Two football ‘helpmeet’ capsules related to 2010 South African World Cup, containing Yohimbine tree (faux herbal Viagra) pills to enhance male sexual function, purchased in Ghana, made by Tienbao Biology, Cambridge, England, c2010.

‘Helpmeet’ contains Yohimbine - a pharmaceutical agent extracted from the bark of the yohimbine tree that grows in West Africa and Central Tropical Africa. Yohimbine is an alkaloid monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor that leads to an increase in dilation of blood vessels. It has traditionally been used in West Africa as an aphrodisiac and to treat erectile dysfunction.

This example carries the branding of the 2010 World Cup hosted in South Africa and shows some of the tournament’s star players, with the pills packaged inside tin footballs to appeal to a mass market. The packaging claims that this is ‘purely a natural preparation’ and is ‘safe for patients of high blood pressure, or cardiac disease or after drinking.’ Other claims include that it exceeds other preparations used to improve sexual function.

Purchased from a travelling trader called Comfort Owusu in Accra, Ghana, this item is one of several collected for the Science Museum by Jonathan Roberts, lecturer at Mount Saint Vincent University and a specialist in the history of medicine and religion in West Africa. Jonathan’s work focuses on the many forms of healing present in Accra, Ghana, where people have a range of choices in the healthcare they seek. According to the World Heath Organisation 70% of Ghanaians still primarily use herbal medicine treatments. People often self-diagnose their problem to make choices about which medical or healing system is most appropriate to them or which treatment they believe will be most effective.