Tongkat Ali vs Fenugreek: Which One and Can You Take Both

Tongkat ali vs fenugreek is a closer call than most supplement match-ups: both have placebo-controlled trials in men that found higher testosterone, and both have reviews that call the evidence limited. Tongkat ali's trials lean toward energy, fatigue and stress. Fenugreek's lean toward lifting and an ageing-symptoms questionnaire. On both sides, most trials were paid for by the companies that make the extracts.

Fenugreek shows up on a lot of "test booster" labels, often right next to tongkat ali. So here's the tongkat ali vs fenugreek question answered plainly: what each one is, what the studies tested, the doses they used, and whether anyone has tested them together. (Short version: we couldn't find a single trial that did.)

One thing first. Honesty is the product: if we can't prove it, we don't say it. That cuts both ways in this one, because neither plant's research is as strong as its marketing. And neither replaces sleep, training, sunlight or doing hard things.

What is tongkat ali?

Tongkat ali is the root of Eurycoma longifolia, a shrub from the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. It's traditionally used for energy, strength and vitality in men. Most human research uses a hot-water root extract, not raw root powder.

We wrote a full guide on it, with every study broken down: Tongkat Ali: What It Is, What the Studies Show, and How to Take It.

What is fenugreek?

Fenugreek is Trigonella foenum-graecum, a leguminous plant from India and North Africa.⁷ It has a long history as both food and medicine in India and China, and the FDA lists it as "generally recognized as safe" as a flavoring.¹⁴

Supplements use extracts of the seed, and here's the catch: almost every trial below tested a different branded extract. A 2026 review warned that results from one extract can't be assumed for another.¹² So "fenugreek" on a label doesn't tell you much on its own.

What did the human studies look at?

Tongkat ali

• Testosterone: a 2022 review pooled 5 randomized trials and found higher total testosterone in men taking tongkat ali than in control groups.¹
• Stress hormones and mood: a placebo-controlled trial in 63 moderately stressed men and women tested 200 mg a day for 4 weeks. The tongkat group had better scores on some mood measures (tension, anger, confusion) and a better cortisol-to-testosterone balance than placebo. An extract maker funded it.²
• Fatigue: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 105 men aged 50 to 70 tested 100 or 200 mg a day for 12 weeks. Both tongkat groups had higher total testosterone and lower fatigue scores than placebo. The extract maker funded it.³
• Strength: a 5-week pilot in 25 active adults aged 57 to 72 used 400 mg a day and saw higher testosterone and muscle force. It had no placebo group, so treat it as a hint, not proof.⁴

Fenugreek

• Men aged 43 to 70: 120 healthy men took 600 mg a day of a fenugreek seed extract or a placebo for 12 weeks. The fenugreek group had better scores on a questionnaire about common ageing symptoms in men, and higher total and free testosterone than placebo.⁵
• Men aged 40 to 80: 95 men took 600, 1,200 or 1,800 mg a day of a fenugreek extract or a placebo for 12 weeks. Blood testosterone rose from where it started, but it was not different from placebo. Saliva testosterone was. The tablets also contained added nutrients, and the study was funded by a lab two of the authors own shares in.⁶
• Lifting, trained men: 49 resistance-trained men took 500 mg a day or a placebo during 8 weeks of supervised training. The fenugreek group gained more bench and leg press strength and lost more body fat than placebo, with no difference in power or muscle endurance. Indus Biotech, the extract's maker, funded it.⁷
• Lifting, healthy men: 60 men on an 8-week training program took 600 mg a day of a fenugreek seed extract or a placebo. The authors reported "anabolic and androgenic" effects compared with placebo (their measures included testosterone) and improvements in body fat, with no side effects. It was a pilot, and two of the three authors work at Indus Biotech.⁸

And the reviews. A 2026 review of randomized, placebo-controlled trials in men found a small effect on total testosterone, but rated the certainty "very low," found no steady effect on free testosterone, and judged none of its 13 studies to be at low risk of bias. Its conclusion: the evidence does not support testosterone-boosting claims for fenugreek.⁹ An earlier 2021 review was more upbeat, naming fenugreek and ashwagandha as the two herbs with positive effects on testosterone in men, though only 6 of the 32 studies it looked at were judged low risk of bias.¹⁰

Two more reviews rated both plants. A 2024 review looked at 52 studies on 27 ingredients sold to men for testosterone and found most of them fail to raise total testosterone compared with placebo. Tongkat ali was one of the few rated "possibly effective" for healthy men. Fenugreek was not on that list.¹¹ And a 2026 review put both in the same bucket: limited-to-moderate evidence for modest testosterone increases in some groups of men, with less consistent evidence that men feel or function better over time.¹²

Tongkat ali vs fenugreek: side by side

Which one should you pick?

