Benefits
Semen volume and sperm count in one 30-man trial of healthy men
In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 30 healthy men aged 20 to 40 took a water extract of the root (500 mg twice daily) or placebo for 12 weeks. Semen volume, sperm count and motility rose in the extract group. The testosterone result is contradictory: the results call the rise significant, the conclusion says it was not. This single small trial (15 men per group) needs independent repetition.
Libido and sexual behavior gains in rats; no human sexual-function trial
Rat studies of Chlorophytum borivilianum root extract (125 to 250 mg/kg a day for about one to two months) report more mounting and ejaculation, shorter latencies, more sexual vigor and higher sperm counts, including in diabetic rats. No human trial has measured libido or sexual function; the only human trial on male reproduction measured semen and testosterone, so these effects remain untested in people.
Body weight in diabetic rats; no strength gain over placebo in people
In diabetic rats, an extract given at 200 mg/kg reduced the weight loss seen in untreated diabetic animals. In a 60-person trial, handgrip strength rose within the safed musli group over 2 months but did not differ significantly from placebo. No human trial has measured muscle mass or body composition.
Walking and exercise test distance in a 60-person trial
In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 60 healthy volunteers took 3 g a day or placebo for 2 months. The safed musli group walked farther in a 6-minute walk test at 1 and 2 months and covered more distance in a 6-minute exercise test at 2 months. The authors framed this as an anti-stress effect, but stress itself was not measured.
Immune activity (laboratory and animal studies)
A review of safed musli lists immunomodulatory activity among the findings of laboratory and animal studies, but judged that much of this research lacks substantial evidence and does not stand up to critical assessment. No human study has measured immune outcomes.
Mechanism of action
Saponins and sperm production (proposed)
The authors of the human semen trial proposed that the saponins and stigmasterol in the root stimulate sperm production and that its mucilage adds to semen volume. They did not test this; it is a hypothesis.
Sperm count in rat studies
In rats, the root extract raised sperm count after 54 to 60 days of dosing, and in one study also sperm motility, with a small rise in abnormal sperm that stayed under 10 percent. How the extract does this has not been established.
Traditional tonic classification
Ayurveda classes the root as a rasayana (rejuvenating) and balya (general health) tonic and as an aphrodisiac. The only human trial framed as testing an adaptogenic effect measured walking and exercise-test distance, not stress hormones, so no stress-pathway mechanism has been shown in people.
Clinical trials
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of a water extract of the root, 500 mg twice daily for 12 weeks, with barley powder as placebo (Rath et al. 2013, Ayu)
30 healthy men aged 20 to 40 recruited at an Ayurvedic hospital outpatient department in Jaipur, India, 15 per group.
Semen volume, sperm count and sperm motility improved in the extract group and not in the placebo group; the analysis compared each group with its own baseline. For testosterone the report contradicts itself: the results describe a significant rise versus placebo, while the conclusion states that no statistically significant effect was found. No side effects were reported. The trial is small and has not been independently repeated.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial of 3 g a day of Chlorophytum borivilianum or placebo for 2 months (Tripathi et al. 2019, Indian J Pharmacol)
60 healthy volunteers tested on days 0, 30 and 60 with walk, exercise and cycling tests and a handgrip test.
Distance in the 6-minute walk test was greater than with placebo at days 30 and 60, distance in a 6-minute exercise test was greater at day 60, and diastolic blood pressure during a fixed cycling workload was lower at day 60. Handgrip strength rose within the safed musli group but did not differ significantly from placebo, and no adverse events occurred. The authors read the results as an adaptogenic (anti-stress) effect, but no stress measure was taken.