# Male Enhancer
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-enhancer/111126
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 28, 2002, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-enhancer/111126 "2002-05-28T03:08:02Z")
**Posts on this page:** 14
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Kid\_Gilligan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_Gilligan)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2002, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-enhancer/111126/1 "2002-05-28T03:08:02Z")
OK
Here it is.
I’m watching TV with my wife, and this **VERY** wierd commercial comes on advertising some sort of _male enhancer_ . The ad features this sort of “Stepford” family where the guy supposedly is using this new enhancer drug, and the wife is **EXTREMELY** happy to have him home.
The commercial picques my interest and I start to go to the computer to check it out, and my wife says, “Why? You don’t need that.” “I know,” I say, “I just wanna see what it is.” She wins every argument, so I end up not going to their website.
Now, I’m still curious, but I can’t remember the name of the drug. I’ve done searches on male enhancer, men’s health, etc. to no avail.
Has anyone seen the ad who might remember the name of the drug.
Thanks.
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### Author:  [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2002, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-enhancer/111126/2 "2002-05-28T03:28:51Z")
I saw an ad for this stuff on ESPN tonight during the Wings game, but I didn’t catch the name. I, too, am curious about this (not cuz I need it, of course).
I mean, if this drug is for what I think it is, then --holy crap!-- what’s next? Peter North hosting informercials hawking penis pumps?
From the back pages of _Penthouse_ to prime time television…
stv
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### Author:  [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2002, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-enhancer/111126/3 "2002-05-28T03:45:58Z")
Veromax? It was the first Google hit for “male enhancer”.
[http://www.discountblvd.com/111111-whp-hv1.html](http://www.discountblvd.com/111111-whp-hv1.html)
> [@](#):
>
> …Doctors are able to achieve the same results as outlined above, through a different route (same mechanism) using safe, natural substances. The trick is to stimulate a release of nitric oxide in the corpus cavernosum. Veromax® does this. Veromax® contains a unique formulation of L-Arginine, L-Alanine, L-Lysine, Saw Palmetto, Korean Ginseng, Zyzyphus Jujube, Glutamic Acid, and Ginkgo Biloba. The primary agent responsible for the needed release of nitric oxide is L-Arginine…
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### Author:  [@prefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prefect)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2002, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-enhancer/111126/4 "2002-05-28T04:49:46Z")
I’ve seen these commercials on ESPN. The product in question is called “Enzyte”, and according to their Web site ([http://www.enzyte.com/formulation.html](http://www.enzyte.com/formulation.html)), it’s a mix of yohimbe, gingko biloba, and other bits of bark and roots.
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### Author:  [@Kalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalt)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2002, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-enhancer/111126/5 "2002-05-28T05:23:11Z")
yeah, herbs will make your penis bigger. uh huh.
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### Author:  [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2002, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-enhancer/111126/6 "2002-05-28T14:07:37Z")
Enzyte-- that’s the stuff.
stv
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2002, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-enhancer/111126/7 "2002-05-28T18:50:38Z")
> [@](#):
>
> yeah, herbs will make your penis bigger. uh huh.
Well, they might, if you glue them onto the end. Why shouldn’t the Tree Trunk of Love have a few leaves on it? 😛
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### Author:  [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2002, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-enhancer/111126/8 "2002-05-28T18:53:32Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Chronos \*
> \*\*Well, they might, if you glue them onto the end. Why shouldn’t the Tree Trunk of Love have a few leaves on it? 😛 \*\*
I know there’s a beaver joke in here somewhere, but I’ll be dammed if I can think of one.
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### Author:  [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2002, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-enhancer/111126/9 "2002-06-06T20:34:11Z")
So is “nitric oxide” the same thing as nitrous oxide, AKA laughing gas? I can’t imagine having that stuff in your system makes you any more, uh, enhanced.
On the other hand, maybe this is why my wife goes to the dentist so often.
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### Author:  [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2002, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-enhancer/111126/10 "2002-06-06T23:32:49Z")
i still think your best bet is viagra and a box of chocolates.
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### Author:  [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2002, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-enhancer/111126/11 "2002-06-07T01:29:24Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by stv \*
> \*\*I saw an ad for this stuff on ESPN tonight during the Wings game, but I didn’t catch the name. I, too, am curious about this (not cuz I need it, of course).
>
> I mean, if this drug is for what I think it is, then --holy crap!-- what’s next? Peter North hosting informercials hawking penis pumps?
> From the back pages of _Penthouse_ to prime time television…
> stv \*\*
Actually, it’s url=“[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=114676&highlight=jeremy](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=114676&highlight=jeremy)”]Ron Jeremy.
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### Author:  [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2002, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-enhancer/111126/12 "2002-06-07T01:30:44Z")
Gah! I mean [Ron Jeremy](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=114676&highlight=jeremy). Wonder if he does his impersonation of Yassir Arafat singing, “My Way”?
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### Author:  [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2002, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-enhancer/111126/13 "2002-06-07T02:43:50Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Sauron \*
> \*\*So is “nitric oxide” the same thing as nitrous oxide, AKA laughing gas? \*\*
Definitely not. Nitric oxide is NO. As far as I can tell, nobody really knows what nitric oxide is good for–it doesn’t seem to _hurt_ anything, so naturally there are a host of miracle cures claimed for it.
[http://www.academicpress.com/www/journal/no.htm](http://www.academicpress.com/www/journal/no.htm)
> [@](#):
>
> Although one of the simplest biological molecules in nature, nitric oxide has found its way into nearly every phase of biology and medicine ranging from its role as a critical endogenous regulator of blood flow and thrombosis to a principal neurotransmitter mediating erectile function to a major pathophysiological mediator of inflammation and host defense. These major discoveries have stimulated intense and extensive research into a vast array of fields including chemistry, molecular biology, and gene therapy.
Nitrous oxide is N2O and is a dangerous drug if misused.
[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/buyers/pharmacology/nitrousoxide.html](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/buyers/pharmacology/nitrousoxide.html)
> [@](#):
>
> There three dangers that recreational users most commonly face: First, nitrous oxide is an anesthetic gas that can make the user unconscious or so disoriented that one loses good judgement. Problems occur when the user attempts to arrange a sort of mask or bag to deliver pure gas and breathe only nitrous oxide. The person is then asphyxiated by lack of oxygen. Second, there is physical damage to any tissues exposed to an expanding gas. If users try to inhale the gas right out of the tank with no regulation of the flow rate, they can actually injure their mouths, tracheas and lungs from the cooling gas. Also, there is a risk of overexpanding the lungs. Finally, prolonged nitrous oxide use can lead to a complication that is similar to a vitamin B-12 deficiency. A B-12 dependent enzyme is deactivated by nitrous oxide, leading to the destruction of nerve fibers or loss of feeling.
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### Author:  [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2002, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-enhancer/111126/14 "2002-06-07T14:01:04Z")
Thanks, **DDG**. I’ve heard radio commercials for that stuff, and I’ve wondered for a couple of weeks what “nitric oxide” was.