Sexual enhancement supplements have always been a bit of a joke: you walk into a supplement store (or chuck a search into Google) and voilà – hilariously titled drugs that supposedly give you the sexual prowess of a god await you. All you have to do is pop a little pill and your flagging stamina or general lack of desire will disappear.

But like all things that sound too good to be true, is there any evidence these supplements work – and could they be doing more harm than good?

What are sexual enhancement supplements?

Sexual enhancement supplements are usually sold as “natural” products containing various herbal ingredients.

There are horny goat weed pills, touted as a way to support sexual function and energy because the plant contains a protein which may increase blood flow to your genitals. There are various pun-titled candies with everything from royal jelly – a product of bees created to feed the queen – to various types of honey, coffee, ginseng and more in them. And there are supplements that appear almost identical to normal multivitamins, presumably because vitamins are generally important to good health and therefore must improve your sex life as well.

But as recent Therapeutic Goods Administration testing reveals, many of the products available to buy in retail stores and online have been found to be adulterated........

© The Guardian