SAC StudioThe recognisable-name light blend — generous 750 mg HGW plus a touch of maca, one tablet a day.
NOW Foods is the recognisable-name pick for buyers who want a touch of maca alongside their horny goat weed. It pairs a generous 750 mg of epimedium extract — which the label guarantees at a minimum of 3% icariin, roughly 22.5 mg per tablet — with 150 mg of maca root, in one convenient daily tablet from a supplement house that's been trusted for decades. (Label truth: we originally repeated the listing's 10% icariins figure; the Supplement Facts panel guarantees min. 3% — corrected 27 Aug 2026.) Crucially, the maca is disclosed honestly as a light blend rather than buried in a proprietary mix, so you know exactly what's in the tablet.
It ranks behind the pure single-herb extracts because that maca, however small, makes it slightly less of an epimedium-specific product, and tablets carry binders a clean capsule avoids. The min. 3% guaranteed standardisation is also the lowest disclosed figure among the standardised picks, which is why it now sits behind Swanson. And the universal caveat applies: icariin is a real in-vitro PDE5 inhibitor (Xin 2003), maca is a traditional libido herb, but neither has robust human evidence for treating erectile dysfunction. Buy NOW for the trusted brand, the maca bonus, and the daily convenience, with a measured expectation. Here's the full breakdown.
The Supplement Facts panel guarantees a minimum of 3% icariin on the 750 mg extract — roughly 22.5 mg per tablet. That is a real, honestly-stated guarantee, but the lowest disclosed standardisation among the standardised picks: well under Nature's Way's and Swanson's 10% (~50 mg), Double Wood's 20% and Toniiq's 40%. (We originally repeated the listing's 10% figure; the bottle guarantees min. 3% — corrected 27 Aug 2026.)
A generous 750 mg of horny goat weed extract per tablet — more raw extract than the 500 mg single-herb picks (Nature's Way, Swanson), plus 150 mg of maca on top. At the label's min. 3% icariin that's about 22.5 mg of icariin. Strong on raw dose; the score reflects that the higher weight pairs with a low guaranteed standardisation rather than a high one.
From a long-trusted, GMP-conscious supplement house, which is a real quality signal — but two things hold it below the single-herb leaders: it's a light blend (epimedium + 150 mg maca), so it's not a pure epimedium product, and it's a tablet with binders/coating rather than a clean capsule. The maca is disclosed honestly, which we credit; the blend simply dilutes epimedium-specific transparency.
About $0.15 per tablet on an estimated $11-16 for 90 tablets — strong value, helped by the one-tablet-a-day serving giving a full 90-day supply. Cheaper per day than the premium extracts and competitive with the value tubs, while bundling maca and brand trust. A genuinely economical mainstream pick.
Scored measured and non-medical. A recognisable-brand tonic with a generous dose and a complementary herb is a reasonable everyday choice. But the human efficacy evidence for Epimedium alone (libido/erectile function) is weak, and the 150 mg maca and the label's min. 3% guaranteed standardisation don't change that, so we reward the brand trust and convenience rather than promising an outcome.
“750 mg horny goat weed extract standardised to 10% icariins.”
The 750 mg dose is confirmed on the Supplement Facts panel — but the panel guarantees '(min. 3% Icariin)', not 10%. The 10% figure circulates in listing copy, and the label does not back it: min. 3% of 750 mg is ~22.5 mg icariin per tablet, not ~75 mg. We score and rank on the label's guaranteed number.
“Plus 150 mg maca root for added vitality support.”
The 150 mg of maca is genuinely present and honestly disclosed as a light blend — a real, transparent addition. The 'vitality support' framing is traditional rather than clinically proven, though: 150 mg of maca is a light, supportive amount, and maca's own human evidence is modest and mixed. Accurate as a disclosed ingredient; the benefit claim is traditional, not established.
“From a trusted, GMP-conscious supplement brand.”
NOW Foods is a long-established, widely-trusted supplement house with GMP-conscious manufacturing. The brand-trust claim is accurate and is one of the genuine reasons to choose this pick over a less-known extract.
“Supports male performance and sexual health.”
The honest caveat. Icariin is a real in-vitro PDE5 inhibitor (Xin 2003, PMID 12646997) and Epimedium has human bone-density RCT data (Zhang 2007, PMID 17419678), but there is NO robust human trial showing standalone horny goat weed (or a light maca blend) improves libido or erectile function. Fair as traditional vitality-tonic framing; overstated if read as a proven performance or ED benefit.
