Tribulus Terrestris 90 Capsules Although Tribulus terrestris has enjoyed a reputation as a major player in the testosterone stakes for quite some time now, it has never really achieved its full potential. There’s a good reason for this and it’s to do with cutting corners for profit while entirely missing the mark! The original Tribulus product, to which most of the research relates (Tribestan), was claimed to be standardized for 45% protodioscine, -a furastanol saponin indicated to be the active compound. This of course turned out to be total b.s. and a lot of time was subsequently wasted by a few conscientious companies trying to match this figure. Ironically, on analysing the original Bulgarian product, Japanese scientists found the yield of total saponins (not just protodioscine) to be around just 4% (1)! More recently, several companies have misleadingly started marketing Tribulus products by making a bogus claim for 50% protodioscine content! How can they have the balls to make such an absurd claim? -I’ll explain. The raw material suppliers selling these companies this cheap Asian garbage standardize their material using outdated UV analysis, which assays for the collective saponin content, as opposed to the actual protodioscine content. To make matters worse, the only part of Tribulus used in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine is the berries (mainly as a diuretic), meaning that all extracts coming from this corner of the world will be made from these. The research on the testosterone enhancing properties of Tribulus is based exclusively on material obtained from the shoots of the Bulgarian sub-species of Tribulus; this material will have an entirely different saponin profile (and properties) from its Asian counterpart. Phytochemistry is a very precise science and high-tech analytical methods, such as HPLC, are central to its advancement. Therefore, as all analytical reference standards for (effective) Tribulus are based on Bulgarian material, it was essential that the shoots of the Bulgarian plant be used as the base material for any highly specialized extract if Tribulus was to fulfil its ultimate potential. The big breakthrough came when a large German biochemical company that specialized in phytochemical extraction techniques developed a commercial interest in Tribulus, particularly in the medical application of the anti-tumour activity of protodioscine. They drafted in the market leader in the development of botanical reference standards, to put together standards for all the major components in Tribulus (2) using only high spec HPLC analytical methods (which separates all saponins out, using pure reference material and identifying genuine peaks) . A custom extract was produced that not only yielded a consistent protodioscine content of around 16%, but also high percentages of other (previously undetermined) saponins, including pseudoprotodioscine, prototribestin (tribulosaponin A) and tribulosaponin B. This was particularly important, as they noted that other herbs with a relatively high protodioscine content (e.g. Dioscorea) did not exhibit the pro-testosterone/fertility-enhancing properties of Tribulus. Thus, the role of protodioscine as the sole active component was brought into question. The co-existence of high levels of these saponins would prove to be exclusive to both this pharmaceutical grade extract. This would tend to indicate that either protodioscine works synergistically with the other saponins or that it may not be the true active. Further research indicated that the active principle(s) seem to work at the level of the hypothalamus, -strongly stimulating the pituitary to release more LH. Additionally, increases in free testosterone also point to an interaction with SHBG.