Wild yam
Memorial Sloan Kettering states there is no evidence that the human body can convert diosgenin into progesterone. Do not read wild yam as a hormone source.
Horse Honey Ingredients List: 8 Names in One 1,200 mg Blend, 5 Checks
The Horse Honey ingredients list has eight names inside one 1,200 mg Test Boost Proprietary Blend per serving: horny goat weed, tongkat ali, saw palmetto, nettle root, wild yam, sarsaparilla, orchic substance and boron. The label prints them in order but gives no amount for any single one. The capsule shell is gelatin, and orchic substance is animal-derived, so it is not vegetarian. Start with the list as printed, then run the five checks below.
By the Thehorsehoney Editorial DeskMedically reviewed by Dr. Kambiz Tajkarimi, MD, PhysicianReviewed Published Last updated
Quick answer
The Horse Honey ingredients list has eight names inside one 1,200 mg Test Boost Proprietary Blend: horny goat weed, tongkat ali, saw palmetto, nettle, wild yam, sarsaparilla, orchic substance and boron. The label gives the order but no amount for any of them, and no extract states a standardisation percentage.
On this page
- What is on the Horse Honey ingredients list, in label order?
- Check 1: What does the order of the names tell you?
- Check 2: Which ingredient has a trial behind it?
- Check 3: Does the horny goat weed compound reach your blood?
- Check 4: What are saw palmetto and nettle root doing in this list?
- Check 5: What about wild yam, sarsaparilla, orchic substance and boron?
- What else is in the capsule, and is it a pill?
- Which facts are still missing from the ingredients list?
- Key facts
- Frequently asked questions
- Our view
Curious what the checkout shows?
One bottle holds 60 gelatin capsules. The price and the return window are shown at checkout, and nowhere else.
See today's price and return windowEarnings disclosure: Thehorsehoney is the U.S. stocking partner for Horse Honey and earns a commission on orders placed through this site.Key facts
- Eight ingredients, one shared total: 1,200 mg per 2-capsule serving.
- The order is the only size clue. Horny goat weed is first, so it weighs the most. Boron is last, so it weighs the least.
- Tongkat ali is the one ingredient here with a positive placebo-controlled trial, and its trial used 200 mg a day of a standardised extract.
- A 2019 human study found icariin, the compound in horny goat weed, was very low or undetectable in blood at doses from 100 mg to 1,680 mg.
- Orchic substance is bovine testicle tissue. Reference monographs say there is no good scientific evidence to support its use.
- Seven other ingredients sit outside the blend: calcium carbonate, microcrystalline cellulose, sodium starch glycolate, stearic acid, magnesium stearate, silicon dioxide and the gelatin capsule.
What is on the Horse Honey ingredients list, in label order?
This is the panel as printed, with the plant part the label names for each botanical.
| Order | Ingredient and part | Named for its | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Horny Goat Weed Extract (Epimedium Sagittatum), leaf | icariin | Not published |
| 2 | Tongkat Ali Powder (Eurycoma Longifolia Jack), root | eurycomanone | Not published |
| 3 | Saw Palmetto Extract (Serenoa Repens), fruit | fatty acids and sterols | Not published |
| 4 | Nettle Extract (Urtica Dioica L.), root | lignans | Not published |
| 5 | Wild Yam Extract (Dioscorea Opposita), root | diosgenin | Not published |
| 6 | Sarsaparilla (Smilax Glabra Roxb.), root | saponins | Not published |
| 7 | Orchic Substance | bovine testicle tissue | Not published |
| 8 | Boron Amino Acid Chelate | boron | Not published |
The only printed amount is the total above the list: Test Boost Proprietary Blend, 1,200 mg, with the Daily Value not established. The footnote on the bottle is spelled "Dally Value Not Establlshed", and we repeat it as printed.
Check 1: What does the order of the names tell you?
A proprietary blend must show its total weight and list its parts from heaviest to lightest. That is the rule in 21 CFR 101.36(c). It does not ask for the weight of each part.
So you can say one thing with confidence. Horny goat weed weighs at least as much as tongkat ali, which weighs at least as much as saw palmetto, and so on down to boron. You cannot say by how much.
You can also draw a ceiling. The last name cannot weigh more than the total divided by eight, which is 150 mg. That is a limit, not an amount. A real figure could sit well below it.
Why the 150 mg figure is only a ceiling
Dividing 1,200 mg by eight gives 150 mg. Nothing on the bottle says the parts are equal. Use the number to judge scale only.
Check 2: Which ingredient has a trial behind it?
Tongkat ali, second on the list, is the one with a positive placebo-controlled trial. The study was reported in Food & Nutrition Research in 2021. It enrolled 105 men aged 50 to 70 whose baseline testosterone was below 300 ng/dL. They took a standardised aqueous root extract at 200 mg a day for 12 weeks, and total testosterone rose.
Three details limit what a Horse Honey buyer can take from it. The men were older and already low. The extract was standardised, and this label states no standardisation. And the dose that worked, 200 mg, is 17% of the whole 1,200 mg blend.
So the honest summary is this. A dose like that fits inside the blend. Whether it is in the capsule is not published. No trial exists on the Horse Honey formula itself.
Check 3: Does the horny goat weed compound reach your blood?
Horny goat weed leads the list, so it is the largest share. Its named compound is icariin. A randomised human trial published in 2019 gave icariin at doses from 100 mg up to 1,680 mg. Blood levels were very low or undetectable, with nearly all samples below 1 ng/mL.
