Tongkat Ali 'not harmful or toxic but beneficial'

KUALA LUMPUR: The authorities have denied a Taiwanese claim that the plant extract Tongkat Ali poses a health risk.

According to FRIM director-general Datuk Dr Abdul Razak Mohd Ali (picture), the Forest Research Institute Malaysia has been researching Tongkat Ali for 20 years and no toxic or harmful components have been found.

"In fact, Tongkat Ali has known medicinal properties. It also has aphrodisiac properties. It enhances the male libido," he said.

He was commenting on a German Press Agency report that Taiwan’s capital city Taipei has banned the sale of the popular Malaysian Tongkat Ali coffee.

In the report, a spokesperson for the city government’s Department of Health said it has not been tested, so they do not know whether it affects other ingredients in the coffee or causes side effects.

Dr Abdul Razak said Tongkat Ali has been used here for generations, and there have never been any complaints of side effects.

It is commonly used as treatment for dysentery, glandular swelling, fever, malaria and other ailments.

In the old days, the roots, found only in the jungles of Southeast Asia, had to be brewed for long hours to get a bitter extract. Tongkat Ali now comes in pills or tea bags and is mixed with regular coffee or tea for an extra lift.

Tongkat Ali coffee and tea are widely sold at roadside hawker stalls, supermarkets and even eateries in posh hotels. It is also a popular drink in many other countries.

"There are no side effects for those who consume Tongkat Ali coffee," stressed Dr Abdul Razak.

The Health Ministry’s Public Health Department Food Quality Control division director Dr Abdul Rahim Mohamad said the amount of Tongkat Ali extract used in drinks and food is less than 20 per cent.



He said the ministry has had no complaints from consumers of any side effects after consuming Tongkat Ali.

"We will have to check with the Taiwan authorities on what grounds they have banned Tongkat Ali coffee and what side effects they have found," said Dr Rahim.

Bright future for Tongkat Ali

SEREMBAN: High quality Tongkat Ali could well make its way to the shelves of internationally known Harrods of London one day, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The Deputy Prime Minister said the Felda Biotechnology Centre at Bandar Enstek in Negeri Sembilan would carry out cloning of the TongKat Ali, which contains the active ingredient eurycomanone

New facility: Najib (centre) visiting the biotechnology centre yesterday. With him is Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan. He said it would be easy to market the product overseas once quality was maintained through cloning.


“One day, Tongkat Ali Felda will be marketed internationally, even in Harrods of London. The Westerners will be impressed with the quality of Felda products,” he said yesterday when opening the RM25mil centre.

The centre, he added, would also be involved in secondary metabolites research focussing on Tongkat Ali.

“The research is meant to produce the active ingredient of Tongkat Ali without having to grow it in the plantation.”

The centre is the largest biotechnology facility in South-east Asia and also the largest oil palm seed tissue culture centre in the world.

Najib said the facility would also be used to produce banana clones of the Berangan species and other plants.

Later, he told a press conference that oil palm production would remain the mainstay of Felda, although the cloning of plants such as herbs would provide settlers with additional income.

Najib, who is also the chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Felda, said the centre would be able to contribute to Felda becoming a leader in oil palm cloning, with the production of one million cloned plants yearly by 2010, and three million yearly beyond that.

“This will fulfil the vision of Felda to become a global leader and transform its people into a more prosperous community.”

He said the clones would also be able to yield a higher oil extraction rate.

Najib added that a Felda biotechnology advisory committee comprising local and international scientists had been formed and there were currently 120 local scientists at the centre. There are plans to increase the number to 200.