Yohimbe is a popular dietary supplement made from the bark of an African evergreen tree.
It is commonly used to treat erectile dysfunction. It has also become a growing trend among bodybuilders to help with fat loss.
One of the studies in the review examined the effects of yohimbine on 82 male veterans with erectile dysfunction.After a month of treatment, 34% of patients taking yohimbine experienced at least a partial improvement in symptoms, while 20% of patients reported full and sustained erections. Only 7% of veterans taking a placebo reported any improvements.
Yohimbine’s ability to block the alpha-2 adrenergic receptors located in fat cells could, in theory, lead to increased fat loss and weight loss.
One study examined the effects of yohimbine in 20 obese females who consumed a 1,000- calorie diet for three weeks. The women taking yohimbine lost significantly more weight than those taking a placebo — 7.8 pounds vs. 4.9 pounds
Yohimbine was also studied in elite soccer players, and was found to decrease body fat by 1.8 percentage points over the course of three weeks. No significant changes were found in the placebo group