If drinkingancient Mummy juicewasn’t your loving cup of tea andeating Tide Podsdidn’t quite hit the bit , perhaps we can charm you with some “ aphrodisiacal lichen ” licked directly from the pavement ?
People are being warned by expert in New Zealand against eating a lichen that rise on roads , sidewalks , and rocky surface area – live as " sexy footpath lichen " – because it ’s being touted as a raw alternative to Viagra .
The lichen is being peddled online in a powdered form for up to $ 300 per kilogram onChinese e - Commerce Department internet site , promising to increase libido and bring around erectile disfunction . Some thrifty punters have even been reportedly drub sidewalks to get a crummy fixture , reports New Zealand websiteNewsroom .
Scientifically known asXanthoparmelia scabrosa , the lichen does actuallycontain a PDE5 inhibitor , which may suppress an enzyme responsible for impotence . While its repute as a Viagra choice is not altogether wild , there ’s no factual grounds about whether it ’s an effective remedy for intimate powerlessness . However , the lichen on urban center sidewalks does contain a bucket load of pollutant and heavy metals that have , ironically , beenlinkedto cavernous disfunction .
" This lichen hold a chemical somewhat correspondent to Viagra – and reasonably toxic . I always say in my talk that I do n’t recommend plump out and licking the footpath , " Dr Allison Knight , a phytologist who consider lichen at the University of Otago in New Zealand , toldNewsroom .
" It ’s really quite hard to genuflect off the footpath , or anywhere else . specially render to scrape it off without getting bits of gritty pebbles and stuff in it . "
Dr Knight notes that she coined the phrase " sexy pavement lichen " as a throw - away jest during a talk at the Auckland Botanical Society a few yr ago , however , the name appears to have caught on .
She also note that a USFood and Drug Administrationanalysis of a lichen gunpowder bribe online turn out to be 80 percent Viagra and 20 percent grass press cutting . Although that mixture would for sure amend your ailment , buying expensive mislabeled health products online is n’t recommend .
The moral of the tale : Do n’t lick sidewalks or grease one’s palms sketchy medicines online , especially if you ’re just looking to get your rocks off .
Fairly perceivable , all this talk of the town of sexy lichen has also kick off a lot of conversation and hilarity on social media . Enjoy :
