herb · for stress
Tongkat Ali
Lowers cortisol and shifts your stress hormone balance in a steadier direction.
Say that in clinical terms
Reduces cortisol levels and improves DHEA/cortisol ratio, blunting stress response and enhancing resilience.
How strong is the research?
1 paper read, 1 supporting.
Tested as: Physta™ standardised hot-water root extract of Eurycoma longifolia (Biotropics Malaysia Berhad), 200 mg/day
Who was studied: Healthy adults scoring as moderately stressed — a plausible match.
How much to take
daily
200–400 mg
Standardized to eurycomanone. Cortisol reduction seen within 4 weeks.
Before you take it
- No established NIH ODS Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for Eurycoma longifolia; no government body has set a formal UL for this botanical.
- Increases free testosterone and reduces sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG); contraindicated in prostate cancer and other androgen-sensitive conditions.
- Contraindicated in pregnancy and lactation; no safety data exist in these populations.
- Documented pharmacokinetic drug interaction: water-based extract reduces propranolol bioavailability by 29% and Cmax by 42% in a single-blinded crossover study (Salman et al. 2010, PMID 21054461, n=14); mechanism is absorption-mediated rather than metabolic.
- In vitro data suggest potential CYP3A4 inhibition; clinical significance in humans is unconfirmed; precautionary caution is warranted with CYP3A4-metabolized drugs (statins, clopidogrel, immunosuppressants).
- Rare case reports of drug-induced liver injury (elevated transaminases, jaundice); NIH LiverTox maintains a Tongkat Ali entry; contraindicated with pre-existing liver disease.
- Precautionary contraindications with pre-existing kidney disease, heart disease, diabetes, and sleep apnea appear in product labeling and traditional-medicine guidance; direct clinical evidence supporting these specific contraindications is limited.
What we make of it
Two claims rest on one study, funded entirely by the manufacturer.
The detail
Both our stress and chronic fatigue claims come from the same single study, which was fully funded by the company making the extract. It reported a 16% drop in cortisol and a better hormone ratio.