Damiana
Turnera diffusa
A small Mexican shrub with aromatic leaves known in folk tradition.
A low shrub with small yellow flowers and fragrant leaves; in Mexico the leaves are used in herbal infusions and traditional liqueurs.
- Family
- Passifloraceae
- Plant type
- Shrub
- Safety level (indicative)
- Caution
What the safety levels mean (expand legend)
- Generally recognised as safe. Often a common herb with reasonable harvest and use; still read the specific warnings on the card.
- Information. Primarily informational — details in the text and warnings below matter most.
- Caution. Needs extra care (dose, duration, sensitive groups, interactions).
- Risky. Significant risks — verify sources, contraindications and professional guidance.
- Not for home experimentation. Not suitable to experiment with at home without knowledge and certainty.
- High risk for internal use. Particular risk with internal use (e.g. alkaloids); avoid prolonged or irresponsible dosing.
- Not specified. Level not filled in yet — rely on individual warnings and links below.
Safety — read before use
For this herb it is important to check warnings, mix-ups and cautions. Start with the Safety section.
Quick overview
A practical summary; details are in the sections below.
- Safety grade
- Caution·details
- Scientific sources on the card
- Yes — sources are listed with claims·Science section
- When and what to harvest
- Leaf — June–September
- Processing methods
- No processing links yet.All methods and recipes on the card
- Topics and symptoms
Burnout & mental fatigue, Sadness and melancholy, Self-love and relationships
Topics section · Symptoms overview
Identification and mix-ups
Add identification notes — no data yet.
Mix-up cautions are not filled in yet.
Similar herbs
No related herbs are linked yet.
Topics and symptoms
More topics are in the symptoms and topics overview.
- Burnout & mental fatigueTraditional· Traditional / cultural framing
- Sadness and melancholyTraditional· Traditional / cultural framing
- Self-love and relationshipsTraditional· Traditional / cultural framing
Geographic occurrence
Mexico
Occasional (garden, cultivation, or fringe of the range)
Mexico top 20: Mesoamerica and tropical Mexico — verify floras and cultivated tradition.
Harvest
- LeafJune–September
léto
Region: MexicoNotes: Leaves and stems during the flowering season.
Storage
No storage records yet.
Processing methods on this herb card
No processing method links yet.
Traditional / spiritual use
Kept separate from science — entries are cultural or symbolic, not medical advice.
No specific records yet.
Scientific notes
Each claim lists a study type and a source (URL or DOI) where available. Dose notes from the literature are informational only.
How to read evidence strength and study type labels
Labels summarise how the catalogue entry is tagged — they are not a medical verdict on efficacy. For every row, read the summary, limitations and source link.
Evidence strength
- Evidence level not specified
- The author did not grade the record; judge from the summary, limitations and source link.
- Narrative / orientational literature
- Descriptive or expert literature without controlled group comparison — context rather than proof of effect.
- Weak evidence
- Study or conclusion with major methodological limits; treat only as a pointer for further reading.
- Preliminary findings
- First or smaller studies — interesting direction, not the final word on efficacy or safety.
- Moderate strength of evidence
- Moderate strength by study design; sample and context limits still apply.
- Stronger evidence
- Stronger design or consistency of results within the study’s stated limits.
- Review article
- A review summarises multiple sources; quality depends on review method and field.
Study type
- Narrative / expert text
- Expert text or overview without a classical study design.
- In vitro study
- Cell culture or test-tube experiment — does not show an effect in the body.
- Animal study
- Animal model — transfer to humans is not automatic.
- Observational study
- Observing groups without random treatment assignment; confounding is possible.
- Clinical trial
- Human clinical trial; sample size and control group matter.
- Randomised controlled trial
- Randomised controlled trials are among the stronger designs when well conducted.
- Review study
- A review aggregates multiple papers — quality depends on selection rules.
- Systematic review
- Systematic review with explicit search and selection methodology.
- Meta-analysis
- Statistical pooling of studies; outcome depends on input data and heterogeneity.
- Regulatory assessment / monograph (EMA, WHO…)
- Regulatory body summary for a herbal product — different context from a single RCT; often about products, not home tea.
- Expert monograph (herbal preparations)
- Structured literature summary for a plant or drug — quality depends on author and edition year.
The EMA HMPC monograph for damiana leaf describes traditional use for the short-term relief of mild general weakness and exhaustion; this is not treatment guidance.
Review articleRegulatory assessment / monograph (EMA, WHO…)Year: 2013Preparation form in the study: infusion
Active compound / focus: extrakt z listu damiány
Limitations: A traditional-use framework; long-term safety data and data in pregnancy are limited.
Dose note (from literature): See the PDF for approved preparations.
Images
No uploaded images yet.
Safety
What the warning types mean
The type on each warning helps group themes — it does not replace the separate severity badge.
- Internal use
- Risks from swallowing, extracts, duration of use or concentration for internal use.
- Interactions / medicines
- Possible effect on medicines or concurrent treatment — check sources and a professional.
- Raw plant parts
- Raw, unripe or poorly prepared plant parts can be dangerous.
- Toxins and regulation
- Toxic constituents or regulated compounds (e.g. in distillates).
- Contact with the plant
- Skin or mucosa irritation from contact with fresh plant or sap.
- Allergy
- Allergic reactions, often linked to family sensitisation.
- Harvesting and contamination
- Contamination, species mix-ups or harvesting from unsuitable places.
- Pregnancy and breastfeedingLow severitypregnancy
Avoided in pregnancy by tradition; data on the safety of higher doses and during lactation are limited.