We make a tongkat ali product, so weigh our read with that in mind. But here's the honest version, and every study is linked so you can check us.

• If you want support for energy and testosterone, tongkat ali's research is the closer match. Its trials found higher testosterone and lower fatigue than placebo, including in men aged 50 to 70, and a 2024 review rated it "possibly effective" for healthy men.
• If you're mainly lifting, fenugreek has more trials in men on a training program, and they were positive. Both were small and both were tied to the extract's maker. Tongkat's strength study is a small pilot with no placebo group.
• If you take blood sugar medication or a blood thinner, fenugreek needs a conversation with your doctor first. More on that in the safety section below.

Our honest read: tongkat ali's research is promising but small and short. Fenugreek's is about the same size, more mixed on testosterone, and leans heavily on company-funded trials. Neither is a sure thing.

Can you take tongkat ali and fenugreek together?

Plenty of blends list both on the label. But we searched PubMed and couldn't find a single human trial that tested tongkat ali and fenugreek together. Every study above tested one plant on its own. So nobody can tell you how the two act in combination, or what dose of each makes sense side by side.

That matters for blends. If a label lists ten things, you're testing ten things at once, often at doses well below what the trials used. More on reading labels in How to Choose a Tongkat Ali Supplement, and on tongkat doses in Tongkat Ali Dosage.

If you still want to try both, here's how we'd think about it:

• Talk to your doctor first, especially if you take any medication or have a health condition.
• Start one at a time. Give one a month before adding the other, so you know what's doing what.
• Stay within the doses the studies used. More is not better when nobody has tested it.

Weighing a different pairing? We covered that too: Tongkat Ali vs Ashwagandha.

Is fenugreek safe?

In a 2023 review of 10 trials in people with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes, fenugreek lowered blood sugar markers. The review saw no liver or kidney toxicity, and some studies reported mild stomach side effects.¹³ If you already take something that lowers blood sugar, that's a reason to check with your doctor before adding it.

The NIH's LactMed database adds a few more things to know. Fenugreek can cause diarrhea, gas and nausea. Allergic reactions have been reported, and it may cross-react with peanuts, chickpeas and other legumes. Liver toxicity has been reported, both alone and in herbal mixes. It can interact with warfarin, a blood thinner. And it can make your urine and sweat smell like maple syrup.¹⁴ On the warfarin point, doctors in 2001 described a woman on warfarin whose blood-thinning reading went up while she took several natural products, including boldo and fenugreek. It went back to normal when she stopped them, and rose again when she restarted both.¹⁵

Tongkat ali has its own gaps: the longest trial above ran 12 weeks, so these trials give no long-term safety data. And it has a liver case report of its own: in 2024, doctors described a man who developed liver injury after starting tongkat ali and got better after stopping.¹⁶ More in Tongkat Ali Side Effects. The same rule covers both. Stick to studied doses, buy from brands that test what they sell, and talk to your doctor.

One tool, not the answer

Nobody is coming to give you your fire back. Here's how to go get it: sleep 7 to 9 hours, lift heavy things, get sunlight early and do something hard on purpose. Then, if you want a supplement, pick one ingredient, at a studied dose, and give it a fair shot.

If that's tongkat ali, it's the one we make. All Day Fire Tongkat Ali is version one: 400 mg of a 100:1 hot-water root extract per serving, one ingredient, made in small batches by a US manufacturer and tested for heavy metals. The studies above are about tongkat ali and fenugreek, not about our bottle.

Keep reading: Tongkat Ali vs Tribulus, Tongkat Ali vs Boron, Does Tongkat Ali Work? An Honest Look at the Evidence.

FAQ

What's the difference between tongkat ali and fenugreek?

