Muscle that is harder to hold onto than it used to be. Energy that fades by mid afternoon. Drive that used to be automatic and now needs a running start. Those changes are worth paying attention to, and they are usually less about one hormone than about the balance between several of them.
Tongkat ali is one of the most talked about botanicals in this conversation, and also one of the most loosely described. It gets credited with things the research does not show, and the things it genuinely does are often skipped. This is what the human evidence actually supports.
What is tongkat ali?
Tongkat ali is a flowering plant native to Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, known botanically as Eurycoma longifolia and also sold as longjack or pasak bumi. The medicinal compounds are in the root. The name translates roughly to "Ali's walking stick," a reference to both the root's shape and its traditional use for male vitality.
The root contains a group of small peptides called eurypeptides, along with glyco saponins and quassinoids. Eurypeptides are the compounds most associated with tongkat ali's effects on hormone balance, and they are the reason a properly standardized extract behaves differently from generic root powder.
Traditionally the root was boiled into a decoction and taken for strength, energy, and libido, particularly by older men. Modern use is almost entirely in extract form, which is where quality differences become significant.
Does tongkat ali raise testosterone?
The more accurate description is that tongkat ali affects how much of your testosterone is usable. Most circulating testosterone is bound to a protein called sex hormone binding globulin, or SHBG, which makes it biologically unavailable. The research suggests tongkat ali works primarily on that binding rather than on raw production.
That distinction matters. You can have a respectable total testosterone number while very little of it is actually free to do anything, which is why two people with similar lab values can feel completely different.
In a three week study using a standardized water soluble extract, SHBG levels declined in 66% of subjects and the free testosterone index rose in 73% of subjects. [1] Those figures describe the proportion of people who responded, not the size of the change, which is a more honest way to read them than the way they usually get quoted.
A five week study in physically active seniors taking 400 mg daily found total testosterone rose 15.1% and free testosterone rose 61.1% in the men, alongside a 16.6% increase in muscular force. [2] Read those with the sample size in mind. That study included 13 men and 12 women, so the figures are encouraging rather than a promise of what any individual should expect.
A review of the phytoandrogenic literature concluded that tongkat ali appears to work by restoring testosterone toward normal levels rather than driving them above the normal range, which is a meaningfully different pharmacology from anything steroidal. [3]
What does tongkat ali do for cortisol and stress?
This is arguably its best evidenced effect and the one least discussed. Cortisol and testosterone move in opposite directions, and sustained stress keeps the body in a catabolic state where it breaks tissue down faster than it rebuilds.
In 63 moderately stressed adults taking 200 mg daily for four weeks, salivary cortisol fell 16% while testosterone rose 37%. Tension improved 11%, anger 12%, and confusion 15% compared with placebo. [4] In a separate study of 30 men during a 24 hour endurance cycling event, cortisol was 32.3% lower and testosterone 16.4% higher than placebo, measured under genuine physical stress rather than in a resting state. [5]
A 12 week randomized placebo controlled trial in 93 moderately stressed adults found improvements in vitality, emotional wellbeing, social functioning, and overall quality of life. [6]
This is also where the word adaptogen actually earns its keep. Rather than stimulating the body, tongkat ali appears to help the stress response return to baseline instead of staying switched on.
Does tongkat ali help with DHEA?
DHEA is the upstream precursor your body uses to make both testosterone and estrogen, and it declines steadily from your twenties onward. In the same three week study noted above, DHEA levels rose 26% after one week and 47% by week three, a progressive climb rather than a spike. [1]
Because DHEA sits upstream of both male and female sex hormones, this is a large part of why tongkat ali is relevant to women as well as men.
Does tongkat ali support libido?
This is its oldest traditional use and it has real human data behind it. In a 12 week randomized, double blind, placebo controlled trial in 109 men aged 30 to 55, a standardized extract at 300 mg daily produced significant improvements in quality of life scores, sexual wellbeing, and libido, with SHBG significantly lower in the supplemented group. [7]
A separate one month study in 76 men with age related low testosterone found that the proportion of men whose testosterone sat within the normal range rose from 35.5% at baseline to 90.8%, with corresponding improvements in aging male symptom scores. [8]
Note the pattern across both: the SHBG reduction and the subjective improvements track together. That is consistent with the mechanism described earlier, where the benefit comes from testosterone becoming available rather than from more being produced.
Does tongkat ali help build muscle?
The evidence points to supporting the conditions for muscle rather than acting on muscle directly. In a placebo controlled study, 14 men taking 100 mg daily through five weeks of strength training gained fat free mass and arm circumference while reducing body fat. [9] In the senior study mentioned earlier, muscular force improved 16.6% across both men and women. [2]
Both of those results came alongside training, not instead of it. The mechanism is a more favorable hormonal environment, which is what lets training produce results, and no supplement substitutes for the training itself.
Is tongkat ali safe for women?
Yes, and the research includes women directly. The five week senior study included 12 women, who saw increases in total and free testosterone alongside improvements in muscular force and endurance. [2] Because tongkat ali is not a steroid and contains no hormones, the scientific documentation for standardized extracts states directly that it will not encourage male characteristics in women. [10]
Testosterone is not a male only hormone. Women produce and rely on it for lean muscle, bone density, mood, energy, and libido, in smaller amounts than men but by the same mechanisms. For women the useful framing is hormone balance, energy, and vitality rather than testosterone as a number.
More on why testosterone matters for women.
What else has tongkat ali been studied for?
Two areas are worth knowing about because they are unexpected. In a four week study in 84 middle aged adults, standardized tongkat ali extract improved several measures of immune function, including counts of total and naive T cells. [11] And laboratory work has shown it suppresses RANKL, a signaling protein that drives bone breakdown, shifting the balance toward bone formation. [12]
Neither is the reason most people reach for it, but both point to the same underlying theme: this is a botanical that appears to work on regulation and balance rather than on a single output.