An earlier version of this review said the 750 mg epimedium extract was standardised to 10% icariins, and two passages (the Real-world response criterion body and the Xin 2003 source note) still repeated that 10% figure after the initial correction on 27 Aug 2026. The Supplement Facts panel reads "Epimedium Extract (Horny Goat Weed) (Aerial Parts/Leaf) (min. 3% Icariin) 750 mg" — not 10%. We re-read the label on Sep 3, 2026 and revised those two remaining references to min. 3% (text only; no score changed, since the Icariin standardisation criterion was already scored on the correct min. 3% figure).
What distinguishes NOW from the pure single-herb extracts is the 150 mg of maca — and what distinguishes it from the messy 'vitality complexes' (Zhou, Horbäach) is that it discloses exactly what's in the blend. You get 750 mg of epimedium (min. 3% icariin on the label) plus a clearly-stated 150 mg of maca, not a proprietary mystery mix. For a buyer who wants a small, transparent vitality-herb pairing from a trusted brand, that honest light blend is the appeal.
At 750 mg, NOW gives you more raw horny goat weed extract than the 500 mg single-herb picks — but at the label's guaranteed min. 3% icariin, that works out to about 22.5 mg of icariin, less than Nature's Way's ~50 mg, Double Wood's ~200 mg or Nootropics Depot's ~100 mg. This is the classic raw-mg-versus-standardisation tension: a bigger number on the front of the bottle doesn't mean more active flavonoid. NOW is generous on weight and low on guaranteed potency, which still suits the mainstream buyer but is firmly not the optimisation pick.
The single-tablet daily serving gives a full 90-day supply and removes the friction of two-capsule servings or pill-counting. For a traditional tonic that needs consistent daily use to assess, that low-friction format helps adherence, and the per-day cost (~$0.15) is economical. The only delivery trade-off is that it's a tablet with binders and a coating rather than a clean capsule — a minor point for most buyers.
It's worth being clear-eyed about the maca. 150 mg is a light, supportive dose, and maca's own human evidence for libido and energy is modest and mixed — so it's a small complementary addition, not a clinically-dosed second active. That's not a criticism: it's disclosed honestly and adds a traditional vitality herb cheaply. Just don't buy this expecting the maca to do heavy lifting; the epimedium is the main event, and the maca is a transparent extra.
NOW gives you a trusted brand, a generous dose, a transparent maca addition, and daily convenience — but it can't change the evidence. Standalone horny goat weed has a genuine in-vitro PDE5 mechanism (Xin 2003) and human bone data (Zhang 2007), but no robust human trial for libido or erectile function, and a light maca blend doesn't alter that. So this is a convenient, recognisable-brand version of a traditional tonic, not a proven performance product. Bought on that honest basis, it's a sound mainstream choice.
NOW Foods is the comfortable mainstream pick for buyers who want a name they recognise and like the idea of a little maca alongside their horny goat weed. It delivers a generous 750 mg of epimedium at the label's guaranteed min. 3% icariin, plus 150 mg of maca disclosed honestly as a light blend, in one convenient daily tablet from a long-trusted house at an economical price. For accessible, transparent, brand-backed vitality support, it's a sound choice. It ranks behind the pure single-herb extracts for clear reasons: the maca, while small and honestly labelled, makes it slightly less of an epimedium-specific product; it's a tablet rather than a clean capsule; and at a guaranteed min. 3% icariin it's the lowest disclosed standardisation among the standardised picks — which is also why it sits behind Swanson's 10% single-herb extract — so if you want the most active flavonoid per serving, Toniiq (#1, 40%), Double Wood (#2, 20%) or Nootropics Depot (#5, min. 50%) are better. And the standing caveat holds — icariin is a real in-vitro PDE5 inhibitor (Xin 2003) and maca a traditional libido herb, but neither has robust human evidence for treating ED. For trusted-brand convenience and a transparent maca bonus, bought with a measured expectation, NOW is the right pick.
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The best overall pure single-herb pick — a much higher 40% icariin standardisation with no added maca and stated third-party testing. Choose it if you want maximum epimedium potency and purity rather than a light blend.
See it on the list →More dose and more testing in a pure single-herb form — 20% icariins at 1000 mg with a stated heavy-metal panel. The pick if you want a bigger, better-tested epimedium dose without the maca.
See it on the list →A bigger multi-herb step — if you like NOW's maca idea, Zhou stacks maca, saw palmetto and tongkat ali around a 1000 mg epimedium base. More herbs in the blend, but it discloses only ~10 mg icariins, so less epimedium transparency.
See it on the list →In vitro, icariin inhibited cGMP-specific PDE5 with an IC50 of 0.432 µmol/L — the mechanistic basis for the herb's reputation, but a bench/enzyme finding rather than proof of a human erectile-function benefit from a min.-3% extract plus light maca.
60 mg/day icariin preserved bone mineral density over 24 months in postmenopausal women — the strongest human RCT for Epimedium, and a bone outcome rather than a sexual one. Cited to keep expectations calibrated to the actual evidence base.
