Tongkat ali works. No doubt about that. And in that respect it is in one league with such heavyweights as yohimbine, sildenafil citrate, or cabergoline.

But tongkat ali also is different from all the above. It's not that (as I have read) one would have to use it over a period of time until it will have an effect.

Usually, the advice that one has to use something for a while to have an effect is reserved such "somethings" that are all hype and no substance: the likes of argenine, DHEA, muira puama, ginkgo biloba, damiana, avena sativa, or ginseng.

OK, I don't doubt that damiana helps menopausal women, and that ginkgo biloba is healthy for the brain of aging men, and that ginseng is good for the kidneys or the gallbladder of I don't care whom. But from the perspective of sexual enhancement, these herbs are mere placebos.

Like all substances that work for sexual enhancement, tongkat ali has an effect that can be felt after one or two hours, or one has obtained a preparation that is tongkat ali only by name.

Unfortunately, almost all the tongkat ali on the market in the US is worthless. The effective dose of tongkat ali is about 50 gram of root. Just look at what is sold in US health food stores: 30 capsules of 300 mg root powder. I have to laugh. This is the equivalent of 9 gram of tongkat ali. Swallowing all these capsules in one go will still be underdosed.

If root powder, or chipped roots, were to be used, they would have to be cooked for at least half an hour to release the alkaloids that make for the sexual enhancement qualities of tongkat ali.

But the right way to go anyway is not root powder but an extract. I myself became convinced of tongkat ali's qualities only after I tested the 1:50 extract that has been provided to me (without charge) by the Indonesian company Sumatra Pasak Bumi. I have been using 1 gram of their extract on a good number of occasions, and I am now prepared to summarize my experiences.

First of all, what tongkat ali is not. It is not a substitute for sildenafil citrate for most men beyond 50, who typically have weak penile plumbing, like I do. I did try to go without the sildenafil citrate after David reported that he felt so confident on tongkat ali that he no longer needed it, but David may be in better shape. For me, sildenafil citrate is unsurpassed if the task is to assure erection-causing blood supply to the corpora cavernosa of the penis.

But sildenafil citrate by itself is a bore. It causes erections upon tactile stimulation of the penis, but typically, leaves libido trailing far behind.

Usually, older men no longer have great sex for two reasons: weak and leaking penile plumbing (inability to initiate or maintain an erection) and rusty wiring (lack of libido, weak orgasms). To deal with just one of the two aspects won't do if one is after the same quality of sex one enjoyed in younger years.

It has been my long-held opinion that a dual approach is necessary: fix the plumbing (with sildenafil citrate, yohimbine, or alprostadil get), and brush up the wiring.

There are less options for the wiring than there are for the plumbing. One is yohimbine, which works on both the plumbing and the wiring, but has a serious side effects downside (heart palpitations, sleeplessness).

Cabergoline and some other dopaminergics work almost exclusively on the wiring. They help on erections only for the short periods of time during which they also make tired and nauseate. Beyond that, they have a definite effect only on libido.

Cabergoline, more than any other substance, makes men good lovers. It does so by greatly prolonging the time frame for male sexual conduct. On cabergoline, I can easily go on for an hour in one lovemaking session, and the refractory period is comparatively short.

Tongkat ali also shortens the refractory period, but it doesn't make men better lovers.

Why?

I have to explain this in pictures.

When I am on cabergoline, I am quite sensitive to the situation. I could never sleep with a prostitute on cabergoline. I'd have my problems with a prostitution setting in an entirely sober condition, too. But on cabergoline, it's even worse. If I don't feel that my female partner is riding on the same wave of sexual excitement, I can lose interest very, very quickly, and in spite of 50 mg of Viagra in my veins, any erection will quickly collapse.

I haven't had any tolerance for prostitution settings for more than 20 years. I often questioned myself how other men could feel any desire or excitement with a woman who (openly) is only after a payment.

Well, after ingesting 1 gram of tongkat ali extract, I get the idea. Sex on tongkat ali is much more direct than in any other condition. Actually, on tongkat ali, my sexual encounters are of a style as they were when I was in my late teens (!).

At the age of 18 / 19, I, with a group of friends, every Saturday evening went girl hunting. This was in provincial Germany in the early 70s. I didn't care much, nor did my friends, whether our prey was beautiful, or even whether they were genuinely interested in sex. We just took whatever girls were willing to come along, beautiful or ugly. Anyway, if the one you got was ugly, you could always turn off the light.

And if she wasn't really willing from the start, you could always try to talk her into at least a hand job. "Touch me here, just for a moment." or "Just let me put my hand inside your blouse for a moment."

Or one would try to squeeze one's hand in between her legs (which she closed with all strength available to her). It often was an odd situation. On the one hand, the girls did feel sexual pleasure (as could be told from their vaginal wetness), but they didn't want to give up resistance (in order to protect their reputation, of because it was a principle never to go beyond kissing on a first date).

Never mind. Ugly or beautiful. Wet or dry. For me, it was always good sex (even if for her it wasn't really sex at all).

It wasn't like that anymore some ten years later, and until I went on the tongkat ali trial.

Sex under the influence of tongkat ali feels more direct (and can I say: more masculine?) than it has any time since my late teens. And it is this directness, which more than anything else typifies tongkat ali.

Is this because of raised testosterone levels? Sounds like it, but the jury on testosterone levels is still out (as of this writing, our tongkat ali trial is still ongoing).

For me, sex is much shorter on tongkat ali than it is on cabergoline or any other dopaminergic. Which doesn't mean that I wouldn't get exited. I surely do.

Tongkat ali, for me, also has an effect on erections, though not as a facilitator in principle (for that, I use sildenafil citrate). But tongkat ali makes erections tenser.

Not only erections but also the whole body. On tongkat ali, I often feel inclined to clinch my teeth. I also develop a tendency for subduing gestures towards women. And I hold them with a much firmer grip.

After taking my dose of tongkat ali, I am more prone to develop fantasies of punishing women than I would be in a sober state. And yes, penetration can be as forceful as if I were to rape my partner.

No, the tongkat ali won't turn me into a real rapist. I have enough control over myself to avoid getting into this kind of trouble. But sexual encounters always happen on two levels, the actual and the imaginative one. And on the imaginative level, tongkat ali makes sex more violent.

What else?

Better ejaculatory power, multiple orgasms, and feeling very male.