Tongkat ali supports testosterone levels in healthy, young males, says recent study

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A study recently published in Andrologia¹ found that supplementation with a proprietary tongkat ali (LJ100 from HP Ingredients, Bradenton, FL) supported testosterone levels in healthy, young male subjects. In the placebo-controlled, double-blind, matched-pair study, 32 males (aged 24.4 ± 4.7 years) received either 600 mg/day of tongkat ali or placebo for two weeks. Blood samples were collected prior to intervention on day one and post intervention on day 14. Prior to each lab visit, subjects were required to fast and refrain from alcohol as well as performance-enhancing supplements, high intensity exercise, and sexual activity for eight hours. Researchers analyzed the blood for testosterone, free testosterone, sexual hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), luteinising hormone (LH), oestrogen and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) with enzyme-listed immunosorbent assay (ELISA; IBL International, Hamburg, Germany) coupled to a spectrophotometer at 490 nm absorbance for detection

Results showed that supplementation significantly increased testosterone levels by 15% and free testosterone levels by 34% among subjects taking tongkat ali for two weeks, compared to placebo. Additionally, estradiol was 30% high post-intervention in subjects taking tongkat ali. On the other hand, analysis showed that LH, FSH, and SHBG did not have any significant differences between and within group effects. According to the researchers, the fact that subjects taking tongkat ali experience significant improvements in testosterone, free testosterone, and estradiol, but not LH, FHS, and SHBG suggests that the ingredient may be having a lesser effect on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis of young adults and greater activation of the hypothalamic- pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. This is unusual because the HPG axis is central to the production of testosterone. So, this is the first study to suggest tongkat ali can increase testosterone levels via activation of both the HPG and HPA axes.

“This study is significant in that it is the first to measure hormonal effects in healthy young men,” said Annie Eng, CEO of HP Ingredients, in a press release. “This study may certainly be used as a strong platform for formulating sports supplements for competitive athletes and trainers.”

Reference

1. Chan KQ et al. “The effect of Eurycoma Longifolia on the regulation of reproductive hormones in young males.” Andrologia, Published online ahead of print February 9, 2021