Supplement
Horny goat weed is a plant used in traditional medicine whose main compound, icariin, appears to support bone by encouraging bone-building cells and slowing the cells that break bone down. Most people look at it for osteoporosis, and the evidence is moderate: studies found bone mineral density improved, including in a 24-month trial of late postmenopausal women. Those studies were small, only two contributed to that finding, and results mostly apply to postmenopausal women, so the evidence is far from settled.
Sources: PMID 17419678; PMID 35431937
- Updated
- How we grade
- 3 studies cited
- Best evidence
- Grade B
- Conditions studied
- 3
- Outcomes
- 10
- Graded outcomes
- 0120
Evidence by condition
- Strong
- Moderate
- Limited
- Very limited
| Grade | Outcome | Effect | Size | Studies | People | Studies list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bone Mineral Density Small Improvement | Improves (the measure goes up) | Small effect | 2 studies | 956 people | ||
Studies that measured bone mineral density | ||||||
| Circulating Alkaline Phosphatase Small Decrease | Improves (the measure goes down) | Small effect | 1,017 people | |||
| Estrogen | Changes; see studies | 1 study | 267 people | |||
| Interleukin 6 | Improves (the measure goes down) | 120 people | ||||
| Pain | Improves (the measure goes down) | 1,017 people | ||||
| Serum Calcium | Improves (the measure goes up) | 1,017 people | ||||
| Serum Phosphorus | Changes; see studies | 147 people | ||||
| Grade | Outcome | Effect | Size | Studies | People | Studies list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bone Mineral Density Small Improvement | Improves (the measure goes up) | Small effect | 2 studies | 85 people | ||
Studies that measured bone mineral density | ||||||
| Estrogen | Changes; see studies | 1 study | 85 people | |||
| Grade | Outcome | Effect | Size | Studies | People | Studies list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estrogen | Changes; see studies | 1 study | 8 people | |||
Key findings
- Bone Mineral DensityImproves (the measure goes up)
- Circulating Alkaline PhosphataseImproves (the measure goes down)
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Third-party tested Horny Goat Weed products, in the forms the graded studies used where we can match them.
- Grade B
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Studies cited
3 studies from PubMed
- Bioassays for estrogenic activity: development and validation of estrogen receptor (ERalpha/ERbeta) and breast cancer proliferation bioassays to measure serum estrogenic activity in clinical studies
- Epimedium-derived phytoestrogen flavonoids exert beneficial effect on preventing bone loss in late postmenopausal women: a 24-month randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled trial
- Epimedium for Osteoporosis Based on Western and Eastern Medicine: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.