Botanical species · safety record

Tribulus terrestris

The EFSA Compendium of Botanicals holds 16 constituent measurements and 9 adverse-effect records for Tribulus terrestris. This page reports what those source records contain and how to reach them. It carries no effect estimate, no dose and no recommendation.

Accepted name in source: Tribulus terrestris L.

16Constituent measurements

9Safety records

8Cited sources

1,031Licensed products (Canada)

Regulatory presence

Health Canada's Licensed Natural Health Products Database holds 1,031 licensed products naming Tribulus terrestris as a medicinal ingredient, matched on the exact Latin binomial. A licence records that a product met the regulator's requirements for sale in Canada. It is not evidence that the product works.

Extract types on licence

Dry
Extract Type TBA
Fresh
decoction
fluid

Source material stated

Aerial parts
Aerial parts (standardized extract)
Aerial parts extract
Fruit
Fruit (standardized extract)
Fruit Powder
Fruit and leaf
Fruit extract

What the records describe

Constituents measured

Plant parts

Preparations

Effect types

Target tissues

Recorded constituents

What analytical work has found in this species, at which plant part and preparation. A measured constituent is a fact about material, not about effect.

Substance	Plant part	Preparation	Concentration	Analytical method	Source
Moupinamide	Unspecified	Solvent extraction	—	Colorimetry, Spectroscopy (Spectrometry) and Photometry	Resolve DOI
N-p-coumaroyltyramine	Unspecified	Solvent extraction	—	Colorimetry, Spectroscopy (Spectrometry) and Photometry	Resolve DOI
Phenylpropanoids	Unspecified	Solvent extraction	—	Colorimetry, Spectroscopy (Spectrometry) and Photometry	Resolve DOI
Calcium oxalate	Leaves	Solvent extraction	—	Colorimetry, Spectroscopy (Spectrometry) and Photometry	No resolvable identifier
Carboline alkaloids	Unspecified	Solvent extraction	—	Chromatographic tests	No resolvable identifier
Cyanide	Leaves	—	14.4 ppm	Colorimetry, Spectroscopy (Spectrometry) and Photometry	No resolvable identifier
Harmalol	Unspecified	Solvent extraction	≥ 414 Nanogram/gram	Chromatographic tests	No resolvable identifier
Harmalol	Unspecified	Solvent extraction	≤ 486 Nanogram/gram	Chromatographic tests	No resolvable identifier
Harmane alkaloids	Unspecified	Solvent extraction	≤ 143 Nanogram/gram	Chromatographic tests	No resolvable identifier
Harmane alkaloids	Unspecified	Solvent extraction	≥ 75.2 Nanogram/gram	Chromatographic tests	No resolvable identifier
Harmol	Unspecified	Solvent extraction	≤ 453 Nanogram/gram	Chromatographic tests	No resolvable identifier
Nitrate	Leaves	—	15.28 Milligram/gram	Colorimetry, Spectroscopy (Spectrometry) and Photometry	No resolvable identifier
Nitrites	Leaves	—	9.71 Milligram/gram	Colorimetry, Spectroscopy (Spectrometry) and Photometry	No resolvable identifier
Norharmane	Unspecified	Solvent extraction	96.2 Nanogram/gram	Chromatographic tests	No resolvable identifier
Oxalates	Leaves	—	0.14 Percent	Colorimetry, Spectroscopy (Spectrometry) and Photometry	No resolvable identifier
Saponins	Fruit unspecified	Solvent extraction	—	Unspecified	No resolvable identifier

Recorded adverse effects

Adverse effects reported in the source literature, most often in animal or laboratory models at a stated preparation and dose.

Effect	Target tissue	Plant part	Preparation	Test organism	Test type	Source
Digestive	Digestive: pancreas	Unspecified	Solvent extraction	—	In vitro	Resolve DOI
Digestive	Digestive	Unspecified	—	Goat (as animal)	Subchronic	Resolve DOI
Hemopoietic	Cardiovascular / haematological	Unspecified	—	Goat (as animal)	Subchronic	Resolve DOI
Hepatotoxicity	Liver	Unspecified	—	Human (as organism)	Case report	Resolve DOI
Hepatotoxicity	Urogenital: kidneys	Unspecified	—	Goat (as animal)	Subchronic	Resolve DOI
Nephrotoxicity	Urogenital: kidneys	Unspecified	—	Human (as organism)	Case report	Resolve DOI
Neurotoxicity	Neurologic	Unspecified	—	Human (as organism)	Case report	Resolve DOI
Neurotoxicity	Muscle, skeletal	—	—	Sheep (as animal)	Other	Resolve DOI
Pulmonary and cardiac	Cardiovascular / haematological	Unspecified	—	Goat (as animal)	Subchronic	Resolve DOI

Cited sources

The literature the compendium cites for this species. Metatron Health has no relationship with these authors or journals and earns nothing from citing them.

Hemalatha, S., Hari, R. Acute and subacute toxicity studies of the saponin rich butanol extracts of tribulus terrestris fruits in wistar rats. International journal of pharmaceutical sciences review and research, 2014, vol. 27, no. 2, p. 307-313.
Song, Yeong Hun., Kim, Dae Wook., Curtis-Long, Marcus J., Park, Chanin., Son, Minky., Kim, Jeong Yoon., Yuk, Heung Joo., Lee, Keun Woo., Park, Ki Hun. Cinnamic acid amides from Tribulus terrestris displaying uncompetitive alpha-glucosidase inhibition . European journal of medicinal chemistry, 2016, vol. 114, p. 201-208. DOI
Aslani, MR., Movassaghi, AR., Mohri, M., Ebrahim-Pour, V., Mohebi, AN. Experimental Tribulus terrestris poisoning in goats. Small ruminant research, 2004, vol. 51, no. 3, p. 261-267. DOI
Talasaz, Azita Hajhossein., Abbasi, Mohammad-Reza., Abkhiz, Saeed., Dashti-Khavidaki, Simin. Tribulus terrestris-induced severe nephrotoxicity in a young healthy male . Nephrology dialysis transplantation, 2010, vol. 25, no. 11, p. 3792-3793. DOI
Bourke, CA. Abnormal turning behaviour, GABAergic inhibition and the degeneration of astrocytes in ovine Tribulus terrestris motor neuron disease . Australian veterinary journal, 2006, vol. 84, no. 1-2, p. 53-58. DOI
Tsuchiya, Hironori., Hayashi, Hideaki., Sato, Masaru., Shimizu, Hiroshi., Iinuma, Munekazu. Quantitative analysis of all types of beta-carboline alkaloids in medicinal plants and dried edible plants by high performance liquid chromatography with selective fluorometric detection. Phytochemical analysis, 1999, vol. 10, no. 5, p. 247-253.
Tutuncu Konyar, Sevil., Ozturk, Necla., Dane, Feruzan. Occurrence, types and distribution of calcium oxalate crystals in leaves and stems of some species of poisonous plants. Botanical studies, 2014, vol. 55, no. 1, p. 1-9.
Abatan, M. O., Arowolo, R. O., Olurunsogo, O. O. Phytochemical analysis of some commonly occurring poisonous plants in Nigerian pastures . Tropical veterinarian, 1997, vol. 15, no. 1-2, p. 49-54.

Boundary

A constituent measurement is a fact about material at a stated preparation, not a statement about what that material does in a person. An adverse-effect or genotoxicity record is an observation reported in a source, most often in an animal or laboratory model. Neither is a Metatron Health conclusion about causality, human risk or benefit, and the absence of a record is not proof that a preparation is safe. Nothing here is diagnosis, prescribing or individual medical care.

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Independent literature