Tongkat Ali

Eurycoma longifolia · Longjack

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Aging male symptoms^{1, 2} Late-onset hypogonadism^{3, 4} Erectile function⁵ Idiopathic male infertility⁶ Stress and mood⁷ Sexual performance⁸	Prostate cancer⁹ Diabetes mellitus⁹ Heart, kidney, or liver disease⁹ Pregnancy or nursing¹⁰

Tongkat ali (Eurycoma longifolia) is a Southeast Asian shrub whose root extract is a traditional aphrodisiac and aging remedy¹¹. Supplementation centers on supporting testosterone, with a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting higher total testosterone in healthy and hypogonadal men³. Uses that follow are erectile function, idiopathic male infertility, and stress-related mood. The typical patient is a middle-aged or older man with low-testosterone symptoms.

Erectile function results are mixed: a meta-analysis found no overall difference from placebo, with gains confined to men with lower baseline scores¹². A 2025 case report described new-onset atrial flutter in a 71-year-old man after he started supplementation; no trial has replicated it. More than 400 products listing tongkat ali are mostly capsules, and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) barcoding has found adulterated herbal products; see Form comparison.

LiverTox rates tongkat ali a possible rare cause of clinically apparent liver injury, with cases confounded by possible anabolic steroid use¹³. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) found a standardised extract showed potential to damage DNA and did not establish its safety¹⁴. Health Canada labels ask for a practitioner's advice before use with propranolol⁹.

Last updated October 16, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

54 sources, 39 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources