Saturday, March 28, 2015

Alphabe-Thursday letter T: Tongkat Ali




This is Tongkat Ali, literally translated as the walking cane of Ali.

Other Names: Eurycoma longifolia, Longjack

Tongkat Ali is a tree native to Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. The part of the tree used medicinally is the root.

Why Do People Use Tongkat Ali?

Tongkat Ali was dubbed the "Asian Viagra" in a May 1999 report in the New Sunday Times.

It has been used in Malaysia for many years by men to increase sexual desire, libido, sexual performance and to treat erectile dysfunction.

Tongkat ali appears to work by increasing levels of the hormone testosterone. Testosterone is primarily responsible for the growth and development of male reproductive organs.

Because of its testosterone-enhancing properties, tongkat ali is also used by bodybuilders to increase muscle mass and strength. http://altmedicine.about.com/od/herbsupplementguide/a/tongkat_ali.htm

The owner of this root herb however tells me otherwise. It is a misconception that Tongkat Ali is an aphrodisiac. His native doctor tells him that it is a cleansing herb. Once your body is cleansed, you will be healthy all round. This is the root of a very big tree found in the deep jungles of Borneo. It is valued more than 5 million dollars. Even then, he would not part with it. Usually people get only a small tree.

***After thought*** The root as a whole would be more than MR10,000. If it is grounded into powder and sold as a Tongkat Ali "coffee" in an organic herbal bar, you could get $5 million. At any rate, it is not for sale.

http://jennymatlock.blogspot.co.nz/


search/label/Alphabe-Thursday


3 comments:

Annesphamily said...

Interesting facts here! Always nice to stop and learn something new when I visit my friends in blog world! A wonderful day to stop by and say hello. Always my pleasure to say enjoy the weekend and thank you for sharing.

Rocky Mountain Woman said...

How interesting! I learn something new everyday...

Jim said...

Nice to learn about the Tongkat Ali tree and its root. Thank you, Ann.
I have growing two prized root plants. One is a Cypress tree, native to Louisiana. The roots are valued by artists and art collectors. But in Louisiana, this "Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) ..." is the State Tree and it is illegal to cut off the root knees that grow up to three feet out of the ground or water. People do 'root rustling' there, of course it is illegal.
My other is a ginger plant whose roots are harvested for spices, food, and medicinal properties. They aren't very valuable as they grow profusely.
..