Why does the type of tongkat ali extract matter so much?
This is the most practically useful thing to understand, and almost nobody explains it. Nearly every study cited above used a specific standardized, water soluble, hot water extract. Most tongkat ali sold at retail is not that.
Products are typically marketed on an extract ratio, something like 20:1 or 200:1 or even 400:1, with no disclosure of which compounds are present or at what level. A ratio describes how much raw root went in. It says nothing about what came out. Two extracts with identical ratios can have completely different eurypeptide content.
Extraction method matters too. Hot water extraction is what the clinical research used. Alcohol extraction concentrates a different compound profile, including eurycomalactone, which is toxic at high doses and unsuitable for long term daily use.
There is even a taste test. Authentic tongkat ali root is intensely bitter because of its quassinoid content. An extract that does not taste bitter is either not genuine tongkat ali root or is too dilute to do much.
Read the full breakdown of what standardization actually means and how to read a tongkat ali label.
When should you take tongkat ali?
Morning is the conventional recommendation, and it is worth correcting a common misconception about why. Tongkat ali is not a stimulant. It contains no caffeine and does not act on the central nervous system the way stimulants do.
The reason for morning dosing is cortisol. Cortisol follows a daily rhythm, peaking shortly after waking and declining through the evening, and tongkat ali appears to work with that rhythm rather than against it. Taking it in the morning aligns with the pattern the research used. Some people also report feeling more alert on it, and if that describes you, earlier in the day is simply the sensible choice.
The clinical doses in the studies above ranged from 100 mg to 400 mg daily, with most falling between 100 and 200 mg of a standardized extract. Effects in these trials were measured over three to twelve weeks, so this is a cumulative supplement rather than something you feel the first day.
Frequently asked questions
Is tongkat ali a steroid?
No. It contains no hormones and no steroids. An anabolic steroid replaces what your body produces and suppresses your own production in the process. Tongkat ali works alongside your endocrine system, primarily by changing how much of your existing testosterone is unbound and available.
How long does tongkat ali take to work?
The studies above measured changes across three to twelve weeks. Cortisol and mood effects tended to appear earliest, around the four week mark, while hormonal measures were assessed at three weeks and beyond.
Can you take tongkat ali every day?
The clinical trials cited here used continuous daily dosing for three weeks to twelve weeks without cycling. As with any supplement, talk with your healthcare provider about your own situation, particularly if you take prescription medication or manage a health condition.
Does tongkat ali affect growth hormone?
There is no human research showing that tongkat ali affects human growth hormone. The claim circulates widely online but is not supported by the published literature.
Who should not take tongkat ali?
Anyone under 18, and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. If you take prescription medication, manage a health condition, or are considering hormone therapy of any kind, talk with your healthcare provider first.
The bottom line
Tongkat ali is not a testosterone booster in the way that phrase is usually meant, and it is not a steroid. What the human research supports is narrower and more interesting: it appears to free up testosterone that is already there by reducing SHBG binding, support DHEA, and lower cortisol, which together shift the body toward building rather than breaking down.
The catch is that nearly all of that research used a specific standardized extract, and most of what is sold as tongkat ali is not standardized at all. The form matters more than the dose.
Tongkat ali is one of five branded ingredients in Upgraded T, alongside purified shilajit, French grape seed extract, S7, and gelatinized maca. See how the five work together.
References
- Tambi AI, Saad JM. Water soluble extract of Eurycoma longifolia Jack as a potential natural energizer for healthy aging men. First Asian Andrology Forum, Shanghai, 2002.
- Henkel RR, Wang R, Bassett SH, et al. Tongkat Ali as a potential herbal supplement for physically active male and female seniors: a pilot study. Phytother Res. 2014;28(4):544-550.
- George A, Henkel R. Phytoandrogenic properties of Eurycoma longifolia as natural alternative to testosterone replacement therapy. Andrologia. 2014;46(7):708-721.
- Talbott SM, Talbott JA, George A, Pugh M. Effect of Tongkat Ali on stress hormones and psychological mood state in moderately stressed subjects. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2013;10(1):28.
- Talbott S, et al. Effect of Eurycoma longifolia extract on anabolic balance during endurance exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2006;3(1):S32.
- George A, Suzuki N, Abas AB, et al. Efficacy and safety of Eurycoma longifolia water extract plus multivitamins on quality of life, mood and stress: a randomized placebo controlled and parallel study. Food Nutr Res. 2018;62:1374.
- Ismail SB, Wan Mohammad WMZ, George A, et al. Randomized clinical trial on the use of PHYSTA freeze dried water extract of Eurycoma longifolia for the improvement of quality of life and sexual wellbeing in men. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012;2012:429268.
- Tambi MI, Imran MK, Henkel RR. Standardised water soluble extract of Eurycoma longifolia, Tongkat Ali, as testosterone booster for managing men with late onset hypogonadism? Andrologia. 2012;44(Suppl 1):226-230.
- Hamzah S, Yusof A. The ergogenic effects of Eurycoma longifolia Jack: a pilot study. Br J Sports Med. 2003;37:465-466.
- HP Ingredients / Biotropics Malaysia. LJ100 Tongkat Ali scientific monograph and technical FAQ.
- George A, et al. Immunomodulation in middle aged humans via the ingestion of a standardized root water extract of Eurycoma longifolia. Phytother Res. 2016.
- Thu HE, Mohamed IN, Hussain Z, Shuid AN. Eurycoma longifolia, a promising suppressor of RANKL induced differentiation and activation of osteoclasts: an in vitro mechanistic evaluation. J Ayurveda Integr Med. 2017.
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.
Hormones are a system, not a switch. Support the whole system, and test, don't guess.