here is one of the ingredients that is listed for this stuff, I just looked it up on wikipedia.
Leaves and flower
Scientific classificationKingdom:
Plantae
Division:
Magnoliophyta
Class:
Magnoliopsida
Order:
Zygophyllales
Family:
Zygophyllaceae
Genus:
Tribulus
Species:
T. terrestris
Binomial nameTribulus terrestris
LinnaeusTribulus terrestris is a
flowering plant in the family
Zygophyllaceae, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the
Old World in southern
Europe, southern
Asia, throughout
Africa, and in northern
Australia. It can thrive even in
desert climates and poor
soil.
Like many
weedy species, this plant has many common names.
Puncture Vine,
Caltrop,
Yellow Vine, and
Goathead are the most widely used; others include bindy eye, bindii, bullhead, burnut, burra gokhroo, calthrops, cat's head, common dubbeltjie, devil's thorn, devil's weed, doublegee, dubbeltje, gokshura, ground bur-nut, isiHoho, land caltrop, Maltese cross, Mexican sandbur, puncture weed, rose, small caltrops, tackweed, and Texas sandbur (also
T. micrococcus).
It is a
taprooted herbaceous perennial plant that grows as a summer
annual in colder climates. The stems radiate from the crown to a diameter of about 10 cm to over 1 m, often branching. They are usually prostrate, forming flat patches, though they may grow more upwards in shade or among taller plants. The
leaves are pinnately compound with leaflets less than a quarter-inch long. The
flowers are 410 mm wide, with five lemon-yellow petals. A week after each flower blooms, it is followed by a
fruit that easily falls apart into four or five single-seeded nutlets. The nutlets or "seeds" are hard and bear two sharp spines, 10 mm long and 46 mm broad point-to-point. These nutlets strikingly resemble goats' or bulls' heads; the "horns" are sharp enough to puncture bicycle tyres and to cause considerable pain to unshod feet.
The
Latin name
tribulus originally meant the
caltrop (a spiky weapon), but in Classical times already meant this plant as well.
[1]
Contents
Dietary supplement
Tribulus terrestris has long been used as a tonic and aphrodisiac in Indian
ayurveda practice, where it is known by its
Sanskrit name, "gokshura".
[3]
It is now being promoted as a
testosterone booster for the purpose of building
muscle and increasing sex drive. Independent studies
[4] have suggested that
Tribulus terrestris extract does increase testosterone levels, though leaving them in the normal range, which is not thought to increase muscle development.
Some have compared the tonic properties of
Tribulus terrestris to the effects of
ginseng, but these occur due to entirely different mechanisms. Claims have been made that it enhances testosterone levels by increasing
luteinizing hormone (LH) levels.
[5] LH is responsible for "telling" your body to produce testosterone. One interesting fact is that extended use of
anabolic steroids reduces levels of LH, thus reducing and sometimes shutting down the body's production of testosterone.
[6]
It is also claimed that
Tribulus terrestris increases testosterone by increasing
gonadotropin-releasing hormone[
citation needed] (GnRH) which in turn stimulates the production of LH and
follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). Testosterone, besides its role in muscle-building and raising fertility and libido, is also known to have a positive effect on
bone marrow activity (for
red blood cell production) and the immune system.[
citation needed]
On the other hand, one recent study found that
T. terrestris caused no increase in testosterone or LH in young men,
[7] and another found that a commercial supplement containing
androstenedione and herbal extracts, including
T. terrestris, was no more effective at raising testosterone levels than androstenedione alone.
[8] SupplementWatch does not consider that there is any scientific evidence for effectiveness in muscle building. It suggests that it may be beneficial for those whose testosterone is below normal, such as dieters and
overtrained athletes.
[4]
The active chemical in
T. terrestris is proven to be protodioscin (PTN),
[9] a cousin to
DHEA. In a study with mice,
Tribulus was shown to enhance mounting activity and erection better than testosterone cypionate.[
citation needed] This however, isn't as convincing as one might think. Although an
OTC supplement outpacing a pharmaceutical is big news, testosterone cypionate is a synthetic
ester of testosterone engineered for its longer activity. To be effective, its level must build up in the system of the animal using it. This process usually takes 23 weeks.[
citation needed]
No significant adverse effects have been reported from supplementation with
Tribulus terrestris. However, some users report an upset
stomach, which can usually be counteracted by taking it with food.
[4]