Fadogia agrestis: Uses, Benefits, Dosage & Safety

Last updated: August 2026 · Reviewed by the FactoWiki Editorial Team for clarity and source accuracy

What is Fadogia agrestis?

Fadogia agrestis is a West African shrub in the Rubiaceae family, traditionally used in Nigerian folk medicine as an aphrodisiac. The stem contains alkaloids and saponins. It became a mainstream supplement after being promoted in podcasts, not after clinical validation.

What Fadogia agrestis is commonly used for

Marketed for testosterone support, libido and male vitality. None of these uses is supported by human trial data.

How Fadogia agrestis works

In rats, aqueous stem extract raised serum testosterone in a dose-dependent way, apparently through effects on the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis. Whether this occurs in humans at any dose is unknown, because it has never been tested in people.

What the evidence says

Each claim below is tied to the specific study behind it, rather than to a general reading list.

• Aqueous Fadogia agrestis stem extract produced adverse changes in rat testicular function indices, with incomplete recovery at higher doses. Yakubu, Akanji & Oladiji, Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2008;111:288–292 — controlled animal study. (PubMed)
• Liver and kidney cellular toxicity markers were altered in rats at 18–100 mg/kg over 28 days. Yakubu, Oladiji & Akanji, Human & Experimental Toxicology, 2009 — controlled animal study. (PubMed)
• No published human clinical trial of Fadogia agrestis exists as of this review. PubMed search returns no human interventional studies. (PubMed)

Typical dosage used in studies

Commercial products typically supply 425–600 mg daily. No human dose-finding, pharmacokinetic or safety study has ever established that any dose is safe or effective. The commonly sold 600 mg sits uncomfortably close to doses where rodent organ toxicity was observed after human-equivalent conversion.

Side effects and safety

This is the section that matters. Yakubu and colleagues, the same group that reported the testosterone effect, found that 28 days of aqueous stem extract at 18, 50 and 100 mg/kg produced adverse changes in rat testicular function indices, with no recovery at the higher doses after a 10-day washout. A separate study from the group documented liver and kidney cellular toxicity markers. There is no human safety data of any kind. At least one well-regarded supplement brand has discontinued its Fadogia product on these grounds.

Medication interactions and who should avoid Fadogia agrestis

Sources & further reading

The claim-level citations above are drawn from these sources:

• Yakubu, Akanji & Oladiji, Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2008;111:288–292 — controlled animal study — find on PubMed
• Yakubu, Oladiji & Akanji, Human & Experimental Toxicology, 2009 — controlled animal study — find on PubMed
• PubMed search returns no human interventional studies
• NIH Office of Dietary Supplements
• NIH National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health

Frequently asked questions

Does Fadogia agrestis raise testosterone in humans?

Nobody knows. It has never been tested in a human clinical trial. Every testosterone claim traces back to rat studies.

Is Fadogia agrestis safe?

That has not been established, and there is a specific reason for concern. The rodent studies that showed testosterone increases also showed dose-dependent testicular, liver and kidney toxicity, at doses not far from what supplements sell. With no human safety data at all, the honest answer is that the risk is unquantified.

Why is it so popular then?

Podcast promotion, not evidence. Popularity and validation are different things, and this is one of the clearest examples of the gap in the current supplement market.

General information, not medical advice.