Testosterone, a male hormone produced in both men & women are needed for sexual desire. Testosterone is the natural androgen produced by the leydig cells of the testes in men. If the cells do not function, puberty is delayed and sexual infantilism persists. If these cells fail later in life after puberty, a man experiences loss of libido and potency, a reduced facial hair. Thus hormonal imbalance leads to erectile dysfunction.

Hormonal imbalance can arise because of: -

• Head injury
• A tumor in the pituitary gland, at the base of the brain
• A tumor in the adrenal gland, above the kidneys
• Malfunctioning of the pituitary gland
• Cirrhosis of the liver
• Certain conditions present from birth
• A thyroid problem

One uncommon problem is that of hyper prolactinemia (i.e. a high prolactin level). This problem is usually caused by a pituitary malfunction or tumor, and can be detected by a blood test. Patients with hyper prolactinemia often also have decreased libido and may be impotent. Another problems pertains to that of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism i.e. (poor stimulation of the testes because of inadequate stimulation by the gonadotropic hormones FSH & LH produced by the pituitary gland) most hypogonadotropic patients are hypogonadal; that is, their blood levels of testosterone, the male hormone are low. This means that they have poorly developed secondary sexual characters thus confirm to impotency.

Unani herbalism effectively rectifies hormonal abnormalities, by activating body mechanism without any negative side effects.