''Turnera diffusa'', known as damiana, is a

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

native to southern Texas in the United States, Central America, Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean. It belongs to the family Passifloraceae. Damiana is a relatively small, woody shrub that produces small, aromatic flowers. It blossoms in early to late summer and is followed by fruits that taste similar to figs. The shrub is said to have a strong spice-like odor somewhat like chamomile, due to the essential oils present in the plant.

Uses

Damiana is an ingredient in a traditional

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

liqueur A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyond ...

, which is sometimes used in lieu of triple sec in margaritas. Mexican folklore claims that it was used in the "original" margarita. The damiana margarita is popular in the Los Cabos region of Mexico.Damiana Liqueur at Damiana.net
/ref> Damiana was included in several 19th-century patent medicines, such as

Pemberton's French Wine Coca Pemberton's French Wine Coca was a coca wine created by the druggist John Pemberton, the inventor of Coca-Cola. It was an alcoholic beverage, mixed with coca, kola nut, and damiana. The original recipe contained the ingredient cocaethylene ...

. The leaves were omitted from that product's non-alcoholic counterpart, Coca-Cola. In folklore, the plant was believed to be an aphrodisiac, hence its sometimes used binomial synonym, ''Turnera aphrodisiaca''.

Phytochemistry

Damiana contains damianin; tetraphyllin B; gonzalitosin I; arbutin; tricosan-2-one;

acacetin Acacetin is a 4′- ''O''-methylated flavone of the parent compound apigenin, found in ''Robinia pseudoacacia'' (black locust), ''Turnera diffusa'' (damiana), shows moderate aromatase inhibition, ''Betula pendula'' (silver birch), and in the fern ...

; p-cymene; β-sitosterol;

1,8-cineole Eucalyptol is a monoterpenoid. A colorless liquid, it is a bicyclic ether. Eucalyptol has a fresh mint-like smell and a spicy, cooling taste. It is insoluble in water, but miscible with organic solvents. Eucalyptol makes up ~70% - 90% of eucaly ...

; apigenin; α-pinene; β-carotene; β-pinene; tannins; thymol; and hexacosanol. In total, 22

flavonoid Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans. Chemically, flavonoids ...

s, maltol

glucoside A glucoside is a glycoside that is derived from glucose. Glucosides are common in plants, but rare in animals. Glucose is produced when a glucoside is hydrolysed by purely chemical means, or decomposed by fermentation or enzymes. The name was o ...

, phenolics, seven cyanogenic glycosides, monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, triterpenoids, the polyterpene ficaprenol-11, fatty acids, and caffeine have been found in the genus ''Turnera''. As of 2006, damiana's constituents have not been identified for their effects attributed to the whole herb. Damiana's anxiolytic properties might be due to apigenin. The extract from damiana has been found to suppress aromatase activity, including the isolated compounds pinocembrin and

Ecology

''T. diffusa'' is a host plant for the Mexican fritillary (''

Euptoieta hegesia ''Euptoieta hegesia'', the Mexican fritillary, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. Description The upperside of the wings is bright orange with the basal part of the hindwing unmarked. There is a row of submargina ...

''), a butterfly.

Misidentification in commerce

Viable plant and seed material sold as ''T. diffusa'' from both private and commercial sources largely turns out to be misidentified '' Turnera ulmifolia'' (a.k.a. "False Damiana"), a closely related species. This widespread issue has been noted by the scientific community, and has created much confusion among both amateur and professional horticulturists alike. While ''T. ulmifolia'' is similar in appearance, its chemical constituents and ethnobotanical uses are distinctly different. Mature stems of ''T. diffusa'' are woody, with small, grayed green leaves 13 to 16 mm long, 4.5 to 5.5 mm wide, obtuse at the apex, and strongly aromatic when crushed. ''T. ulmifolia'' is differentiated by herbaceous stems, larger blue-green leaves that are strongly dentate with a pointed apex, and only weakly aromatic. One scientific study however, demonstrated this confusion being mostly associated with horticultural commerce, and does not extend appreciably to commercial herbal products, most of which exhibit constituents that can be definitively traced to ''T. diffusa''.

References

External links

Damiana vault
at Erowid
''Damiana'' (www.rain-tree.com)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q932516 diffusa Plants described in 1820 Liqueurs Flora of South America Flora of Mexico Flora of Texas Mexican alcoholic drinks