Tongkat Ali: Medical & Experts Reviews

Stop listening to celebrity doctors promoting Tongkat Ali supplements online. Find out what health coaches and professionals are saying about Tongkat Ali.

Tongkat Ali has touched millions of lives since its first documented use by prodigy surgeon-turned-botanist William Jack during his first visit to Malaysia in 1820.

Fast forward, neurobiologists, urologists, psychonutrionists, andrologists and global health coaches are now commenting positively about Tongkat Ali and how it revitalizes health in many ways.

This article shares reviews and opinions of Tongkat Ali by medical / healthcare professionals, scientists, and functional health coaches. 

Panel of Experts Review on Tongkat Ali
  • Dr. Rena Malik – Urologist at University of Maryland, USA
  • Dr. Shawn Talbott – Psychonutrionist from American College of Sports Medicine, USA
  • Dr. Ismail Tambi – Andrologist, National Population and Family Development Board Malaysia
  • Dr. Andrea Militello – Urologist & Andrologist, Rome, Italy

Overview

There are more than 300 research studies with 26 clinical studies on humans (both men and women) to validate the efficacy of Tongkat Ali and its effect on health, toxicity, and safety.

Promising new results, decades of refinements, standards and development of Tongkat Ali have caught the attention of mainstream healthcare professionals and functional health experts in recent years.

US health experts are gradually gaining acceptance of the use of Tongkat Ali supplements for their patients to address symptoms associated with low-libido, fertility and low testosterone.

And lest we forget, Tongkat Ali is an ancient herbal remedy that is used in recent years to address symptoms associated with premature aging, hormonal imbalance, low immunity and other conditions.

This prompts more discussion and opinion about Tongkat Ali’s effectiveness, safety and efficacy.

MIT Scientists’ Discovery of Tongkat Ali 

A group of MIT scientists discovered and developed a new technology for extracting bioactive ingredients from Tongkat Ali as early as 2000.

The development was a joint research development with the Government of Malaysia to accelerate the development of Tongkat Ali as a medicinal drug.

The discovery was the milestone of the world’s first Tongkat Ali patented extract, which has undergone 23 years of clinical tests on humans.

Dr. Rena Malik

If you want the best Tongkat Ali, watch out for hot water root extract

Dr. Rena Malik is a Urologist at University of Maryland Medical Center and was named a “Top Doctor” in the specialty of Urogynecology and Urology by Baltimore magazine in 2020. As the co-founder of South Asian Wellness, she covers topics related to South Asian wellness and health.

In her video, she reported scientific evidence of Tongkat Ali in 3 notable areas: Erectile Dysfunction, Testosterone and Stress.  

Her data-driven approach on Tongkat Ali was highly regarded and recorded more than 1 million views on Youtube.

Tongkat Ali with hot water root extract delivers higher potency

Dr. Rena’s reviews on Tongkat Ali were based on credible research/journal publications – mostly involving clinical trials using human test subjects (including placebo controlled groups) with 200mg to 300mg daily consumption.

She concluded that Tongkat Ali offers 3-in-1 benefits and advised the public to search for Tongkat Ali with hot water root extract – which delivers the highest potency/efficacy and is extremely safe in high doses.

Standardized hot-water Tongkat Ali extract such as Physta® has undergone more than 26 clinical trials to date and is recently available on Amazon.

But before you consume high doses, there is one thing you should know.

If you are overweight or not exercising enough, Tongkat Ali may not work

She further cautioned that if you are overweight or not exercising enough, Tongkat Ali may not work as intended, or you may see little to benefit.

This is evidenced by a 6-month study by the researchers from the University of Santa Catarina Brazil in 2021 that showed that daily consumption of Tongkat Ali with a 60-minute exercise 3 times a week brought the most improvement in ED, sexual satisfaction and desire.

A similar observation was found in the real world – where healthy people reported gains on increased stamina, muscle strength, and better mood after six weeks.

Aside from good exercise, eating habit and adequate rest, could Tongkat Ali be the holy grail for ED, low testosterone and infertility?

Dr. Shawn Talbott

Dr. Shawn Talbott is a certified nutrition and biochemistry expert who has deep research knowledge on Tongkat Ali.

Born and raised in the United States, he integrates physiology, biochemistry, and psychology to help people improve mental fitness and physical performance.

Tongkat Ali is used to restore strength, energy, mood and libido

He and a group of scientists was involved in the research studies to examine the effectiveness of Tongkat Ali on muscle strength, the effect of testosterone levels.

As a veteran who participated in dozens of Iron Man triathlons, trail ultramarathons, national rowing and cycling events, Dr. Shawn’s background in Sports Medicine and Fitness Management had attracted him into studying Tongkat Ali’s effect on mental health and sports performance.

