Researchers think they may improve men’s performance in the bedroom by using the power of the Brazilian wandering spider.
“Long and painful erections” can result from a lethal creepy crawly bite.
The findings of a test involving some 72 men using a gel derived from a venom molecule are expected in the spring.
Brazil’s Federal University of Minas Gerais Professor Maria Elena De Lima stated: “The drug candidate has demonstrated it does not generate any side effects, even in high doses.”
Scientists started testing the spider venom decades ago after discovering that it had the potential to cause erections, albeit occasionally causing penis skin to waste away.
2019 trials revealed that the chemical, when used as a gel, increased blood flow to the penis by 113%.
Men who used the substance, known as BZ371A, were able to have erections in under 30 minutes.
Nitric oxide, which opens the blood arteries in the penis and allows more blood to enter during stimulation, is assumed to be the mechanism by which it functions.
