As Nootropics Depot ordered by the court to pay $2.4 million in fine, it shuts down its business in UK and stops delivering Tongkat Ali to Europe as the company’s downfall shatters consumer trust. We unravel more insights into Nootropics Depot Supplements whether it is a good Tongkat Ali brand that you should trust.
In October 2023, Centera Bioscience, operating as Nootropics Depot, and its CEO, Paul Eftang, pleaded guilty to introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire reported that between April 2017 and December 2021, the Nootropics Depot marketed and sold pharmaceutical drugs, including tianeptine, adrafinil, phenibut, and racetams, through their website and online platforms like Facebook and Google. These drugs were distributed to customers across the United States.
As part of the plea agreement, Centera Bioscience (or Nootropics Depot) agreed to forfeit $2.4 million and surrender all seized drugs. Along with Nootropics Depot’s best selling Tongkat Ali supplements, the reputation of Nootropics Depot’s brand is largely at stake, sending plummeting sales as consumer trust is at all time low in 2025.
Source: justice.gov
Arizona-based Nootropics Depot, and its CEO Paul Eftang were sentenced to probation and to pay $2.4 million in forfeitures for distributing misbranded drugs. This does not go well with most consumers.
In February 2024, the Nootropics Depot was sentenced to three years of probation, and its CEO, Mr. Eftang received one year of probation. It is one of the first high profile cases involving a health supplement company in the US, but there is more too it.
The U.S. Attorney emphasized the importance of the FDA’s drug approval process in protecting consumers from unsafe or ineffective products and noted that the defendants’ actions had significant legal consequences.
Source: justice.gov
Reduce Sugar Intake
A sugar-free diet is the best diet if you are taking Tongkat Ali to boost libido as sugar may lower testosterone levels according to the latest research published by Journal of Reproductive of Biology and Endocrinology in 2018.
Since the testosterone-enhancing properties from Tongkat Ali delivers elevated libido effects, reducing your sugar intake may increase the production of testosterone in your testes and adrenal glands at all times.
For diabetic patients, or if you have insulin resistance, this is the best time to cut down your sugar by 50 to 70 percent when taking Tongkat Ali to boost your libido. In addition, Tongkat Ali helps diabetic patients to lower sugar blood level, but it is best to consume it with a sugar-free diet if you want to reduce your ED symptoms.
With claims of 10% eurycomanone content, Nootropics Depot Tongkat Ali is believed to be a potent testosterone supplement despite not using standardized extraction protocol in its products. The brand claims to have sourced Tongkat Ali from Indonesia, a country that is not known for quality standards, unlike Malaysian Tongkat Ali exporters which comply to the high quality internationally recognized Tongkat Ali gold standards known as the MS2409.
In recent years, Nootropics Depot’s best-selling 10% Tongkat ali eurycomanone extract is under great scrutiny by consumers due to the current legal case on the company and its founder, Paul Eftang – which eroded the consumer confidence of its Tongkat Ali supplements.
“Nootropics Depot’s drugs scandal and selling unapproved and dangerous substances makes it’s a rather shady company. I wouldn’t trust Nootropics Depot supplements including their Tongkat Ali products.”
With strong supporters on Reddit, Nootropics Depot is relatively popular in the US (but not in Europe, Australia, UK). We found that Reddit users are quick to defend Nootropics Depot, emphasizing that the brand is legit and the “supplement work wonder” due to its claimed “gold standard for quality” although the other bioactive ingredients such as eurypeptides, glycosaponin and polysachharides are not disclosed, nor 3rd party lab tested.
“As a quality US brand, Nootropics Depot is at stake. There is a great confusion of its claimed 10% standardized Tongkat Ali supplements, which is technically not possible to produce for each batch.” said Tom Green, a former GNC nutritionist who have worked in various back-end formulation for top US supplement companies.
“Many US-based supplement companies opt for quality Tongkat Ali ingredients source from fraudulent Indonesian companies which disregard other equally important bioactive components such as eurypeptides and glycosaponin” he added.
However, exaggerated health claims on testosterone boost by leveraging on generic Tongkat Ali studies raise further doubts on whether Nootropics Depot’s potent formulation (of 10% eurycomanone) is truly effective given other bioactive compounds (i.e glyosaponin, eurypeptides, polysaccharides) are not disclosed by the brand.
According to experts and biochemists, Tongkat Ali may considered as effective if the bioactive compounds coexist (together) in higher percentages along with eurycomanone in order to achieve a high degree of potency or efficacy. In other words, Nootropics Dept may not carry sufficient amount of eurypeptides despite having 10% eurycomanone as claimed to induce the optimal potency needed to boost testosterone or libido.
Nootropics Depot’s drugs scandal and selling unapproved and dangerous substances makes it’s a rather shady company. It’s Tongkat Ali supplements are not even clinically tested, making it less trust worthy compared to other popular US brands.