That finding is about absorption, not dose. If very little crosses into the blood, a bigger capsule does not fix it. The result does not prove that horny goat weed does nothing. It does show why a long ingredient name is not proof of an effect.
Check 4: What are saw palmetto and nettle root doing in this list?
Both are prostate-and-urine ingredients, not testosterone ingredients. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health reports that a 2023 review of 27 studies found saw palmetto alone gave little or no benefit for benign prostatic hyperplasia symptoms.
Memorial Sloan Kettering says nettle has shown positive results mainly when combined with other herbs, including a saw palmetto combination for night-time urinary frequency. It also notes possible additive effects with diuretics and blood pressure drugs.
The label makes no prostate claim and gives no reason for including them. If you take prostate medicine, this check matters more than any other on the page.
Check 5: What about wild yam, sarsaparilla, orchic substance and boron?
Sarsaparilla
Sixth on the list. No established dose for this use is published, so there is nothing to compare against.
Orchic substance
Bovine testicle tissue. The monograph says there is no good scientific evidence to support the use, and it is not clear whether orchic extract provides testosterone.
Boron
Last on the list, so the smallest weight. The NIH reports a median total intake of 1.0 to 1.5 mg a day and an upper limit of 20 mg a day for adults.
Orchic substance is also a second animal-derived part, next to the gelatin shell. Together they make the capsule unsuitable for vegetarians and vegans.
What else is in the capsule, and is it a pill?
Outside the blend, the other-ingredients line names calcium carbonate, microcrystalline cellulose, sodium starch glycolate, stearic acid, magnesium stearate, silicon dioxide and the gelatin capsule. These are the fillers, a disintegrant, anti-stick agents, a flow agent and the shell.
Many people search for "horse honey pills" or "horse honey capsules". The product on this site is a capsule with a gelatin shell. No tablet, powder or liquid version appears in the material we hold.
We have no ingredient list for anything sold as black horse honey, so we do not describe one. If you hold a bottle with that name, read its own panel and compare it with the table above, line by line.
Which facts are still missing from the ingredients list?
- The amount of each of the eight ingredients.
- Any standardisation percentage for any extract.
- A laboratory report or batch certificate. A certificate reference, HOR-2631-26-TH, is printed, but the certificate itself was not published to us.
- The name of the manufacturer, as distinct from the distributor Vitalifes.
Which sources does this post use?
Only sources named on this site. Each link goes to the original page.
- 21 CFR 101.36(c), nutrition labeling of dietary supplements: eCFR.
- Chinnappan SM and colleagues, Food & Nutrition Research, 2021;65, a placebo-controlled study of a standardised Eurycoma longifolia root extract: journal page.
- Brown ES and colleagues, Natural Product Communications, 2019;14(6), a human safety and pharmacokinetics study of oral icariin: journal page.
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, saw palmetto: nccih.nih.gov.
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, About Herbs, nettle: mskcc.org.
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, About Herbs, wild yam: mskcc.org.
- WebMD / Natural Medicines monograph, orchic extract: webmd.com.
- National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements, boron fact sheet for health professionals: ods.od.nih.gov.
Frequently asked questions
What are the ingredients in Horse Honey?
Eight ingredients share a Test Boost Proprietary Blend of 1,200 mg: horny goat weed extract, tongkat ali powder, saw palmetto extract, nettle extract, wild yam extract, sarsaparilla, orchic substance and boron amino acid chelate.
Why does the list show no amounts?
The label uses a proprietary blend. Under 21 CFR 101.36(c) a blend states one total weight and lists its parts from heaviest to lightest. Individual amounts are not required.
Which Horse Honey ingredient has the best evidence?
Tongkat ali. A placebo-controlled trial in 105 men aged 50 to 70 used 200 mg a day of a standardised extract for 12 weeks. The amount in Horse Honey is not published.
What is orchic substance?
It is bovine testicle tissue. Reference monographs say there is no good scientific evidence to support its use and not enough reliable information to know an appropriate dose.
Is the Horse Honey capsule vegetarian?
No. The shell is gelatin, and orchic substance is bovine tissue. Vegetarians and vegans should not use it.
Is there honey in the ingredients list?
No. Honey does not appear on the Supplement Facts panel or in the other-ingredients line.
Our view
A good ingredients list lets you test the product. This one lets you read the names and then stop. The plant parts and Latin names are printed with care, and that deserves credit. The missing amounts and the missing standardisation are the real gap.
Two names have something to stand on: tongkat ali, because of one trial in a specific group of men, and boron, because its intake range is well known. Two names are prostate ingredients with weak results on their own. Four have a clear problem or no support at all. That mix is common in this category.
If you want to try the blend anyway, go in with open eyes and talk to your pharmacist first if you take any prescription. If tongkat ali is what you really want, look for a product that prints its own milligram figure.
Safety note
Horse Honey is not FDA approved, and no dietary supplement is. 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. Pregnant or nursing mothers, children under the age of 18 and individuals with a known medical condition should consult a physician before using this or any dietary supplement. Questions about your own health belong with your doctor.
Want to see the order page for yourself?
The bottle is 60 capsules of one blend, and the checkout screen is where the price and return window appear.
See today's price and return windowEarnings disclosure: Thehorsehoney is the U.S. stocking partner for Horse Honey and earns a commission on orders placed through this site.Last updated . Written by the Thehorsehoney Editorial Desk and medically reviewed by Dr. Kambiz Tajkarimi, MD, Physician.