Tribulus terrestris benefits and side effects for men and women: what the evidence shows

Tribulus terrestris is a low, creeping plant with spiky fruit, which is where its other name, puncture vine, comes from. It is sold mainly as a testosterone booster, and the trials do not back that up: in a 2025 review of 10 studies, 8 found no meaningful change in male hormones, and the two exceptions, in men with low testosterone, found a rise of about 60 to 70 ng/dL from their starting point ¹. Its better-supported use is a modest improvement in erection questionnaire scores, still rated low-quality evidence ¹³. Below are the trial numbers, what a capsule holds against what studies used, and the rare but serious liver and kidney reports to know about.

What is tribulus terrestris?

Most tribulus supplements use the plant's spiny fruit, standardized to saponins, soap-like plant compounds, and the LifeFrom capsule's extract is standardized to 75% saponins. For the basics, what it is and what it does in your body has its own page. This guide covers what the evidence shows, how much studies use, when and how to take it, side effects, interactions and blood tests.

The original theory was that tribulus raises luteinizing hormone (LH, the pituitary signal that tells the testes to make testosterone), and so raises testosterone. A 2016 review that looked at 47 years of studies concluded that the evidence for that androgen-boosting idea is inconclusive at best and, on the authors' reading of the literature, wrong ⁵. The same review pointed to animal studies suggesting tribulus may act on the lining of blood vessels and nitric oxide, the molecule that relaxes blood vessels during an erection ⁵. That would explain why the erection signal shows up without a hormone change, but it has not been proven in people.

What tribulus is good for: the evidence, graded

Each use carries a grade. Strong means several good randomized trials or a meta-analysis agree. Moderate means several randomized trials, mostly positive but small or short. Limited means few or small trials, or mixed results. Early means lab, animal or one pilot study only. Not supported means good trials found no benefit. Our guide to how to judge a supplement explains why.

Does tribulus increase testosterone?

The 2025 systematic review by Vilar Neto and colleagues pulled together 10 studies with 483 men aged 16 to 70, given 400 to 750 mg a day for 1 to 3 months. Eight of the ten found no significant change in androgens (male hormones). The men in those eight studies had normal testosterone at the start. The two studies that found a rise were in men with hypogonadism (low testosterone), and the increase of about 60 to 70 ng/dL was a within-group change, measured against the men's own starting levels rather than against placebo ¹. Half the studies scored low for method quality ¹. The review concluded:

TT supplementation has a low level of evidence regarding its effectiveness in improving erectile function in men with erectile dysfunctionVilar Neto JO et al., Nutrients, 2025 (TT is Tribulus terrestris)

In the same conclusion, the authors wrote that they found no strong evidence that tribulus raises testosterone ¹.

To put 60 to 70 ng/dL in context: total testosterone in adult men is usually reported in the hundreds of ng/dL, so this is a small shift. A broader 2024 review of 52 studies covering 27 products sold as testosterone boosters found that most fail to raise total testosterone; it named a few that might, and tribulus was not among them ². A 2026 meta-analysis of erection trials also found no difference in total testosterone between tribulus and placebo ³.

If the real question is whether your testosterone is low, a supplement cannot answer it. The Endocrine Society recommends diagnosing low testosterone only in men with symptoms and consistently low levels, measured as fasting morning total testosterone and confirmed with a repeat test, and then looking for the cause ¹⁰. Our page on low testosterone walks through that workup, and the free testosterone calculator estimates free testosterone from total testosterone and SHBG. Tribulus is not a treatment for low testosterone and never a swap for a prescribed one.

Tribulus terrestris benefits for men: erections and libido

Erection trials use the IIEF-5 (the 5-item International Index of Erectile Function, scored 5 to 25, higher is better). A 2026 meta-analysis of 8 studies found tribulus beat placebo by 3.23 points on the IIEF-5, with no more side effects than placebo ³. The 2025 review saw improvement in 3 of the 5 studies that measured erections, at 400 to 750 mg a day for 1 to 3 months, and still rated the evidence low ¹.

One of the more careful trials found nothing. In a Brazilian double-blind trial, 30 men aged 40 and over with erection problems took 800 mg a day or placebo for 30 days; IIEF-5 scores rose by about 2 points in both groups, with no difference between them, and testosterone did not change ⁴. A 2019 Egyptian trial of 70 older men with low testosterone and erection problems, taking tribulus three times a day for 3 months, reported higher testosterone and erection scores against baseline ⁶.

Tribulus terrestris benefits for women

Two small trials from the same Brazilian group tested tribulus in women with low sexual desire (hypoactive sexual desire disorder). In 40 premenopausal women, tribulus improved scores for desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, pain and satisfaction over placebo, with small rises in free and bioavailable testosterone ⁷. In 45 postmenopausal women given 750 mg a day for 120 days, sexual function improved in both groups, with free and bioavailable testosterone rising only on tribulus; 3 women in each group dropped out because of side effects ⁸. Two small trials from one team is limited evidence, and the long-term effects of raising testosterone in women are not known.

