Tongkat Ali (Longjack)

Neuro

I'm thinking of ordering this herb from PowderCity. They have a 1:200 extract and it's pretty cheap compared to the market price. Has anyone used this herb before? It's supposed to increase energy, testosterone, libido, and improve mood. And it seems to be anti-estrogenic.

Galaxyshock

Haven't tried it myself, but I've read Longjack is one of the actually potent hormonal boosters. I'm considering Tribulus myself because of its DHT-increasing effect. I take Reishi which lowers DHT quite a lot, so I try to compensate. Actually many adaptogens seem to lower DHT to some extent. Right now I'm using Creatine which should also help increasing the hormone.

Any chance Tongkat Ali / Longjack has effect on DHT?

Neuro

Yeah, it should increase DHT if it increases testosterone. I've read that it's a potent anti-estrogenic which could lead to an increase in LH and FSH levels. Make sure you're getting enough zinc and eating a diet that's sufficient in fat. Particularly, saturated and monounsaturated fats. Also, I've read that it could inhibit 5-alpha reductase, but I haven't been able to find the studies on it. I really doubt it does as it's supposed to increase libido and as far as I'm concerned, 5-alpha reductase inhibitors usually cause a loss of libido.

I was about to order it yesterday along with Tianeptine and it was out of stock. Not sure how long I have to wait until I can order it.

The problem with this herb is that there's not many studies on it so I don't know if it's better to take it for a short period and cycle off or if to take it chronically.

It also seems to be able to reverse hypogonadism in aged males:

In most countries, millions of people are relying on herbal medicines as remedy for numerous ailments. In South-East Asia, Eurycoma longifolia Jack, also known as ‘Malaysian ginseng’ or Tongkat ali, is used to combat stress and disease and to improve physical strength. Moreover, the compounds of the roots of this plant are reported to have aphrodisiac and testosterone enhancing effects in the rat. Considering that human studies are not available, 76 of 320 patients suffering from late-onset hypogonadism (LOH) were given 200 mg of a standardised water-soluble extract of Tongkat ali for 1 month. The Ageing Males’ Symptoms (AMS) according to the standardised rating scale and the serum testosterone concentration were taken. Results show that treatment of LOH patients with this Tongkat ali extract significantly (P < 0.0001) improved the AMS score as well as the serum testosterone concentration. While before treatment only 10.5% of the patients did not show any complaint according to the AMS scale and 35.5% had normal testosterone levels, after the completed treatment 71.7% and 90.8% of the patients showed normal values, respectively. Thus, Tongkat ali extract appears to be useful as a supplement in overcoming the symptoms of LOH and for the management of hypogonadism.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1439-0272.2011.01168.x/abstract;jsessionid=22B2FFE25B30A3A831F44E3565618CC1.f04t01?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false

Galaxyshock

Did you try Tongkat Ali, Neuro? I'm thinking of buying some from PureBulk.

Neuro

Yeah, I did. I tried the Powder City one and honestly felt no difference even after using it for a week. But, I don't seem to respond to a lot of substances that increase libido so I'm not sure if my experience is helpful.

If you do end up using it let me know how it goes for you.

Galaxyshock

I was gonna order some from iHerb but they refuse to ship Tongkat Ali to Finland unfortunately. I'll have to buy from somewhere else like BulkSupplements.