Boron
Boron (element)
Also known as: Boron Citrate, Boron Glycinate, Calcium Fructoborate
Overview
A trace mineral involved in bone health and steroid hormone metabolism. Evidence that it raises testosterone in men is thin: one small, unblinded pilot study of 8 men found lower SHBG and higher free testosterone after a week of boron supplementation, but the only placebo-controlled trial in men — 19 resistance-trained men over 7 weeks — found no effect on testosterone, lean mass, or strength beyond what training alone produced in both groups. The studies most often cited for boron's hormone effects were done in postmenopausal women correcting a boron-deficient diet, a different population and a different question.
Proposed mechanism
Proposed but unconfirmed: in one small, never-repeated human study, boron modestly lowered SHBG, the protein that binds testosterone in the blood, which in theory could leave more testosterone "free" and active — but the one controlled human trial found no hormonal benefit at all. Claims that boron also lowers 5-alpha-reductase activity or raises DHEA come only from animal and lab research; no human trial has tested either claim. Boron's better-documented role is in calcium and magnesium retention, and that has mainly been studied in postmenopausal women eating low-boron diets, not in men.
Mechanisms describe how researchers think a compound may act, often from laboratory work — a proposed mechanism is not proof of a clinical effect in people.
Traditional & studied uses
Related pathways
Pathway tags are a research aid for browsing the glossary — they are not a claim that this ingredient treats any condition.