Eurycoma longifolia / Tongkat Ali / Simaroubaceae (Simarouba family)

Information

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Other Names

Longjack, Tongkat Ali, Pasak Bumi, Cay Ba Binh.

Description

Eurycoma longifolia, also known as Tongkat Ali or Longjack, is a tall, slender shrubby tree. It is indigenous to Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia. "Root extracts of Tongkat Ali are used widely in Southeast Asia as a dietary supplement for treating a variety of ailments. The Vietnamese name of the tree indicates that it "cures 1,000 diseases".(1) "Tongkat Ali was dubbed the "Asian Viagra".(3) "The extracts have reported aphrodisiac properties] and have been shown to boost fertility in laboratory animals." (1)

Contents

The plant's pharmacological activity is attributed to various quassinoids, squalene derivatives, biphenylneolignans, tirucallane-type triterpenes, canthine-6-1, and beta-carboline alkaloids. (2)
The 100:1 extract contains: (by TLC) Eurycomanone 1.65%, and is produced from dried roots of old matured trees, wild collected from natural rainforests.

Historical

"It has been used in Malaysia for many years by men to increase sexual desire, libido, sexual performance and to treat erectile dysfunction."(3) In the old days, the roots, found only in the wild tropical forest of Southeast Asia, had to be brewed for long hours to get a bitter extract. Now, Tongkat Ali, which literally means Ali's cane, is widely sold in pill or "tea-bag" form and mixed with regular Coffee or tea for an extra "lift". (4)

Plant Description

Eurycoma longifolia is a small evergreen tree growing to 15m tall, with spirally arranged, pinnate leaves 20-40 cm long with 13-41 leaflets. The flowers are dioecious, with male and female flowers on different trees; they are produced in large panicles, each flower with 5-6 very small petals. The fruit is green ripening dark red, 1-2 cm long and 0.5-1 cm broad. (5)

References

(1) MIT research helps ID tree that 'cures 1,000 diseases', Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
(2) Eurycoma Longifolia, drugs.com
(3) Tongkat Ali, Cathy Wong, About.com: Alternative medicine.
(4) Tongkat Ali — Malaysia's very own 'Viagra', Asian Economic News.
(5) Eurycoma longifolia, Wikipedia article.