Mankind has
depended on various types of herbs and plants through the century when it comes
to needing a boost in sexual performance – the search for an aphrodisiac effect
is uncommon, and with more and more studies being conducted to determine a
larger group of such plants at our disposal, this search has become more
refined thanks to R&D.
To many,
the name Tongkat Ali is famously used to generally imply an aphrodisiac
supplement, but within Malaysia, there are several distinct names that serve
this purpose - Eurycoma longifolia (the
actual Tongkat Ali), Smilax myosotiflora
(Ubi Jaga) for men and Labisia pumila
(Kacip Fatimah) for women. In fact, Tongkat Ali itself is synonymous with at
least three plants in Malaysia - the three most widely used plants include Eurycoma longifolia, Polyalthia bullata and
Stema tuberosa.
Through the Microscope this month brings you a study which was done by Dr Srikumar,
affiliated to MAHSA University, in collaboration with Dr Jaya Vejayan,
affiliated to University Malaysia Pahang (UMP), through an external grant of RM60,000,
accessing the aphrodisiac potential of Polyalthia
bullata also known as Tongkat Ali Hitam.
What is
commonly found in premixed coffees is the combination of those three roots mentioned
above and this study was conducted to determine if Polyalthia bullata in fact had any aphrodisiac effect or if it was a
pseudosexual enhancer, making the premix a drink that was being boosted by the
more famously researched Eurycoma
longifolia and Stema tuberosa. Since
previous reports have almost no data on the aphrodisiac potential of P. bullata, this in vitro and in vivo investigation
on domesticated fowls similar to the study previously done for the other two
Tongkat Ali plants had shown that it has the potential to increase testosterone
level and through studying the histopathology of the sperm quality, quantity
and morphology the verdict is YES, this Tongkat Ali Hitam was able to improve
the sperm morphology and also the testosterone levels, and with no side effects.
The product
is now manufactured and marketed by the commercial wing of UMP and soon to be
available on Shopee.
 |
| Click image to read full article |