Velvet Deer Antler aphrodisiac supplement by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

A 2,000-year-old scroll discovered in a tomb in Hunan Province, China, listed dozens of different diseases that could be treated with velvet deer antler. The 16th century "Materia Medica," a standard text of Chinese herbalists, lists deer antler velvet as one of the most highly prized natural medicinal substances.
   Deer antler removal is ideally done under strict regulatory processes. Once a year, male deer are brought into specially designed facilities for velvet antler removal. The process is often quick and painless, using local anesthetic, and within minutes of velvet antler removal, the deer are back with their herds grazing. After removal, antlers are frozen and transported under sanitary conditions. The product is then dried and processed to make powder, extracts or slices.

Planetary Formulas Deer Antler Velvet, 250 mg
Passion Rx sexual enhancer for men and women

Harvested in Accordance with the National Velvet Standards Body in New Zealand. Planetary Formulas Full Spectrum Antler Velvet is a tonifier that has been widely used in China for more than 2,000 years. Deer antler velvet is the early stage of antler growth and is a rich source of collagen, glycosaminoglycans, and glycoproteins all which support the skeletal system. Planetary Formulas Antler Velvet is regenerated ever year and harvested with great care in a humane manner by specially trained farmers or veterinarians who conform to the National Velvet Standards Body of New Zealand. Traditionally, antler velvet has been used to restore, balance and strengthen the body, support joint function, and cultivate an overall feeling of well-being.

Buy Deer Antler Velvet supplement, Passion Rx sex booster, or see a list of potent aphrodisiac herbs
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Supplement Facts:
Amount Per 2 tablets:
Antler Velvet velvet - 500 mg

Suggested Use: One deer antler velvet tablet daily before breakfast or as directed by your doctor.

Passion Rx-- Formulated by Dr. Ray Sahelian, M.D., author of Natural-Sex-Boosters book

Passion Rx provides results that are sometimes seen the first or second day, but continue to improve with use. Our feedback thus far indicates more than 80% user satisfaction by the end of the first week, and 90 percent by the end of the second week.
   Dr. Sahelian and his research staff have tested various doses and extracts of exotic herbs from a number or raw material suppliers to determine the ideal dose and combination for optimal libido enhancement with fewest side effects. After years of trial and error, a highly effective proprietary blend with more than a dozen herbal extracts has been created. This unique blend is a close kept secret known only to Dr. Sahelian and his research staff. You will only find this exact combination in Passion-Rx.

What's in deer antler velvet?
Velvet deer antler is named after the soft, velvet-like covering that deer antlers have before they turn bony. Antlers are organs of bone which regenerate each year from the heads of male deer. In addition to bone, support tissues such as nerves also regenerate. Nerves grow up to 1 cm each day. Deer antler velvet contains many substances including amino acids, minerals, proteins, anti-inflammatory peptides, hormones, gangliosides and glycosaminoglycans, and Insulin-like Growth Factor-1. The composition of velvet supplements depend on the diet of the deer, climate, time of year, age of stag and the various concentrations of substances in different regions of the antler velvet itself.

Velvet deer antler as an aphrodisiac
Research studies with deer antler velvet in relation to sexual function are quite limited. A Russian study with pantocrin, an extract from deer antler velvet, showed the extract to stimulate sexual behavior in rodents more than ginseng. Another study showed velvet to have anti-inflammatory properties and potentially helpful in rheumatoid arthritis. No toxic effects have been found with deer velvet when tested in rodents. A study done in Canada did not find deer antler velvet to have muscle strengthening or exercise enhancing potential with this substance.

Deer antler availability
Deer antler velvet is sold in a variety of dosages, most commonly 250 mg. Since deer antler velvet products are available from many countries and regions, one can expect variations in composition between different products. I don’t yet have any personal experience with deer antler velvet.

Deer antler velvet for athletic performance
The effects of deer antler velvet extract or powder supplementation on aerobic power, erythropoiesis, and muscular strength and endurance characteristics.
Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2003 Sep;13(3):251-65.
To determine the effects of deer antler velvet on maximal aerobic performance and the trainability of muscular strength and endurance, 38 active males were randomly assigned in a double-blind fashion to either deer antler velvet extrac, powder, or placebo groups. Subjects were tested prior to beginning supplementation and a 10-week strength program, and immediately post-training. All subjects were measured for circulating levels of testosterone, insulin-like growth factor, erythropoietin, red cell mass, plasma volume, and total blood volume. Additionally, muscular strength, endurance, and VO2max were determined. All groups improved 6 RM strength equivalently, but there was a greater increase in isokinetic knee extensor strength and endurance in the powder compared to placebo group. There were no endocrine, red cell mass or VO2max changes in any group. These findings do not support an erythropoetic or aerobic ergogenic effect of deer antler velvet. Further, the inconsistent findings regarding the effects of deer antler velvet powder supplementation on the development of strength suggests that further work is required to test the robustness of the observation that this supplement enhances the strength training response and to ensure this observation is not a type I error.

Safety of deer antler velvet
Toxicological evaluation of New Zealand deer antler velvet powder. Part I: acute and subchronic oral toxicity studies in rats.
Food Chem Toxicol. 2000 Nov;38(11):985-90.
Potential toxic effects of acute and subchronic dosage regimens of deer antler velvet powder have been assessed in rats. In the acute study, rats of both sexes were exposed to a single dose of 2 g/kg body weight. There was no mortality or other signs of toxicity during 14 days' observation. Furthermore, no significant alteration either in relative organ weights or their histology was discernible at terminal autopsy. In the 90-day subchronic study, deer antler velvet was administered in 1 g/kg daily doses by gavage to rats. A control group of rats received water only. There was no effect on body weight, food consumption, clinical signs, haematology and most parameters of blood chemistry including carbohydrate metabolism, liver and kidney function. No significant differences were seen between the mean organ weights of the adrenal, kidney and brain in rats treated with deer antler velvet and control rats. However, there was a significant difference in the group mean relative liver weight of deer velvet-treated and control male rats. The gross necropsy and pathological examination of rats treated with deer velvet did not reveal any abnormalities in tissue morphology. Based on these results, it may be concluded that rats had no deer antler velvet treatment-related toxicological and histopathological abnormalities at the doses administered, despite the observed minor changes in liver weight.

Elk antler velvet in dogs for arthritis
Clinical evaluation of a powder of quality elk velvet antler for the treatment of osteoarthrosis in dogs.
Can Vet J. 2004 Feb;45(2):133-9.
A powder of quality elk velvet antler was evaluated on client-owned dogs with osteoarthrosis in a clinical, double-blind, and placebo-controlled study. Thirteen dogs received a placebo for 30 days and then elk velvet antler for 60 days. Twenty-five other dogs received elk velvet antler for 60 days. Gait analysis measured with a force plate, clinical signs assessed by an orthopedic surgeon, performances in daily life activities and vitality assessed by the owners, and complete blood analyses were obtained at days 0, after 30 days of placebo and/or 60 days of elk velvet antler. On placebo, the 13 dogs did not show significant improvement; however, their gait, their performances in daily life activities, and their vitality were significantly improved on elk velvet antler, based on changes in values exceeding those observed when placebo was administered. The 25 dogs on elk velvet antler for 60 days showed similar improvements. No clinical changes were revealed on blood analyses. Administration of elk velvet antler was effective in alleviating the condition in arthritic dogs.

Velvet deer antler questions
Q. Do you have any information about side effects associated with taking the growth factors in deer antler extract?
   A. At this time we have not seen any research regarding deer antler extract side effects, but as with most sex herbs, we suggest using a small amount.

This deer antler velvet page was last updated in January 2009.