Know2eat

Tribulus terrestris

Tribulus terrestris

Herbs & Botanicals

What tribulus terrestris may help with

Ranked by how strong the human evidence is — best supported first.

Best supportedExercise performanceNot enough evidence· 2 sources

Then, in order

About Tribulus terrestris

A spiny annual used in Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine, standardised to steroidal saponins such as protodioscin. It is sold almost entirely as a testosterone booster.

Tribulus is the clearest example in this catalogue of a claim that trials have repeatedly failed to support. Controlled studies in athletes and in healthy men consistently find no increase in testosterone and no improvement in body composition or strength. Saponin content varies enormously between products and species, and livestock grazing on Tribulus develop a well-documented photosensitising liver disease.

Sold as
Standardised extract capsule, Powder, Tablet, Sports blends
Standardised to
Commonly stated as 40–95% saponins or a protodioscin percentage — a product without this marker may not resemble what was studied.
Also known as
Puncture vine, Gokshura, Caltrop, Protodioscin extract

What the research used

The amounts, forms and durations published trials of Tribulus terrestris actually administered.

These are the amounts published trials administered — not a recommendation, and not a dose to copy. Trial participants were screened, supervised and given a characterised preparation. What is in a retail bottle is frequently not what was studied, and the amount that suits one person is not general advice.

  • Studied for Testosterone and athletic performance

    750–1500 mg

    Limited

    Standardised extract, divided doses · 4–8 weeks

    Trials at these doses generally found no change in testosterone or performance. Recording the dose is not an endorsement of the outcome.

  • Studied for Sexual function

    750–1500 mg

    Not enough

    Standardised extract · 12 weeks

    A few small trials report improved self-reported sexual function without hormonal changes, which is the pattern expected from placebo response.

This is general information about food, not medical advice. It cannot diagnose, treat or replace guidance from a clinician who knows your history.

When it was taken

Each window says whether a trial compared it against an alternative, or whether it is convention and pharmacology. Most timing advice is the second kind.

None of the timings below were directly compared in a trial. They reflect how the research happened to dose, or what the pharmacology implies — which is not the same as a timing being better.

  • Split through the day

    Not enough

    Dosed two or three times daily in trials without any comparison of schedules.

    Timing was not directly compared. This reflects convention or how the compound behaves in the body, not a trial showing this window works better.

The evidence in depth

Best supported: Not enough

What each association actually rests on, and the papers behind it. A rating describes the state of the research, not how promising the supplement sounds. How we rate evidence.

Exercise performance

Muscle & Physical Performance
Not enough evidence

Controlled trials in athletes and healthy men have not found increases in testosterone, strength or lean mass with tribulus. The marketing claim is long-standing and the trial record does not support it.

Not enough evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

View the 2 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Mood

Mental Wellbeing
Not enough evidence

Evidence is limited for tribulus and libido or wellbeing. Where self-reported improvements appear, hormone measurements in the same trials did not change.

Not enough evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

View the 3 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Things to know

Interactions, contraindications and dose limits, most serious first. Concentrated extracts interact with medication in ways the whole plant does not, so this section carries more weight here than it does on a food page.

  • Worth knowing

    Adulteration in sports and sexual-performance products

    Tribulus appears in testosterone and libido blends, a category where regulators regularly find undeclared anabolic steroids, sildenafil analogues and stimulants. Athletes risk failed doping tests from products whose labels look clean.

  • Worth knowing

    Liver and kidney injury reports

    Cases of hepatotoxicity and kidney injury have been reported with tribulus products, and grazing livestock develop a photosensitising liver disease from the plant, which is a genuine warning signal.

  • Avoid

    Pregnancy and hormone-sensitive conditions

    Animal studies report developmental abnormalities, and its purported hormonal activity makes it inappropriate in pregnancy, breastfeeding and hormone-sensitive cancers including prostate cancer.

  • Interaction

    Glucose-lowering and blood pressure medication

    Interacts withInsulin, sulfonylureas, antihypertensives, lithium

    Tribulus has been reported to lower blood glucose and blood pressure, which may add to medication doing the same.

Evidence ratings on this page: 2 not enough evidence.

Supplements are sold in the US without pre-market review of efficacy or safety. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to take Tribulus terrestris, or a dose to follow.