How much tribulus do studies use?

Studies used different extracts with different saponin content, so there is no agreed amount. The table lists what studies used. It is a record of research, not a dose for you.

There is no official upper limit for tribulus. The serious harms reported so far are case reports, not dose findings from trials: one man took it daily for 2 months before developing severe liver and kidney injury ⁹. One LifeFrom capsule holds 500 mg of a fruit extract standardized to 75% saponins, inside the 400 to 750 mg a day range the trials used, though their extracts differed ¹.

When and how to take tribulus

Trials gave tribulus every day, sometimes split into two doses ⁴ or three ⁶, and none tested the time of day or cycling on and off, a common gym practice with no trial behind it.

How long does tribulus take to work? The trials ran from 30 days ⁴ to 120 days ⁸, mostly 1 to 3 months ¹. If a hormone level is the point, the before-and-after blood test should be the same type, at the same time of morning, read by your clinician; our guide to why a trend beats a single reading explains why one result proves little.

Tribulus side effects

In trials, tribulus was mostly well tolerated. The 2026 meta-analysis found no difference in adverse events between tribulus and placebo ³. The concern comes from case reports outside trials.

The most detailed case, published in 2024, describes a 46-year-old man who took tribulus daily for 2 months, developed severe jaundice (yellowing) with bilirubin of 48 mg/dL and kidney dysfunction with creatinine of 7.1 mg/dL; a liver biopsy fit drug-induced liver injury, and he recovered after treatment in hospital ⁹. The authors note tribulus has been linked to severe jaundice and death in grazing animals, with only a few human reports ⁹. A case report cannot say how often this happens, only that it can. Yellow skin or eyes, dark urine or a sharp drop in urine means stopping the supplement and getting same-day care. Our guides to liver enzymes and kidney function explain the tests involved.

Who should avoid tribulus or ask first

• Pregnancy and breastfeeding: there are no human safety data. The label says to consult your physician first, and with a herb sold to change sex hormones, avoiding it unless a clinician advises otherwise is the cautious choice.
• Trying to conceive: ask first; studies in infertile men are few and small ¹.
• Children and teenagers: the label says for adults only.
• Prostate enlargement, prostate or breast cancer, or another hormone-sensitive condition: ask the specialist first. PSA and testosterone rose in one trial of older men ⁶.
• Liver or kidney disease: ask first, given the case reports ⁹¹¹.
• Surgery: tell the surgical team about every supplement, tribulus included, because its effects on blood sugar and blood pressure in people are unstudied.
• Tested athletes: check your sport's rules and whether the product is batch-tested.
• Low libido, low energy or erection problems: these have many causes, from sleep and mood to diabetes and low testosterone, and a clinician can look for them.

Tribulus interactions

Interactions between tribulus and medicines have barely been studied in people. The table flags the combinations to raise with a prescriber or pharmacist, and says where the concern is theoretical.

Supplements to pair with tribulus or keep apart

No study has set a spacing in hours between tribulus and another supplement. Everything in a pouch is taken at once, so the table flags combinations to think about.

Blood tests worth knowing about

No blood test measures tribulus itself. These are the tests that show whether a hormone moved and the safety checks that matter given the case reports. Ask your clinician whether any make sense for you.

If you have a creatinine result, the eGFR calculator turns it into an estimate of kidney filtration. If body composition is your goal, the lean body mass calculator tracks what matters better than a testosterone booster does.

Conditions and goals tribulus comes up around

Tribulus is searched alongside testosterone, libido and the gym. Low testosterone is diagnosed from symptoms plus repeated low morning levels, and its causes, from sleep apnea and obesity to pituitary problems, need a clinician's workup ¹⁰. Erectile dysfunction and low sexual desire are diagnosed and treated by a clinician too. Tribulus is not a treatment for any of these, and never a swap for a prescribed medicine. Our hormones hub collects related pages.

Tribulus in the LifeFrom pouch

One capsule holds 500 mg of a fruit extract standardized to 75% saponins, within the 400 to 750 mg a day range used in trials, though the trial extracts were not the same ¹. The label says it is for adults only and asks anyone pregnant or nursing to consult a physician first. Everything in a pouch is taken at once, so adding tongkat ali, fenugreek or another testosterone herb means taking them together. See the shop and its packs.

This guide is general education, not medical advice, and it cannot diagnose you. Dietary supplements, tribulus included, are not approved by the FDA for safety or effectiveness before they are sold. The clinician who knows your history and medicines is the right person to decide whether tribulus makes sense for you. Read our medical disclaimer.

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