Who this is for: Men stuck choosing between tongkat ali and tribulus, or wondering if they should take both.
What you'll get: What each plant is, what the human studies looked at, the doses they used, and an honest answer on stacking them.
Reading time: 8 minutes. Every study is linked, so you can read them yourself.
Tongkat ali vs tribulus comes down to what the human studies actually found: tongkat ali's trials point toward support for testosterone and lower fatigue in men, while tribulus's trials in healthy men and athletes mostly found no difference from placebo on testosterone, strength or body composition. Both are sold for the same reasons. Only one has held up well in reviews.
Walk down any supplement aisle and you'll see both names, often on the same label, usually next to a picture of a guy who has never sat in traffic. So here's the tongkat ali vs tribulus 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. Testosterone is a number. Fire is a life. Neither plant 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 tribulus?
Tribulus is Tribulus terrestris, a small flowering plant also known as puncturevine. It's been used in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, and today it's a regular in sports nutrition.10 Traditional use leaned on the fruit and the parts of the plant above ground, not the root.9
Athletes and lifters buy it mostly because of one belief: that it raises testosterone. A 2014 review put it bluntly: that belief is fueled by marketing claims.9 So let's look at what the trials found.
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
Tribulus
- Testosterone in young men: 21 healthy men aged 20 to 36 took one of two tribulus doses or a placebo for 4 weeks. Testosterone, androstenedione and LH (a hormone that tells the body to make testosterone) were no different from placebo.5
- Lifting, trained men: 15 resistance-trained men took tribulus or a placebo for 8 weeks of structured training. Body weight, body fat and mood didn't change in either group, and the authors concluded tribulus did not improve body composition or performance.6
- Elite rugby players: 22 elite rugby league players took 450 mg a day of tribulus extract or a placebo for 5 weeks of preseason training. Strength and lean mass went up in both groups, with no difference between them.7
- CrossFit athletes: 30 trained men took 770 mg a day or a placebo for 6 weeks. Most results showed no difference between groups. The two exceptions were testosterone and bench press, but the authors still concluded tribulus did not improve performance or body composition.8
And the reviews. A 2014 systematic review found that, in humans, a testosterone effect only showed up when tribulus was part of a mixed supplement, and concluded it's ineffective for raising testosterone on its own.9 A 2022 review of 7 studies in active men found no clear evidence of benefits on hormones or muscle damage markers.10
One more review is worth knowing because it rated both. A 2024 review looked at 52 studies on 27 ingredients sold to men for testosterone. It 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. Tribulus was not on that list.11
Tongkat ali vs tribulus: side by side
| Tongkat ali | Tribulus | |
|---|---|---|
| Plant | Eurycoma longifolia root | Tribulus terrestris fruit and above-ground parts |
| Traditional use | Indonesia and Malaysia | Traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine |
| Main focus of human trials | Testosterone and fatigue in men, plus stress hormones | Testosterone, strength and body composition in healthy men and athletes |
| What the trials above found | Higher testosterone and lower fatigue than placebo in the controlled trials | Mostly no difference from placebo |
| Doses in the trials above | 100 to 400 mg a day, most often 200 mg | 450 to 770 mg a day where a fixed dose was listed; others dosed by body weight |
| Trial lengths | 4 to 12 weeks | 4 to 8 weeks |
| Best evidence cited here | A review that pooled 5 trials, plus 2 placebo-controlled trials | 4 small placebo-controlled trials and 2 reviews, mostly negative |
| Safety notes | Well tolerated in short trials; no long-term data; one liver case report | No toxicity reported in a 2022 review; one serious kidney case report |
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 testosterone and energy, 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. Tribulus's trials in healthy men mostly didn't.
- If you're training for strength, neither has strong proof. Tribulus has three placebo-controlled trials in lifters and athletes, and none found it beat placebo on body composition or overall performance. Tongkat's strength study is a small pilot with no placebo group.
- If you compete in a drug-tested sport, one rugby trial found tribulus didn't change the urine marker anti-doping tests look at.7 That's one small study, so check with your sport's body before you take anything.
Our honest read: tongkat ali's research is promising but small and short. Tribulus has been tested more in athletes, and it mostly came up empty.
Can you take tongkat ali and tribulus together?
Plenty of products put them in the same capsule. But we searched PubMed and couldn't find a single human trial that tested tongkat ali and tribulus 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. The 2014 tribulus review only saw a testosterone effect in humans when tribulus came mixed with other ingredients, which makes it hard to know which ingredient did the work.9 If a label lists ten things, you're testing ten things at once. More on reading labels in How to Choose a Tongkat Ali Supplement.
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 tribulus safe?
A 2022 review of 7 studies in active men found no toxicity caused by tribulus.10 But there's one thing worth knowing. In 2015, doctors described a young, healthy man who developed a very high bilirubin level (a liver-related blood marker) followed by acute kidney failure after taking tribulus. The authors noted serious side effects had been reported before, and that people often take herbs like this casually and don't tell their doctor.12 One case doesn't make a pattern, but it's real.
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.13 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 the one with the research behind it.
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 tribulus, not about our bottle.
FAQ
What's the difference between tongkat ali and tribulus?
Tongkat ali is a root from Indonesia and Malaysia whose human trials found support for testosterone and lower fatigue in men compared with placebo. Tribulus is a flowering plant from traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine whose trials in healthy men and athletes mostly found no difference from placebo.
Can you take tongkat ali and tribulus together?
Many products 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.
Does tribulus raise testosterone?
In the human trials we found, mostly no. A 4-week trial in healthy young men saw no difference from placebo, and a 2014 review concluded tribulus on its own is ineffective for raising testosterone. One CrossFit trial did see a testosterone difference, but no performance gain.
How much tribulus did the studies use?
The trials covered here used 450 to 770 mg a day where a fixed dose was listed, for 4 to 8 weeks; two others dosed by body weight. Extracts vary, so follow the label and talk to your doctor.
Is tribulus or tongkat ali better for strength?
Neither has strong proof. Three placebo-controlled tribulus trials in lifters and athletes found no gain in body composition or overall performance over placebo. Tongkat ali's strength study was a small pilot with no placebo group.
Sources
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Neychev VK, Mitev VI. The aphrodisiac herb Tribulus terrestris does not influence the androgen production in young men. J Ethnopharmacol, 2005. PMID 15994038
- Antonio J, et al. The effects of Tribulus terrestris on body composition and exercise performance in resistance-trained males. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab, 2000. PMID 10861339
- Rogerson S, et al. The effect of five weeks of Tribulus terrestris supplementation on muscle strength and body composition during preseason training in elite rugby league players. J Strength Cond Res, 2007. PMID 17530942
- Fernández-Lázaro D, et al. The Effects of 6 Weeks of Tribulus terrestris L. Supplementation on Body Composition, Hormonal Response, Perceived Exertion, and CrossFit Performance: A Randomized, Single-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study. Nutrients, 2021. PMID 34836225
- Qureshi A, et al. A systematic review on the herbal extract Tribulus terrestris and the roots of its putative aphrodisiac and performance enhancing effect. J Diet Suppl, 2014. PMID 24559105
- Fernández-Lázaro D, et al. Effects of Tribulus terrestris L. on Sport and Health Biomarkers in Physically Active Adult Males: A Systematic Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2022. PMID 35954909
- Morgado A, et al. Do "testosterone boosters" really increase serum total testosterone? A systematic review. Int J Impot Res, 2024. PMID 37697053
- Ryan M, et al. Acute kidney injury and hyperbilirubinemia in a young male after ingestion of Tribulus terrestris. Clin Nephrol, 2015. PMID 25295577
- 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 11 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.