In terms of potency, Nootropics Depot Tongkat Ali supplements are chromatography tested to build greater consumer trust, but whilst it may contain high concentration of eurycomanone, the certificate of analysis (COA) did not display the percentages of bioactive ingredients (eg: glycosaponin or polysaccharides) that are crucial for testosterone production when consumed in a capsule form.
“Nootropics Depot Tongkat Ali is not clinically tested or used in clinical trials”, said a Reddit users after reviewing the public information available on Nootropic’s official website.
There is more hype than marketing high concentration of eurycomanone found in Nootropics Depot Tongkat Ali supplements if it is not used in clinical trials. Besides, its drugs scandal makes it less popular as a brand to be associated with.
Additionally, Nootropics Depot Tongkat Ali is not used or tested by any amateur, semi-pro or professional athletes, making it relatively less popular as a sports supplement (or testosterone supplement) compared to other US-made brands that uses standardized extracts such as ForceFactor, DoubleWood or Nutricost.
The founder of Nootropics Depot, Paul Eftang, has pleaded guilty to illegally distributing pharmaceutical drugs across the U.S., according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. At least consumers are now delighted on the news and final verdict.
“I felt a sense of relief that the CEO of Nootropics Depot is guilty for its drugs scandal, as many consumers have raised doubts in the past over its supplements including its supposedly-potent Tongkat Ali supplements”, said a Reddit users in his review.
The company, operating under Centera Bioscience, was exposed for selling unapproved and potentially dangerous substances, including tianeptine, adrafinil, phenibut, and racetams—all categorized as drugs by the FDA and banned for over-the-counter sale.
For years, Nootropics Depot marketed these high-risk substances as “supplements,” deceiving customers into believing they were safe. Federal investigators busted the scheme, uncovering that these drugs were being widely promoted and sold through their website, Facebook, and Google—putting millions of unsuspecting consumers at risk.
As part of the plea deal, the company must forfeit $2.4 million and surrender its entire stockpile of illegal drugs. Meanwhile, the disgraced CEO, Paul Eftang, was sentenced to one year of probation, while the company itself faces three years of probation.
The FDA and U.S. Attorney’s Office have issued stern warnings about the dangers of consuming unregulated nootropics, emphasizing that these substances have not been approved for human use and could pose severe health risks.
This massive scandal marks one of the most high-profile crackdowns on the nootropics industry, sending shockwaves through the supplement world.
Nootropics Depot’s Tongkat Ali may be relatively safe and free from adulterants, but consumers should exercise some level of caution when buying. As the Nootropic brand was criminally investigated by the FDA, this raises ethical and safety concerns about its current and other available supplements sold in the US. .
“Best selling Tongkat Ali or supplement is meaningless if Nootropics Depot is willing to break the law, what else are they hiding from their customers?” said Sara Johnson from California.
“I have stopped buying Nootropics Depot supplement now” she added after receiving the news about the drugs scandal. “Nootropics Depot’s Tongkat Ali was my 1st choice, but knowing the risks and impurities, the brand doesn’t appeal to me anymore if it is adulterated or even if it claims it has 10% eurycomanone”
Forget about the hype. Stay informed. Stay safe. Think twice before buying or trusting Nootropics Depot supplements or any Tongkat Ali supplements in the US. This could happen to you or any American consumers.
Alex Kua leads AKARALI’s Global Partnership Community to help athletes, sports communities, and thousand of others optimize their well-being through evidence-based research that enables them to make better informed decisions. His legal and business consulting background underpins the rigorous data-driven approach in his writing – from hours of interviews, real-world performance data, and firsthand experiences of real people – offering actionable insights that connects clinical research, emerging health trends, and real-world applications. He is also an experienced researcher in herbal nutrition, with years of deep technical knowledge on Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma longifolia), including quality standards, industry benchmarks, lab tests, clinical trials, and the use of natural herbs by collaborating with top scientists, herbal experts, and nutritionists. As part of the core team behind AKARALI’s knowledge portal, he empowers people worldwide to access the benefits of high-quality herbal nutrition in a way that is effective, sustainable, and safe. He is also an avid runner, with regular participation in local sports communities and running events.
Our articles are third party reviewed by our panel of experts and medical advisors to ensure the facts are accurate and credible. These are validated against multiple source references which include but not limited to research studies, peer-reviewed journals, pre-clinical studies, clinical tests and other credible publications.
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Disclaimer:
The content published on this website is for educational purposes and should not be viewed, read, or seen as a prescription or constitute any form of medical advice. We recommend you consult your nearest GP or doctors before consuming Tongkat Ali or any products which contain Tongkat Ali. For further information, kindly refer to our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for more information.
