Boron
Trace mineral studied for effects on SHBG and free testosterone at modest doses.
Supplements
Research records
Historical source snapshot. Not freshly verified, not a recommendation. Study findings, community accounts and app defaults are not interchangeable.
Publication suitability · 2026-10-15: Historical reference only; not a clinical verification. Clinical, regulatory, efficacy, safety and dose claims are not independently established by this review.
Boron
Trace mineral studied for effects on SHBG and free testosterone at modest doses.
Evidence category: Clinical study. This describes the source category, not approval or certainty.
Regulatory statement in source: Not separately recorded; do not infer approval from the evidence category.
Boron is a trace element promoted as raising testosterone. The evidence here is one small randomised trial in 19 male bodybuilders over seven weeks, reported in two papers. Boron raised blood boron in most who took it but had no effect on total or free testosterone, lean body mass or strength. Both groups gained testosterone, lean mass and strength from the training itself.
Benefits reported in the imported source
Risks and limits
- The one small trial found no effect on total or free testosterone, lean mass or strength
- Gains in both groups came from the training itself, not from the supplement
- The whole evidence base here is a single trial in 19 male bodybuilders, reported twice
Source bottom line: One small trial found boron raised blood boron but changed nothing about testosterone, lean mass or strength.
Uncertainty: Reference information only. Not medical advice.
Study protocols — reports, not instructions
19 male bodybuilders aged 20-27 (10 on boron, 9 on placebo)
- Reported regimen
- a 2.5 mg boron supplement or placebo every day, alongside their bodybuilding training
- Duration
- 7 weeks
- Reported outcome
- Boron had no effect on total or free testosterone, lean body mass or strength; both groups gained testosterone, lean mass and strength from the training itself.
- Source
- The effect of boron supplementation on lean body mass, plasma testosterone levels, and strength in male bodybuilders (Ferrando 1993)
Claim provenance
evidence.json#/catalog:supplement:boron/protocols/0
19 male bodybuilders aged 20-27 (10 on boron, 9 on placebo)
- Reported regimen
- a 2.5 mg boron supplement or placebo daily, with plasma boron measured by inductively coupled argon plasma spectroscopy
- Duration
- 7 weeks
- Reported outcome
- Plasma boron rose in 6 of the 10 supplemented men; boron affected testosterone, lean body mass, 1-RM squat and 1-RM bench press not at all.
- Source
- Plasma boron and the effects of boron supplementation in males (Green 1994)
Claim provenance
evidence.json#/catalog:supplement:boron/protocols/1
Community and practice descriptions
Accounts of a practice are not evidence of safety or effectiveness. Words such as “standard”, “safe” or “recommended” describe the source account, not verified consensus or this wiki’s advice. Commercial and self-published citations are retained for traceability, not vendor endorsement or independent clinical corroboration.
Historical research outcome: no-verified-description · 2026-10-06
No suitable community description was independently verified in these checks. The entry remains empty; this does not establish that no practice exists elsewhere.
- https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Boron-HealthProfessional/: blocked — Independent direct retrieval returned HTTP 403. No description was verified from this inaccessible response.
Pharmacokinetic context
No half-life recorded in this source snapshot. No value has been inferred.
Source references
- The effect of boron supplementation on lean body mass, plasma testosterone levels, and strength in male bodybuilders (Ferrando 1993)
- Plasma boron and the effects of boron supplementation in males (Green 1994)
- PubMed: boron testosterone
Snapshot provenance
Source ID: catalog:supplement:boron. Commit: adc7684614f9439b41d91a3312b62e7982c7e20e. Review state: historical-not-reverified. Authored links are retained separately from the canonical evidence links in the public data. App templates/defaults and rejected drafts are archived, not deployed.
Related entries and components
None listed.