Confusing extraction ratio of Tongkat Ali on the internet!

[presa1200]

some websites claim their products to have the strength of Tongkat Ali extracts at 50:1, 100:1 or even 200:1. however here's an explanation from another website that says products should be based on level of active ingredients but not on extraction ratio. it simply means that those extraction ratios are nothing but erroneous claims to deceive customers.

i wanted to buy Tongkat Ali but it seems those websites contradict each other and it's highly confusing. what's your take on that??? just in case if you have no idea what Tongkat Ali aka long jack does, it's actually a PROVEN natural test booster.

What’s the difference between the different forms of Tongkat Ali extract available? Does the higher extraction ratio mean the more effective the product?

Ben Drewe: In terms of efficacy we have seen no significant difference between the high quality water extract, water ethanol extract or the raw herb powder, the main difference is only in terms of the dosage of a given product. Animal studies have also confirmed similar positive effects between all forms. Extracts are generally more acceptable in that the processing should improve the quality and shelf life of the finished goods. Based on our in-house extraction experience for many years, a high yield "full-spectrum" Tongkat Ali extract should achieve a maximum dry herb to extract ratio of between 20:1 or 30:1. As such, the erroneous claims on the internet of 50:1, 100:1 and even 200:1 are all gimmicks to deceive the customer (or examples of extremely sub-standard crude extraction technology with very poor extractive yield!).

If these extracts were really at these concentrations as claimed they would be close to pure chemicals not herbal extracts and would be exorbitantly expensive as the extraction process would have to undergo selective purification resulting in a pharmaceutical not a herbal product. The bottom line is that if the manufacturers of the 100:1 or 200:1 claims were true then they must be able to produce scientific proof that their selective extracts contain a verifiable amount of an active ingredient that can be confirmed by an independent laboratory, but sadly this is never the case and such unscientific claims simply act to create confusion and skepticism.

NOTE: SOME MORE ON HERBAL EXTRACT RATIO'S:

The extraction ratio for dry extracts represents the amount of kilos of dry raw herb in 1 kilo of extract, as such a 30:1 ratio should mean 30 kgs dry herb is used to produce 1 kg dry extract. Actually, this method of classification is very outdated and causes a lot of confusion for 2 important reasons:

1) The only scientific method that is verifiable by any laboratory is based on level of active ingredients only, not on ratio (which cannot be verified and thus is exploited by some as mentioned above).

2) An extraction process that is very poorly performed results in a low yield of active ingredients which will make the end product cost more for you the customer. For instance, a good quality extraction process of Tongkat Ali should yield 3.3% extract, while a low quality process only yields 2% extract. Thus the first process yields 3.3kgs of extract from 100kgs of raw material (known as a 30:1), while the second process only yields only 2kg of extract (50:1). As such, in this case the higher the extraction ratio the lower quality and more expensive the extract.This is the only other explanation for those claiming to offer Tongkat Ali extract of more than 30:1!

what this company says about its own Tongkat Ali products?

Our premium TONEX Tongkat Ali extract is a 30:1 concentration extract as this is the maximum ratio of herb to extract that is obtainable from Tongkat Ali. It's unfortunate but those claiming to have extraction ratios of 50:1 or more are all false and make this erroneous claim to justify charging you more. One dubious company started this off several years ago and everyone else has felt it was necessary to perpetuate the claim in order to be competitive. Our extract is standardized to 40% glycosaponins which is the maximum achieved by pure Tongkat Ali extract (even the so-called 50:1 and 100:1 cannot claim more than this). Our extract is 100% water soluble with nothing added and is a pure water extract. Due to the hygroscopic nature (tendency to attract moisture) of our pure extract we recommend manufacturers to add some percentage of binding materials during production, especially in humid climates.

wikipedia also said the same thing:

Products claiming various Eurycoma longifolia extract ratios of 1:20, 1:50, 1:100, and 1:200 are sold. Traditionally Eurycoma longifolia is extracted with water and not ethanol. However, the use of selling Eurycoma longifolia extract based on extraction ratio may be confusing and is not easily verifiable.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurycoma_longifolia

[PerfectTen10]

Vintage bump, quality info. I however can't seem to find 20:1/30:1 longjack, even the plug, TONEX. Which brand do you guys use, those of you who stack tongkat ali?

The only well-reviewed/oft-reviewed supp on Amazon is the "Pure Longjack Extract 100:1 Powder" by Bulk Supplements, which is a good company, but I was hoping to get easy-to-consume capsules when I'm just trying it out for the first time and not have to figure out how to mix it into my coffee or whatever.

[VO2Maxima]

Vintage bump, quality info. I however can't seem to find 20:1/30:1 longjack, even the plug, TONEX. Which brand do you guys use, those of you who stack tongkat ali?

The only well-reviewed/oft-reviewed supp on Amazon is the "Pure Longjack Extract 100:1 Powder" by Bulk Supplements, which is a good company, but I was hoping to get easy-to-consume capsules when I'm just trying it out for the first time and not have to figure out how to mix it into my coffee or whatever.

I'd go with LJ100, which is the patented version that is standardized to 40% glycosaponins, 28% eurypeptides, 30% polysaccharides, and 0.8% eurycomanone. That's the version that's been researched on humans. Probably wouldn't bother with something that could potentially be a lower quality extract.