may earn a commission from order links (FTC, Endorsement Guides Q&A).
See HoneyBoost packsKeep reading08
Where does horny goat weed sit among the seven label lines?
It is one of six extracts that together weigh 75 mg, about 1.8% of a 4.2 g gummy. Open any page below.
FAQ09
Horny goat weed questions answered
What does horny goat weed do for men?
Traditional use covers fatigue and sexual problems, but Memorial Sloan Kettering calls the evidence limited and found no clinical trials for fatigue. We found no human erection trial. Lab work shows only a mild PDE5-blocking effect.
Is epimedium the same as horny goat weed?
Yes. Horny goat weed is the common name for plants of the genus Epimedium. The HoneyBoost label prints Epimedium spp., which means no single species is named for its 8:1 extract.
How much horny goat weed is in HoneyBoost?
Each gummy holds 10 mg of 8:1 horny goat weed extract, equal to 80 mg of plant by the label. A usual tablet is 250 or 500 mg, so one gummy is 4% or 2% of that.
Who should avoid horny goat weed?
Memorial Sloan Kettering says to avoid it with heart disease and hormone-sensitive cancers, and with aromatase inhibitors. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist first if you take medicines that CYP3A4 processes.
Can horny goat weed hurt the liver?
Unlikely. LiverTox rates it an unlikely cause of liver injury, with a score of E. That page covers the herb in general, not HoneyBoost, and a lab report for this gummy is not published.
Does horny goat weed affect the heart?
It may. A rapid, irregular heartbeat has been reported, and a heart-failure patient had a fast rhythm and hypomania. People with heart disease are told to avoid epimedium and ask a doctor first.
Who wrote this10
Written and reviewed by
Pages built from the label, the order page and linked NIH, FDA, FTC, Mayo Clinic and peer-reviewed sources.
Last updated . Read our editorial standards and how we check reviews. This website is the information site for a USA Authorized HoneyBoost Retailer. It is not the manufacturer or the distributor named on the label. We earn money when you buy through our order links.
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