12 Testosterone Boosters, Ranked by What's Actually Been Tested

Promoted online for testosterone. Who took part in the research? Rats.

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• A plant used in traditional African medicine.
• In a 2005 study, male rats given the stem extract had higher testosterone.
• In a later study, the same research team reported what it called “indications of adverse effects” on the rats’ testicular function.
• We couldn’t find a single human trial measuring testosterone (PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov, searched October 3, 2026).

No human trial on testosterone found. The closest study measured other markers.

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• An ecdysteroid, from the same chemical family as the hormones insects use to molt. Promoted as a natural anabolic.
• The closest human study (2024) gave 11 young men single doses and measured other markers, not testosterone. The authors said the data “fail to fully support” it as a potent anabolic supplement.
• Its close relative, ecdysterone, was tested for 8 weeks in trained men: no difference in testosterone, no difference in strength.
• A 2026 lab analysis found several ecdysteroid supplements contained substantially less than their labels declared.

Testosterone went up in both groups, including the placebo group. The researchers found boron had no effect.

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• In 1993, 19 bodybuilders took boron or a placebo for 7 weeks. The training raised testosterone; boron didn’t add anything.

In a 4-week trial in young men, testosterone didn’t differ from placebo.

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• Sold as an aphrodisiac and a testosterone booster. The paper’s title says it plainly.
• It wasn’t among the exceptions in the 2024 review, which included 4 Tribulus studies.

No effect on any of the hormones measured, testosterone included.

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• A root grown high in the Andes. Tested in a 12-week, placebo-controlled trial.
• The same research team also reported that men taking maca had more sexual desire, and the paper’s title spells out its “absent relationship” with testosterone. So maca might do something, just not through testosterone.

It rose in one short study. In men who lift, nothing, and at a higher dose, total testosterone went down.

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• In 2009, 23 men took it for 12 days, and their testosterone rose.
• In resistance-trained men, after 28 days of heavy training: no change.
• In another trial, at the higher of two doses, total testosterone went down. Who took part changed the answer.

Zinc can fix a shortfall. Topping up a full tank is a different claim.

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• In a small 1996 study, 4 young men had their dietary zinc restricted for 20 weeks, and their testosterone fell sharply. 9 older men who were low in zinc took supplements, and theirs went up (no control group).
• Young men already getting enough zinc took ZMA: no significant change.

Two placebo-controlled trials found no effect, in men with normal or low testosterone.

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• In 2011, overweight men who were low in vitamin D took it for a year, and their testosterone rose compared with baseline.
• Then two placebo-controlled trials in Austria: healthy men with normal testosterone, no effect; men with low testosterone, no effect either.
• The most-studied booster in the 2024 review (10 studies). It wasn’t one of the exceptions.

A 2023 meta-analysis found a small effect on total testosterone in male athletes. “Small” is the authors’ word.

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• A seed that’s also a kitchen spice. Several trials, many using branded extracts.

One placebo-controlled trial, one extract: total and free testosterone rose compared with placebo.

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• A mineral-rich resin that oozes from rock. The trial: men aged 45 to 55, 90 days, one purified extract.
• The 2024 review called that extract possibly effective for late-onset hypogonadism, the low testosterone that can come with age.

A hormone number moved. How the men said they felt didn’t.

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• In overweight men aged 40 to 70, testosterone measured in saliva rose 14.7% more than with placebo.
• The same trial found no difference in fatigue, vigor, or sexual well-being.
• The review rated ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) possibly effective for healthy men.

A 2022 meta-analysis of 5 randomized trials found total testosterone rose, including in men with low testosterone.

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• A plant from Southeast Asia, also called Eurycoma longifolia.
• The urologists’ review rated it possibly effective, both for age-related low testosterone and for healthy men.
• Even so, the meta-analysis says more research is needed before it’s used in clinical practice.