Besides writing books and papers, most of his work has been featured on The Dr. Oz Show, the TED stage, and the White House since 2014.

Dr. Shawn Talbott is an established author and expert on mental fitness, where he provides health tips and guide to achieve a better well-being by integrating various disciplines, including nutrition, supplements and exercises.

In a 2014 study to investigate the effect of Tongkat Ali on stress hormones and mood profile in moderately stressed subjects, Dr. Shawn discovered significant improvements in the mood profiles of the test subjects – Tension (-11%), Anger (-12%), and Confusion (-15%).

Stress hormone profile, which is controlled by cortisol and testosterone was significantly improved by Tongkat Ali supplementation over a four-week period, with reduced cortisol exposure by 16% and increased testosterone status by up to +37%.

In addition, another separate study reported that Tongkat Ali has a profound effect on dopamine, i.e the pleasure hormone that makes you smile with joy.

Dr. Ismail Tambi

Dr. Ismail Tambi is one of the earliest experts who reported Tongkat Ali’s effectiveness on men’s fertility and libido.

In fact, Dr. Ismail has been a men’s fertility specialist for more than 20 years, and he has spent more than a decade studying Tongkat Ali supplementation since the late 90s.

We found that the testosterone level in men consuming Tongkat Ali was elevated

He is a also well-known Malaysia’s Clinical Andrologist and he is the head specialist at the National Population and Family Development Board in Malaysia.

He has published 48 papers in the field of reproductive health and andrology. He now serves as an editorial board for the Asian Journal of Andrology.

Operating his own men’s clinic in Damai Hospital in Malaysia, his first research publication on Tongkat Ali was in 2010, published in the Asian Journal of Andrology.

Dr Ismail Tambi conducted one of the most extensive human study on Tongkat Ali during his era – that lasted for 3 years from 2004-2007, where a total of 350 men were identified as having idiopathic infertility (i.e low sperm concentration, decreased motility and abnormal sperm morphology) were given 200 mg of Tongkat Ali extract daily.

According to Dr Ismail, Tongkat Ali’s testosterone-enhancing effect and antioxidant properties may have contributed to its ability to improve fertility

Of these 350 patients, 75 patients (with an average age of 32.7 years and a history of infertility of 5.3 years) showed significant improvement in all semen parameters (i.e sperm count, sperm motility, sperm concentration).

Dr. Ismail’s research was highly regarded for proving the evidence of Tongkat Ali’s effect on men’s fertility. 

Hence many men’s health specialists are now recommending Tongkat Ali supplements to their patients due to the increasing scientific evidence on the effect of Tongkat Ali on men’s libido and fertility.

Closing Thoughts

Tongkat Ali is reviewed by top urologists, psychonutrionists, andrologists and other healthcare professionals as a dietary supplement that works and it may benefit your testosterone, libido and mood.

However, many US-based experts are advising consumers to buy clinically-tested Tongkat Ali that is scientifically backed and works well across various age groups.

Tongkat Ali remains a health supplement that has a promising future due to its wide range of applications and positive review by healthcare professionals, nutritionists and experts.

Please refer to our daily dosage guide and potential list of side effects if you are already consuming one.

Disclaimer

The doctors, specialists, experts and individuals named in this article have no association, partnership or any form of commercial engagement with AKARALI™ brand or products. Whilst these individuals have spoken, mentioned or published the merits and benefits of Tongkat Ali, the content in this article should not be used as a form of recommendation to purchase Tongkat Ali on this website, and it is not intended to serve as medical advice.

We recommend you to consult your doctors or medical professionals for advice before consuming Tongkat Ali.

Author

Naressa Khan contributes regularly on AKARALI. As a researcher and investigative journalist, Naressa is all about creating, deconstructing, and reassembling meaningful content through words and facts. With this approach always in mind, she eagerly explores the nuances in life via the aspects of lifestyle, culture, travel, health, and wellness in Malaysia .

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.

Our panel of medical advisors and experts are highly experienced in their individual fields. However, they do not provide any medical advice or recommendations arising from content published in this article.

Disclaimer: Content published in this article is for educational purposes and not intended to promote any brands nor to provide any form of recommendations to purchase or consume medication, drugs or herbal supplement brands directly or indirectly. By reading this, the sole responsibility and decision lie on the reader to perform their own assessment and / or to arrive at an informed decision based on publicly available information. By reading the content published on this website means you are aware on the risks involved in purchasing any of the products or brands mentioned in this article. We highly recommend you and the readers to consult your nearest doctor before making any purchase from this website or any other websites or social platforms after reading this article.

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3 Responses

  1. Hi, have you done any tests with tongkat ali to research the effects it has on increasing DHEA???

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