“Tongkat ali boosts testosterone.”
Tongkat ali raised testosterone in some small trials, mostly in men whose levels started low, and results varied widely from trial to trial.
Tongkat ali has raised testosterone in small trials, mostly in men whose levels were already low, but it is not the reliable booster it is sold as. If you think your testosterone is low, a doctor's check will tell you more than a supplement will.
If you have symptoms you think come from low testosterone, ask a doctor to check your levels before trying tongkat ali.
Safety note: Liver injury has been reported in people taking tongkat ali, including bodybuilders and a 47-year-old man who was hospitalized with jaundice and got better after stopping it. Stomach upset and itching were reported in one trial.
Talk to a healthcare professional if: your skin or the whites of your eyes turn yellow while taking tongkat ali, or you have lasting low sex drive, erection problems or other symptoms you think come from low testosterone.
Several small randomized trials found that tongkat ali raised testosterone, so the effect looks real, but the rise was clear mainly in men whose levels started low. The trials are small and very different from each other, show signs that positive results were more likely to be published, and mostly tested one company's extract.
Tongkat ali raised testosterone in some small trials, mostly in men whose levels started low, and results varied widely from trial to trial. A 2022 review that pooled five randomized trials found higher total testosterone with tongkat ali overall; the rise was clear in men with low testosterone, while in men with normal levels the pooled result was too uncertain to rule out no effect. In one 6-month trial of men aged 40 to 59 with low testosterone, the average rose from about 278 to 400 ng/dL on tongkat ali, while it went from about 282 to 259 ng/dL on placebo.
Seven of the nine studies in the 2022 review tested the same commercial water extract (Physta, made by Biotropics in Malaysia), at 100 to 600 mg a day for 3 days to 6 months. The results varied widely from trial to trial. A 2024 review of testosterone boosters found that most ingredients do not raise testosterone, but rated tongkat ali "possibly effective" for healthy men and for older men with low testosterone. The trials measured blood levels over weeks to months; they do not show that tongkat ali treats the symptoms of low testosterone.
- Leisegang K, Finelli R, Sikka SC, Panner Selvam MK. Eurycoma longifolia (Jack) Improves Serum Total Testosterone in Men: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Clinical Trials. Medicina (Kaunas). 2022;58(8):1047. DOI: 10.3390/medicina58081047. PMID: 36013514
- Morgado A, Tsampoukas G, Sokolakis I, Schoentgen N, Urkmez A, Sarikaya S. Do "testosterone boosters" really increase serum total testosterone? A systematic review. International Journal of Impotence Research. 2024;36(4):348-364. DOI: 10.1038/s41443-023-00763-9. PMID: 37697053
- LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury. Tongkat Ali. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; 2012-. PMID: 39527684
- Kaliounji A, Shadid G, Saba H, Ahlawat S. A Rare Case of Tongkat Ali-Induced Liver Injury: A Case Report. Cureus. 2024;16(3):e56639. DOI: 10.7759/cureus.56639. PMID: 38646387