Eurycoma longifolia (commonly called tongkat ali, Malaysian ginseng or long jack)[3] is a flowering plant in the family Simaroubaceae.
It is native to Indochina (Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam) and Indonesia (the islands of Borneo and Sumatra),[4] but has also been found in the Philippines.
The root of the plant has been used in folk medicine of the South East Asian region, and in modern times has common use as supplements, as well as food and drink additives.
Eurycoma longifolia is also known by the common names penawar pahit, penawar bias, bedara merah, bedara putih, lempedu pahit, payong ali, tongkat baginda, muntah bumi, petala bumi, bidara laut (all Malay-Indonesian); babi kurus (Javanese); cây bá bệnh (Vietnamese); tho nan (Laotian); lan-don, hae phan chan, phiak, plaa lai phuenk, tung saw (all Thai); "long jack" (US); langir siam (Bahrain).
Older literature, such as a 1953 article in the Journal of Ecology, may cite only penawar pahit as the plant's common Malay name.
Inflorecense axillary, in large brownish red panicle, very pubescent with very fine, soft, granular trichomes.
[11][13][14] Other health benefits attributed to this plant include antimalarial, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, antipyretic,[15] anti-dengue [16] and immunomodulation activities.
[22] In 2017, the FDA announced that two different brands of E. longifolia-containing coffee were recalled after being found to be adulterated with active ingredients from erectile dysfunction drugs.
[31][32][33] In 2016, Ahmad Shabery Cheek, the Malaysian Minister of Agriculture, said that the species may go extinct within twenty years if cultivation and replanting efforts are not made quickly.
[34] Despite this, the Malaysian government has encouraged the commercialization of high-value herbal products based on this plant, notably in its 2010 Economic Transformation Programme, where Tongkat Ali is listed among the top five herbs to be developed on a large scale until the year 2020.
[35][36] To support this commercialization, the Malaysian government made attempts to encourage the long-term commercial cultivation of the plant, through the provision of grants for farmers, enabling agronomy research by MARDI, and the formation of cluster farms under the East Coast Economic Region.