June 4 — An herbal combination that includes ginseng and ginkgo may help women energize a lackluster libido, according to a new study.

DR. MARY LAKE POLAN, a highly respected researcher and chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford University, undertook the study of the herbal preparation because so many of her patients complained about lack of sex drive, and she had little to offer them.

“The most common thing you hear is ‘I had a wonderful sex life. And now I’m just not interested,’” she said.

That included patients like Hendy Lund. “It became a problem in our marriage,” she said. There is no Viagra or similar treatments for women. But Polan heard anecdotal reports about the herbal preparation called ArginMax — a combination of ginseng, ginkgo and other herbs and minerals designed to increase blood flow. It is already available in health-food stores and costs about for a month’s supply. With a colleague, Polan designed a scientific experiment that included Lund and 92 other volunteers. The researchers followed what’s considered the gold standard for proof: Neither the women volunteers nor the scientists knew who was taking the herbal preparation and who was taking a dummy pill.

Lund suspected she was taking the herbs — not the dummy pill — and she was right. “About two weeks into the study, which was about a month long, I noticed an increase in my sex drive,” she said.

And she was not alone.

In the four-week study, 73 percent of the women said they had an increased frequency of sexual desire and improved satisfaction with their sexual relationship. Only 20 percent of those taking the dummy pill had a positive response.

Polan, who was not a fan of herbs before, is now a believer.

“What matters is that you help the patient,” Polan said. “And if you can do it with an FDA-approved medication, that’s terrific. If you can do it with nutritional supplements, that’s terrific.”

Researchers say they need a bigger study to prove it for sure, but the herbal preparation could help millions of women cope with a very common and distressing problem.

Robert Bazell is chief science correspondent for NBC News.