Tongkat Ali tea or extract
Version 1.0, July 2003
I have been wondering how the Tongkat Ali 1:50 extract would compare to a self-brewed Tongkat Ali tea.
My usual dosage is 1 gram of 1:50 extract (which is sold by Sumatra Pasak Bumi; website tongkatali.org). So 1 gram would be equivalent to 25 gram of root, root powder, or root chips.
I obtained root chips from Sumatra Pasak Bumi and initially boiled some 10 grams for about 5 minutes. This clearly was weaker than 1 gram of 1:50 extract.
The next day, I boiled 25 grams for about half an hour. The effect was stronger than that of 10 grams, but not as strong as the effect of 1 gram 1:50 extract.
I have checked with people in Malaysia, and they told me that locals there boil Tongkat Ali root for up to two hours before drinking the resulting brew. And on Sumatra, they boil the root three times on consecutive days, and claim that it is almost as effective on the third go as it is the first time around.
This, as well as my own experience, suggests that obtaining the active Tongkat Ali alkaloids from the raw root is a rather complicated task. As I have been told by the people at Sumatra Pasak Bumi, they soak the root chips for several days before bringing the mixture to a boil in order to extract as much of the active ingredients as possible.
How do I judge the effect? Obviously, I, as well as other test participants, use Tongkat Ali extract for its pro-sexual effect. But pro-sexual effect is difficult to measure (though I find that the Tongkat Ali extract clearly contributes to better sex).
Ingestion of Tongkat Ali extract at a sufficiently high dosage should result, especially for the novice user, in a few general symptoms. I earlier described this as a certain "hot-headedness". In a clinical trial in Malaysia (see the reference in the subscriber section), it was described as facial flushing and/or headache.
The "facial flushing" or "hot-headedness" should set in after about an hour, and last for two to three hours. It is difficult to describe, though it occurs rather reliably at a sufficiently high dosage. For me, it occurs with 1 gram of 1:50 extract, but does not with dosages of up to half a gram. I also did not feel it with the brew I prepared from 25 gram of chipped root.
This experience matches the Malaysian recommendation that the root should be boiled for a long time.