What Color Is Tongkat Ali Extract?

First, let's clear up one of the main misconceptions about the color of Tongkat Ali extract; Tongkat Ali extract comes in many shades of brown, from light tan through to dark brown.

To understand why Tongkat Ali extract comes in several different shades of brown from light tan to dark brown we must first take a look at the chipped roots used in production and then understand how the manufacturing process can alter the color through the drying stages.

You will notice that Tongkat Ali root is light brown at the core, (you can search on google images for more evidence of this), and the only part of the root that is darker brown is the dirt-stained bark. Adding to this further, the solvents used to produce Tongkat Ali extract are crystal clear.

Why Are Some Tongkat Ali Extracts Dark Brown?

Before standardized Tongkat Ali extract, the strength of an extract was determined by the amount of root used to produce a set weight of the finished extract. Because of this, it was naturally assumed that the stronger strengths would be darker in color, this is true to an extent but the actual color difference between a 1:50 and 1:200 strength extract was hardly noticeable.

To solve this problem companies would manipulate the extracted color in the drying phase to give a darker appearance for the stronger extracts, creating a visual distinction between the different strengths.

With the advent of HPLC standardized Tongkat Ali extract the strength of the product is determined by the percentage of active compounds present rendering the need to darken the extract irrelevant.

CONCLUSION: The color of a Tongkat Ali extract is not a good way to judge Tongkat Ali extract, both light and dark color Tongkat Ali extracts are available, they have just undergone different production methods.

If you find a company that states "genuine Tongkat Ali extract is dark drown" or "genuine Tongkat Ali extract is light brown" they are doing so for their own financial benefit.