NOW Foods Tribulus 500mg 100 Veg Capsules

What it is

NOW Sports Tribulus is a single-herb dietary supplement sold as a bottle of 100 veg capsules, each holding 500 mg of a standardized Tribulus terrestris extract. The Supplement Facts panel on the bottle carries one row, and the serving is one capsule. It is made by NOW Foods of 395 S. Glen Ellyn Rd., Bloomingdale, Illinois, and the panel reads, word for word, "Made and quality tested in the USA with globally sourced ingredients." You can find it in our Health & Wellness range alongside the rest of the Sports Nutrition capsules.

What's inside

Tribulus terrestris is a low, sprawling flowering plant in the caltrop family that grows across warm regions of southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia and Australia, and has spread widely through the drier parts of North America. In English it usually goes by puncture vine or goat's head, both names earned by its hard, spiked seed case, which is sharp enough to flatten a bicycle tire. The label notes that the plant has been used for centuries in Greece, India and Africa. The NCCIH Herbs at a Glance index and the NIH fact sheet on botanical dietary supplements give general background on how botanical ingredients of this kind are prepared and studied.

The panel names the plant parts the extract is drawn from: Fruit/Aerial Parts. "Aerial parts" is the standard botanical term for everything above ground — stems, leaves and flowers — as distinct from the root. So this extract comes from the spiked fruit together with the top growth, and no root material is listed.

The row also prints min. 45% Saponins. Saponins are a broad class of naturally occurring plant compounds named for the way they foam in water, from the Latin sapo, soap, and they are the compound this extract is standardized against. The word doing the work is min. — it is a floor rather than an average, so each batch of extract is produced to meet or exceed that proportion rather than to land near it. Two things are worth keeping straight: the 500 mg is the weight of the finished extract in the capsule, not the weight of raw plant it was concentrated from, and the 45% figure describes what that extract is made of, not what the whole capsule is made of.

Because Tribulus terrestris is a botanical rather than a vitamin or a mineral, no Daily Value has been established for it, so the panel prints a Daily Value not established footnote where a nutrient panel would carry a % Daily Value column. With a single row on the panel, that footnote is the whole of the right-hand side. The NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database is a useful place to see how printed panels are laid out across products, and NIH ODS publishes a plain-language guide to what you need to know about dietary supplements.

Three other ingredients are listed, and the panel assigns no role to any of them, so neither do we. Hypromellose is hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, a cellulose-derived film; the label identifies it in brackets as the cellulose capsule, which is what makes this a veg capsule rather than a gelatin one. Ascorbyl palmitate is an ester of ascorbic acid and palmitic acid. Maltodextrin is a carbohydrate produced from starch, and the label marks it non-GMO.

** Daily Value not established. Transcribed from the Supplement Facts panel printed on the bottle.

How to use it

The label's Suggested Usage reads: take 1 capsule 1 to 3 times daily with food. That range is the whole of the printed instruction — there is no loading step and no timing window on the bottle. At one capsule a day a bottle of 100 covers 100 days of servings; at the label's upper figure of three a day it covers about 33. Storage is printed too: store in a cool, dry, dark place after opening.

The label also notes that natural color variation may occur in this product, which is normal for a plant extract capsuled from different batches of raw material.

Who it's for

This is a dietary supplement for adult men who want a single-herb tribulus capsule at a stated extract weight and a stated standardization floor. It is a capsule rather than a powder or a drink mix, so there is nothing to measure, scoop or mix, and the bottle is a plain amber one with a screw cap rather than a sachet or a tub. Anyone who prefers to read a panel before buying will find this one short: a serving is one capsule, and the capsule has one listed active.

Good to know

The printed Caution reads: for adults only; consult physician if pregnant/nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition; keep out of reach of children.

The allergen statement on the bottle reads: not manufactured with yeast, wheat, gluten, soy, milk, egg, fish, shellfish, tree nut or sesame ingredients. Produced in a GMP facility that processes other ingredients containing these allergens.

The label edge carries a Vegan mark and a Non-GMO mark, and a GMP Quality Assured seal is printed beside the barcode. One more printed detail that is easy to miss: the bottle itself is made from 100% PCR — post-consumer recycled — resin, printed under the Caution block.

Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly is in one NOW Sports Tribulus capsule?

One capsule contains 500 mg of Tribulus Extract Complex, drawn from the fruit and aerial parts of Tribulus terrestris and standardized to a minimum of 45% saponins. That is the only row on the Supplement Facts panel. The remaining listed ingredients are hypromellose, which forms the capsule shell, ascorbyl palmitate and maltodextrin.

What does "min. 45% Saponins" on the label mean?

It means at least 45% of the extract's weight is saponins, the plant compound this extract is measured against. The "min." makes it a floor rather than a target or an average. It describes the composition of the 500 mg extract, not of the whole capsule.

How many capsules are in the bottle, and how far does one bottle go?

There are 100 veg capsules in the bottle, and the serving size is one capsule. At the label's suggested range of one to three capsules daily with food, a bottle covers between roughly 33 and 100 days of servings.

Is the capsule itself suitable for a vegan diet?

Yes — the capsule shell is hypromellose, a cellulose-derived material that the label identifies in brackets as the cellulose capsule, and the bottle carries a Vegan mark. The allergen statement adds that the product is not manufactured with yeast, wheat, gluten, soy, milk, egg, fish, shellfish, tree nut or sesame ingredients.

How will this arrive in the mail?

Orders ship in plain outer packaging. It will not show the Gear Isle name. The bottle itself travels in its retail form inside that outer packaging.

Product information compiled and reviewed by the Gear Isle product team. We transcribe supplement facts directly from manufacturer packaging. Found an error? Tell us.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Dietary supplement for adults 18 and over. Consult a licensed healthcare professional before use, especially if you have a medical condition, heart concerns, or take prescription medication (including nitrates). Keep out of reach of children.