Tongkat Ali has been used in Southeast Asia for generations. That is tradition, not evidence. The reason it earns the largest single position in the TESTO PLUS formula is that it is one of the few botanicals in this category with randomized, placebo-controlled human data behind it.
Here is what that data says, without decoration.
Study one: four weeks, moderately stressed adults
Sixty-three adults screened for moderate stress took either 200 mg of a standardized Tongkat Ali root extract or a placebo, daily, for four weeks. Saliva hormone tests were taken at the start and the end.
The cortisol finding is the one most people skip past, and it may be the more interesting half. Testosterone and cortisol tend to move in opposite directions. A result that shows both moving favorably in the same people is a more coherent picture than either number alone.
Study two: twelve weeks, men aged 50 to 70
A larger and longer trial: randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled. 105 men aged 50 to 70 with lower-than-average testosterone completed twelve weeks on 100 mg or 200 mg of a standardized Tongkat Ali root extract, or a placebo.
Read the middle number carefully. The Aging Males’ Symptoms (AMS) scale is a questionnaire where lower is better, so a 54% drop is the improvement. You may see it elsewhere described as a 54% rise in “male vitality.” It is the same result, worded the other way round.
Free testosterone did not separate from placebo. Total testosterone did. Both facts belong on the page.
The part most brands leave out
Both trials tested 200 mg of a standardized water extract.
TESTO PLUS contains 500 mg of Tongkat Ali root powder.
More milligrams — but a different material. A standardized extract is concentrated and calibrated to a consistent marker compound. Root powder is the milled root itself. They are not interchangeable, and pretending otherwise would be dishonest.
That is exactly why every number on this page is followed by a line stating that the research studied an ingredient and not this product. The studies tell you what the botanical has done in humans. They do not tell you what any given bottle will do for you.
Where it sits in the formula
Tongkat Ali at 500 mg is the single largest ingredient in TESTO PLUS, tied with L-Arginine HCl. Together with Maca Root at 250 mg, those three ingredients account for 1,250 mg — roughly 55% of every 2,273 mg serving.
In the formula, it leads the testosterone-support group.*
What to expect, realistically
Both trials judged results after weeks of daily use: four weeks in the first, twelve in the second. Whatever a daily botanical does, it does slowly and by accumulation.
Judging a formula like this after a week is like judging a training program after one session. The serving is two tablets daily with a meal. The variable that matters most is not the dose. It is whether you take it.
TESTO PLUS
Nineteen ingredients, 2,273 mg per serving, every dose printed on the label. Two tablets a day, no caffeine.*
Quick answers
Does Tongkat Ali raise testosterone?
In a four-week human trial of a standardized root extract, testosterone ran 37% higher than placebo. In a twelve-week trial of men aged 50 to 70, total testosterone was higher than placebo at week 12, while free testosterone was not. Both studied the extract, not TESTO PLUS, which contains root powder. Individual results vary.*
What form of Tongkat Ali is in TESTO PLUS?
500 mg of root powder. The published trials used 200 mg of a standardized water extract, a different material, which is why every figure here is qualified.
How long before Tongkat Ali does anything?
The trials measured results after four weeks and after twelve weeks of daily use. Judge any daily botanical over weeks, not days.*
Sources
- Talbott SM, Talbott JA, George A, et al. Effect of Tongkat Ali on stress hormones and psychological mood state in moderately stressed subjects. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2013;10:28. doi.org/10.1186/1550-2783-10-28
- Chinnappan SM, George A, Pandey P, Narke G, Choudhary YK. Food Nutr Res. 2021;65:5647. (Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of a standardized Tongkat Ali root extract in men aged 50–70.) doi.org/10.29219/fnr.v65.5647
Keep reading
TESTO PLUSTestosterone After 40: What Actually Changes
TESTO PLUSInside TESTO PLUS: 19 Ingredients, 2,273 mg
TESTO PLUSStress, Cortisol and Drive: The Connection Men Miss*Results come from human studies of Tongkat Ali extract, not from studies of TESTO PLUS. Both trials used a standardized root extract; TESTO PLUS contains 500 mg of root powder. Individual results vary.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.