Just wondering whether anyone had taken blood tests before and after using any of the Biotest T boosters such as TRIBEX and Alpha Male? I personally plan to use any/all of these in the near future and post my results, but am currently recovering from a lower back injury and am not training hard enough to warrant use. A couple of human studies I have recently looked at haven’t shown a lot of promise for Tribulus:
- Neychev VK. Mitev VI. The aphrodisiac herb Tribulus terrestris does not influence the androgen production in young men. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 101(1-3):319-23, 2005 Oct 3.
This study used 10 and 20mg/kg of tribulus extract (corresponding to approximately 820mg/day and 1640mg/day for a 180 pound man), finding no significant difference between the control and test groups. Also keep in mind there were only 7 men in each group (control, 10mg/kg.day and 20mg/kg.day).
- Rogerson S. Riches CJ. Jennings C. Weatherby RP. Meir RA. Marshall-Gradisnik SM. The effect of five weeks of Tribulus terrestris supplementation on muscle strength and body composition during preseason training in elite rugby league players. [Journal Article. Randomized Controlled Trial] Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. 21(2):348-53, 2007 May.
This study only used 450mg/day, with 11 subjects in both the control and test groups, again finding no significant differences between the two groups. This is perhaps more applicable to T-Nation readers as it followed a group of elite rugby players going through their pre-season training, which would have involved strength/hypertrophy training.
I found one study in rats and one in primates that found significant effects of tribulus although the one in primates used intravenous administration. (Gauthaman K. Adaikan PG. Prasad RN. Aphrodisiac properties of Tribulus Terrestris extract (Protodioscin) in normal and castrated rats. [Journal Article] Life Sciences. 71(12):1385-96, 2002 Aug 9. and K. Gauthaman, P.G. Adaikan, R.N.V. Prasad, V.H.H. Goh and S.C. Ng , Changes in hormonal parameters secondary to intravenous administration of Tribulus terrestris extract in primates. International Journal of Impotence Research 12 Supplement 2 (2000))
Now, I’ll try anything once and also appreciate that between the two human studies there are still only 18 subjects that actually took the supplement, so I figure we can get at least that many people reporting on it’s effectiveness here.
Also, as advertised in the store, a specific type of tribulus (Bulgarian?) is required to see the desired effects. If this is true and the studies didn’t use this specific plant, then they obviously aren’t valid. Either way please include dosing and any other information you think is relevant.