Does tongkat ali actually work for your testosterone?
Do not use it, even though it probably does raise your testosterone. The European food safety authority EFSA found signs that tongkat ali can damage your DNA, precisely at the common 200 mg per day, and it is not authorised in the EU and banned from sale.
In terms of effect, tongkat ali has one of the better evidence bases among plant-based testosterone boosters: a meta-analysis of five randomised trials found a moderate rise in total testosterone in men, including men with an age-related low level. But that is not the whole story.
EFSA assessed tongkat ali root extract in 2021 and found signs of genotoxicity in a chromosome test: it can cause DNA damage, which is potentially carcinogenic. That risk applies precisely at the 200 mg per day dose that was proposed as a supplement.
Partly for that reason, tongkat ali is not authorised as a novel food in the EU and may not be sold. The Dutch food safety authority (NVWA) warned about it in 2024 and seized products from sellers. Even though it can raise testosterone: it is not worth the risk, and it is not legally available here.
Efficacy from a meta-analysis of randomised trials; safety and legal status from the EFSA assessment (2021, genotoxicity) and EU novel-food rules, with NVWA enforcement (2024).