KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's answer to Viagra is a traditional herb the country has picked to spearhead its push into biotechnology, but now it faces the challenge of convincing the world the remedy is both potent and safe.
Surging interest in the herb, "tongkat ali," has spawned dozens of products, from pills to beverages, that play up its reputed aphrodisiac properties, and could even threaten the sway overseas of ginseng, a more-widely established remedy in Asia.
Generations of aging Malaysian men have sworn by the rejuvenation effects of "tongkat ali," scouring the countryside for it so eagerly that it has almost vanished from all but the deepest rainforest, and now has the status of a protected plant.
Scientific studies show that concoctions of "tongkat ali" can help hormone production, making rats and mice more frisky, but have yet to prove it can reliably produce the same effect in humans, researchers say.
"It can have different effects on different people," said Abdul Razak, head of the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia, which is driving research and commercial production of the herb.
"For me, it gives the energy to play a game of golf without getting tired, but has no other effects," said Razak, who takes two capsule supplements of the herb before each weekly game to increase his stamina.
"Tongkat ali," which scientists call Eurycoma longifolia, is a slender evergreen shrub with bitter, brownish-red fruit that is native to Malaysia and Indonesia.
All parts of the plant, which grows up to 10 meters (33 ft) tall, can be finely chopped and boiled in water to make the traditional medicine.
As Malaysia looks to biotechnology for economic growth, scientists are taking a harder look at the aphrodisiac qualities of tongkat ali, which means the "walking-stick of Ali," in Malay, and they say it could spawn drugs to treat cancer and malaria.
PREPARING FOR COMMERCIAL USE
Five years of research studies in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States have helped to identify the key compounds in the herb, Razak said.
