The claimEvidence C · limited
Tongkat Ali strongly raises testosterone
The evidence
Testosterone rises about 10%, on the same order as ashwagandha — within normal physiological variation and far below what the marketing claims.
The mechanism, in brief
Tongkat ali is the root of a tree from the Southeast Asian rainforest. It is intensely bitter, and local people have long boiled it into a tea. In recent years fitness circles and podcasts have promoted it as a natural testosterone booster: no injections and no prescription drugs, just a root that is supposed to push…
Sources (1)
- Rehman, S. U., Choe, K., & Yoo, H. H. (2016). Review on a traditional herbal medicine, Eurycoma longifolia Jack (Tongkat Ali): its traditional uses, chemistry, evidence-based pharmacology and toxicology. Molecules, 21(3), 331. Reviews documented mercury and lead contamination in Malaysian and Indonesian tongkat ali commercial preparations.