Tribulus Terrestris for Urinary Tract Health

Research suggests that Tribulus terrestris has been explored in the context of several aspects of urinary tract health, including antibacterial properties relevant to UTIs, kidney stone prevention, protection against obesity-related kidney damage, and relief of lower urinary tract symptoms associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia. The available evidence comes primarily from animal studies, a small uncontrolled observational study in men, and inclusion in a systematic review of medicinal plants — with no large-scale human clinical trials specifically focused on urinary outcomes — and the overall direction is cautiously supportive, though far from conclusive. Studies indicate that while some findings are promising, such as reductions in urinary oxalate levels in rat models and improvements in symptom scores in the observational study, the limitations of these study designs make it impossible to draw firm conclusions about effectiveness in humans. Importantly, at least one published case report documents serious kidney and liver toxicity in a person taking Tribulus terrestris, and a safety study in animals noted minor changes in kidney markers, underscoring that the supplement's safety profile is not fully established and warrants careful consideration.