Dr. Mao’s HERB CORNER: Cnidium Seed

Spring awakening conjures up nature’s abundance and fertility, so this month I am featuring a potent herb that has long been used in Chinese medicine to support natural fertile energy. 

Cnidium is a plant that is native to China that can also be found in Oregon. When I was a child and played in the hills behind our home, a local goat-herder shooed me away whenever I got too near a patch of white flower clusters called snow parsley. He explained that snakes like to hide under the plant which explains its other name, snake’s bed. 

Cnidium monnieri, She Chuang Zi, or snake’s bed seed is used in traditional Chinese medicine to increase sexual drive and boost sexual performance, strengthen bones, and promote fertility. It is also useful for skin problems, and it can be found in many soothing topical creams and lotions. 

Scientific investigation has discovered 350 compounds in cnidium, including its main active constituent osthol, a coumarin compound. Lab and animal studies suggest that osthol possesses a wide range of therapeutic properties for the treatment of low libido and male impotence. Other studies confirm that cnidium seed extracts exhibit strong anti-itch, anti-allergic and antimicrobial actions. Cynidium has also been found to possess anti-osteoporotic and anti-cancer properties. 

Studies have found that compounds in cnidium seeds contain mechanisms similar to Viagra in the hippocampus and penile tissue; cnidium is also an essential ingredient for supporting sexual health in our Spark Male and Spark Female herbal formulas.