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Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
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17.10.2009 |
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Aphrodisiac Tongkat Ali boosts testosterone level
Asian herbalists have used root extracts of the shrub Tongkat Ali - botanical name Eurycoma longifolia - for centuries as a strengthening tonic or as a libido-enhancing remedy. In an experiment with rats, researchers at the Italian University of Modena and Reggio Emilia found out how Tongkat Ali actually works. The supplement raises the testosterone level.
The researchers wanted to know whether Tongkat Ali can help men with problems of impotence. They started by introducing male rats to sexually receptive females. The Italians then continued their work with the male rats that had not attempted to mate with the female, considering these animals to be suitable models for human males with impotency problems.
The researchers gave their rats 500 mg Tongkat Ali extract per kg bodyweight, for 6 or 12 days in a row. The researchers administered the extract dissolved in water through a tube directly into the lab animals' stomach. Rats in the control group were given water containing no active ingredients. Three-quarters of an hour after the last dose had been administered, the researchers put the rats into the cage with the sexually receptive females.
The figure below shows the percentage of the rats that, after 6 [subacute] or 12 [subchronic] days of Tongkat Ali supplements, mounted the females [M] and ejaculated [E]. So Tongkat Ali works.
If a scientist observes that male lab animals mate more frequently then the first thing he thinks of is a raised testosterone level, and the Italians were no exception. When they measured the concentration of testosterone in the blood of the rats that had been given Tongkat Ali for six days, they saw that the concentration had risen.
The sports supplements business has already discovered Tongkat Ali, as is evidenced by the growing number of products available that contain extracts of this plant. It’s not really possible to use the results of this study to say anything about the effectiveness of the sports supplements, however. A daily dose of 500 mg extract per kg bodyweight is pretty high.
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