Benefits
Female sexual function: a manufacturer's unpublished survey, not a published trial
The 92% rise in Female Sexual Function Index score comes from a consumer study run by the supplier that has not been published or peer reviewed, so nobody outside the company can check how it was run or whether there was a placebo group. None of the four published references on this page is a human study of Liboost. The one published human study cited here (2019) tested a different product, Libicare, which combines fenugreek, damiana, tribulus and ginkgo, in 29 postmenopausal women aged 45 to 65, and its own authors call it an exploratory, non-controlled, observational study. Without a control group, its results cannot be separated from expectation or normal variation, and they cannot be credited to damiana alone or to Liboost.
Male sexual function: no published human data at all
There is no published human study of Liboost, or of damiana on its own, in men. The 40% figure comes from the supplier's unpublished consumer study, which has not been peer reviewed. The closest published work in males is a 2013 study in male rats, and animal behaviour does not show what a supplement does in people. The only published human data cited on this page came from women taking a different four-herb product.
PDE-5 pathway activity seen in cell studies only
In laboratory experiments on human cells, the Liboost extract reduced expression of phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5), the enzyme that erectile dysfunction medicines such as sildenafil and tadalafil block. This was measured in cells in a dish, not in people, and no human trial has tested whether it changes erectile function. PDE-5 inhibition prevents cGMP degradation, allowing sustained smooth muscle relaxation and improved blood flow. Naming prescription medicines describes the pathway that was looked at in cells; it is not a claim that this supplement works the way those medicines do.
Aromatase inhibition for testosterone support
In a 2026 laboratory study, the Liboost extract lowered the activity of aromatase, the enzyme that converts testosterone into estradiol, in cell-based assays. That is a test tube result. No study has measured testosterone in anyone taking Liboost, so it is not known whether it changes hormone levels or desire in people. Comparisons with prescription aromatase inhibitors used in cancer care are not appropriate for a supplement.
Three characterized mechanisms of action
A 2026 laboratory study of the branded extract looked at three things in human cell models: PDE-5 expression, aromatase activity and nitric oxide production. These are ideas about how damiana might act, not effects shown in people. A pathway seen in cells does not tell you whether a supplement does anything for the person taking it.
Consumer acceptance — high purchase intent
The supplier reports that in its own unpublished consumer study, 83% of participants said they would buy the product and 85% would recommend it. Purchase intent is a marketing measure, not a health outcome, and with no published report and no control group described there is no way to separate it from expectation.
Standardized to a measured flavonoid content
Sexual enhancement products are one of the categories most often found spiked with unlabeled prescription erectile dysfunction drugs, so choosing a standardized, tested extract is sensible. Standardization means the supplier measures the flavonoid content of each batch. That is a quality control step, not proof of purity, and it has nothing to do with whether the ingredient works. The supplier also lists doping-free, halal and kosher certifications.
Mayan/Aztec traditional precedent
Damiana's earliest recorded use as an aphrodisiac dates to the Mayans and Aztecs centuries ago. The botanical was used to strengthen and stimulate sexual function in traditional Mexican medicine. Traditional use is history, not evidence of effect. It suggests the plant has been consumed for a long time, but it does not show that a modern standardized extract improves sexual function.
Mechanism of action
PDE-5 inhibition for smooth muscle relaxation
Phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) degrades cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), the second messenger that triggers vascular smooth muscle relaxation. Drugs such as sildenafil work by blocking this enzyme. In cell experiments the Liboost extract lowered PDE-5 expression and moderately raised nitric oxide production, but this has never been tested in people and no human study has measured blood flow or erectile function with this extract.
Aromatase inhibition for testosterone preservation
Aromatase converts testosterone into estradiol, and in a laboratory assay the Liboost extract reduced aromatase activity. Whether that changes testosterone in a person who swallows a capsule is unknown, because no human study has measured it. This is a proposed mechanism only, and it is not a reason to expect a hormone change or to use the product for erectile problems.
Claimed testosterone degradation inhibition, not supported by the cited paper
Marketing material describes Liboost as also blocking enzymes that break down testosterone. The published laboratory paper on this extract reported PDE-5 expression, aromatase activity and nitric oxide production, so this extra pathway is not backed by the references listed here. No study has measured testosterone in people taking Liboost.
Central nervous system effects
A 2013 study reported calming and pro-sexual behaviour effects of a damiana extract in male rats, acting through the nitric oxide pathway in the brain. That is animal work. No human study has tested damiana or Liboost for mood, stress or anxiety, so this page should not be read as evidence for those uses.
Hormonal balance support
Damiana is often marketed for hormonal balance. No published study has measured testosterone, estradiol or any other hormone in people taking damiana or Liboost, so any claim about improved hormone ratios is extrapolated from cell experiments. The one published human study in this area gave postmenopausal women a four-herb product containing damiana plus fenugreek, tribulus and ginkgo, with no control group, so it cannot show what damiana on its own does around menopause.
Clinical trials
A 4-week consumer study run by the manufacturer, Pharmactive, testing Liboost at 300 mg/day in healthy adults. It has not been published in a peer reviewed journal and does not match any of the four references listed on this page, so the design, whether a placebo group existed, and how the results were analysed cannot be checked by anyone outside the company.
60 healthy adults, men and women, aged 25 to 60, as reported by the manufacturer. No control or placebo group is described, and the sample is small.
The manufacturer reports that Female Sexual Function Index scores rose 92% (p=0.01), that 40% of men reported better erectile function and satisfaction, and that 83% intended to buy the product while 85% would recommend it. Because the study is unpublished and no comparison group is described, these numbers cannot be separated from expectation, and they have not been reviewed by anyone independent of the company.
A 2026 laboratory paper (Pharmaceuticals, PMID 42075853) that analysed the extract's chemistry by HPLC and mass spectrometry, identifying 49 compounds, then tested it in human cell models measuring PDE-5 expression, aromatase activity and nitric oxide production. No people took part.
Not applicable — in vitro mechanistic and characterization studies.
In cell models the extract lowered PDE-5 expression, reduced aromatase activity, and moderately increased nitric oxide production. These are laboratory observations only. They do not show that testosterone rises, that blood flow improves, or that sexual function changes in a person, and a claim about resistance compared with prescription drugs does not follow from a cell study.
A larger 4-week consumer study described by the manufacturer, said to involve 120 healthy adults answering sexual function questionnaires. It has not been published or peer reviewed, and none of the four references on this page corresponds to it, so the claim that it was placebo controlled cannot be verified.
120 healthy adults, according to the manufacturer. Design details, including whether a placebo group was actually used, are not published.
The manufacturer reports the same headline numbers as the smaller study, 40% for men and 92% for women. Two unpublished in-house studies from the same company are not independent replication. There is currently no peer reviewed human trial of Liboost in either sex.