Tongkat ali -- "
Ali's
walking stick" in
Malay -- is the common name of
Eurycoma longifolia, also known as
pasar bumi in
Indonesian. A tall, slender, often branchless
treelet that can reach
10 meters in height, the name comes from the equally thin and slender
woody root's resemblance to a walking stick... and a bit more.
Effects
For a long time quite popular in
Southeast Asia as a general
tonic
and for its anti
malarial properties, it has recently started to make
some waves in West for its reputed
aphrodisiac powers as well.
There is even some evidence to suggest that this is not merely
snake oil: a series of Malaysian university studies have indicated
that mice regularly dosed with tongkat ali have higher
testosterone
levels and become more sexually active
than the control group. However, tongkat ali is not a
Viagra-type
quick cure, it must be taken regularly for days if not weeks to have an
effect.
Cultivation and consumption
The downsides to tongkat ali are that it is somewhat difficult to
obtain and that it tastes very
bitter. Due to its popularity
E. longifolia is practically
extinct in the wild, and while not
particularly difficult to cultivate, it takes four years to grow
from seed to harvestable root. The bitter taste means that the
traditional method, steeping the root in hot water, produces tea
that most find rather hard to swallow. Locally, a far more common
alternative are
Red Bull-type
energy drinks with names like
Jungle King and
Power Root, which combine the plant extract with
vast amounts of honey or sugar and other herbs or roots like
mengkudu or
ginseng.
Personal experience
I've never gone on a multi-week regimen so I can't offer evidence
for the aphrodisiac qualities, but a single can does provide a
noticable (if temporary)
pickup. If you're tired and want something
non-caffeinated, you could do worse than choose tongkat ali.
References
Personal experience
http://www.pasakbumi.com/
http://www.mardi.my/bdc/herba/english/TongkatAli.html