ABC News Nightline on Tongkat Ali for Men and Women
On October 17, 2014, ABC News Nightline featured Tongkat Ali in a segment titled “The Quest for What May Be Nature’s Most Potent Aphrodisiac.” The report examined the growing Western interest in traditional botanical remedies and the expectations often associated with them.
The segment opens by documenting the difficulty of locating Eurycoma longifolia in remote, mountainous jungle regions of Southeast Asia. It then moves into laboratory settings, discussing modern extraction methods and scientific efforts to identify biologically active compounds within the plant.
Nightline also explored how Tongkat Ali entered the Western supplement market, highlighting differing consumer motivations and anecdotal experiences.
Tongkat Ali has a long history of traditional use in Southeast Asia and continues to be examined in modern research.
Selected scientific references
- Ismail, S. B., et al. (2012). Randomized clinical trial on the use of Eurycoma longifolia extract.
- Low, B. S., et al. (2013). Effects of Eurycoma longifolia.
- Chan, K. L., et al. (2015). Phytochemistry and pharmacology.