Restoring Fertility with Tribulus

You may not have heard of Tribulus before, it’s a little ‘off the beaten path’ as fertility herbs go but this prolific Bulgarian ‘weed’ is much prized for it’s ability to restore both male and female infertility - naturally. Unusually it has been studied in combination with ovulation-inducing medications too with surprisingly good results. This is great news for women who find that their bodies do not respond well to conventional ovulation-induction treatments.

Tribulus has a long history of use throughout Asia and India where it is regarded as a very safe and a powerful tonic for energy, stamina, libido and fertility enhancement. When I encounter women with ovulatory infertility in my practice, Tribulus is one of my favorite ‘go to’ herbs for this problem. Recently studies have shown that Tribulus leaves can be of considerable benefit to such women, especially those who have trouble ovulating - or who ovulate late - or irregularly.

The subject of these studies has been a Bulgarian product called ‘Tribestan’ which contains 250 mg of Tribulus. When 36 annovulatory women were treated with Tribestan, 24 women (67.7%) found their ovulation restored - and two of the women became pregnant. These are quite remarkable results for one herb alone in just three months.

Interestingly, at the end of this 3 month time period Tribestan was combined with two different commonly used ovulation stimulation drugs. Surprisingly, the results of the combined herb / drug treatment exceeded the benefits of taking ovulation-inducing medications alone. The researchers stated that “the effect of the combined treatment was better than that of their individual administration.” Tribestan also had no side effects and the researchers concluded that:

“The non-hormonal Bulgarian product Tribestan has its place in the treatment of hormonal sterility...”

“The combined administration of hormonal stimulants of ovulation and Tribestan is particularly useful for the effective treatment of hormonal sterility in females.”

Tribulus has been the subject of other studies too, especially for male infertility which will be covered in a separate article. If you are struggling with ovulatory infertility or annovulation - having trouble ovulating or having trouble ovulating regularly - Tribulus may be worth exploring along with other measures that help to restore ovulation.

It’s important to have a holistic approach to restoring fertility and to look at all the various factors that may be involved in poor ovulation such as body fat composition and nutrition. It’s a good idea to talk to your physician before trying new treatments too. As with all fertility herbs it is essential to purchase a high quality preferably organic brand that is free from contaminants - and ask your physician first especially if you are already taking medications.

1. ‘Clinical study of Tribestan in females with endocrine sterility.’ P. Tabakova, M. Dimitrov, K. Ognyanov, N. Popvassileev,
FIRST OBSTETRIC-GYNECOLOGICAL HOSPITAL "T. KIRKOVA", SOFIA
HEAD PHYSICIAN DR. M. DIMITROV