Testosterone booster Basella alba also activates aromatase

In African and Asian countries Basella alba and the cultivar Basella alba rubra are popular green leafy vegetables. Herbal healers in Cameroon use extracts from the plant to enhance libido and as a remedy for infertility. Researchers at the University of Yaounde have now discovered that the extract may well be effective.

Basella alba is an ingredient used in some testosterone-boosting supplements. The researchers don't have hard proof of the effectiveness of these products, but their research does show that it is plausible that the supplements do have some effect. The researchers did experiments using cells from the testes of rats, not humans, and methanol-based extracts of the plants.

First of all the researchers discovered that the extracts were safe. The cells did not die when given concentrations of 10 and 100 microgram/ml.

Secondly the researchers discovered that the Basella alba extracts contributed relatively less to the rise in testosterone level, the higher the concentration of hCG. In the table immediately below you see the effect on the cells' testosterone production, and in the lower table the effect on estradiol production.