Featured article | July 2025
Nothing Boring About Boron
Lara Pizzorno
Integrative Medicine (Encinitas). 2015 Aug;14(4):35–48
This article reviews the diverse and essential roles of boron in human health. Drawing from both clinical studies and experimental research, the author outlines how boron influences the expression of key biomolecules, enhances nutrient metabolism, and shows potential in disease prevention and treatment. The article also highlights safe and effective dosing strategies for therapeutic use.
Discussed in the article:
- Boron reduces:
- urinary excretion of calcium and magnesium, promoting bone mineralization
- inflammatory markers (hs-CRP, TNF-α)
- Boron increases:
- antioxidant enzymes (SOD, catalase, glutathione peroxidase)
- serum estradiol and testosterone in postmenopausal women, especially when magnesium is low
- Boron enhances:
- vitamin D metabolism
- brain electrical activity, cognitive performance, and short-term memory, particularly in older adults
- Boron also:
- has protective and therapeutic effects in prostate, cervical, and lung cancers, and lymphomas.
- helps counteract pesticide-induced oxidative damage
Dosing information:
- 3 mg/day – the most frequently studied dose. Safe and effective for general support of bone, hormonal, and anti-inflammatory health.
- 6 mg/day – shown to reduce hs-CRP after 15 days in middle-aged people with osteoarthritis
- 6 mg/day – increases serum testosterone and lower estradiol in healthy men
- 10 mg/day – resulted in a 20% decrease in the plasma concentration of TNF-α after one week
- 20 mg/day – upper intake level (UL)
- 3% boric acid solution – used clinically to accelerate healing in deep wounds and reduce hospital stays.
“The trace mineral boron is a micronutrient with diverse and vitally important roles in metabolism that render it necessary for plant, animal, and human health, and, possibly, as recent research suggests, for the evolution of life on Earth.”
