Pearly wisdom: oysters are an aphrodisiac

March 24, 2005
Otherwise engaged ... Rob Spiteri and his fiancee, Narelle, enjoyed the food of love at the De Costi oyster bar at the Easter Show to celebrate the acceptance of a proposal.

Photo: Peter Rae

Casanova, the 18th-century lover who would breakfast on 50 oysters, has been vindicated by a study that proves they really are aphrodisiacs.

And spring, scientists say, is the time of year the shellfish have their greatest aphrodisiac quality.


The link was announced to 15,000 scientists in San Diego, California, at a meeting of the American Chemical Society last week. "I am amazed," said George Fisher, a professor of chemistry at Barry University in Miami, who led the research team with his graduate student Raul Mirza and Antimo D'Aniello, of the Laboratory of Neurobiology in Naples.

"I have been a scientist for 40 years and my research has never generated interest like this. For centuries, old wives' tales have said that eating raw molluscs - oysters in particular - would stimulate the libido but there has really been no scientific evidence as to why and if this occurs.

"We think this could be the first scientific evidence of some substance. Did Casanova's 50 oysters really make him frisky? Could be."

Previous speculation about the powers of oysters has centred on the refuelling powers of their high zinc content. Zinc is found in sperm and men lose between one and three milligrams per ejaculation. Dr Fisher and his team, partly funded by the United States' National Institutes of Health, bought samples of bivalve molluscs, which include mussels and clams, from markets near Dr D'Aniello's Naples laboratory.





"Increased levels of those hormones in the blood means that you are more active sexually," he said.

"Yes, I do think these molluscs are aphrodisiacs. If the male is having difficulties, they have to eat a lot of mussels or oysters. Spring, when the molluscs breed, is best. There is the highest concentration of these two amino acids then."

The oysters have to be eaten raw to be most effective, because cooking reduces the quantity of D-Asp and NMDA molecules.


Telegraph, London


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