Tongkat ali is a root from Indonesia and Malaysia whose human trials found higher testosterone and lower fatigue in men compared with placebo. Fenugreek is a seed from a legume plant whose trials focused on testosterone, ageing symptoms and strength training, with mixed results and mostly company-funded studies.

Can you take tongkat ali and fenugreek together?

Many blends combine them, but we couldn't find any human trial that tested the two together. If you want to try both, start one at a time, stay within studied doses, and talk to your doctor first, especially if you take blood sugar medication or a blood thinner.

Does fenugreek raise testosterone?

The evidence is mixed. Some placebo-controlled trials found higher testosterone, but one 12-week trial in men aged 40 to 80 saw no difference from placebo in blood. A 2026 review found a small effect on total testosterone but rated the evidence very low certainty.

How much fenugreek did the studies use?

The trials covered here used 500 to 1,800 mg a day of seed extract, most often 500 to 600 mg, for 8 to 12 weeks. Each trial used a different branded extract, so follow the label and talk to your doctor.

Does fenugreek have side effects?

Reported side effects include stomach upset, allergic reactions (including possible cross-reaction with peanuts and other legumes) and a maple-syrup smell in urine and sweat. It lowered blood sugar in trials in people with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes, and it may interact with warfarin. If you take medicine for blood sugar or a blood thinner, check with your doctor first.

Sources

1. Leisegang K, et al. Eurycoma longifolia (Jack) Improves Serum Total Testosterone in Men: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Clinical Trials. Medicina, 2022. PMID 36013514
2. Talbott SM, et al. Effect of Tongkat Ali on stress hormones and psychological mood state in moderately stressed subjects. J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2013. PMID 23705671
3. Chinnappan SM, et al. Effect of Eurycoma longifolia standardised aqueous root extract-Physta on testosterone levels and quality of life in ageing male subjects. Food Nutr Res, 2021. PMID 34262417
4. Henkel RR, et al. Tongkat Ali as a potential herbal supplement for physically active male and female seniors: a pilot study. Phytother Res, 2014. PMID 23754792
5. Rao A, et al. Testofen, a specialised Trigonella foenum-graecum seed extract reduces age-related symptoms of androgen decrease, increases testosterone levels and improves sexual function in healthy aging males in a double-blind randomised clinical study. Aging Male, 2016. PMID 26791805
6. Lee-Ødegård S, et al. Effect of a plant extract of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) on testosterone in blood plasma and saliva in a double blind randomized controlled intervention study. PLoS One, 2024. PMID 39288153
7. Poole C, et al. The effects of a commercially available botanical supplement on strength, body composition, power output, and hormonal profiles in resistance-trained males. J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2010. PMID 20979623
8. Wankhede S, et al. Beneficial effects of fenugreek glycoside supplementation in male subjects during resistance training: A randomized controlled pilot study. J Sport Health Sci, 2016. PMID 30356905
9. Yang P, et al. Effects of oral fenugreek-derived preparations on testosterone-related outcomes in adult men: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials. Front Nutr, 2026. PMID 42688439
10. Smith SJ, et al. Examining the Effects of Herbs on Testosterone Concentrations in Men: A Systematic Review. Adv Nutr, 2021. PMID 33150931
11. Morgado A, et al. Do "testosterone boosters" really increase serum total testosterone? A systematic review. Int J Impot Res, 2024. PMID 37697053
12. Sharma K, et al. Analysis of androgen modulation by natural products. Pharmacol Res, 2026. PMID 42575271
13. Kim J, et al. The Effect of Fenugreek in Type 2 Diabetes and Prediabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Int J Mol Sci, 2023. PMID 37762302
14. Fenugreek. Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, updated 2026. PMID 30000838
15. Lambert JP, Cormier J. Potential interaction between warfarin and boldo-fenugreek. Pharmacotherapy, 2001. PMID 11310527
16. Kaliounji A, et al. A Rare Case of Tongkat Ali-Induced Liver Injury: A Case Report. Cureus, 2024. PMID 38646387

Written and reviewed by Nick Lange, All Day Fire. Last reviewed 18 Oct 2026.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This article is for information only and is not medical advice. Talk to your doctor before starting any supplement.