Tongkat Ali, Eurycoma Iongifolia (Figure 1), is a shrub or small tree found  growing wild along the hill slopes of the rain forests of Malaysia and in other parts of Southeast Asia. It is a medium-sized slender shrub growing up to 10 m in height, often unbranded, with reddish brown petioles and compound pinnate leaves, which may reach 1 m in length. Each compound leaf consists of 30-40 leaflets, lamceolate to obovate-lanceolate. Flowers are hermaphrodite with small petals and very finely pubescent. Tongkat Ali roots are normally harvested from the wild habitat of the species, i.e. in the rain forest, where it is becoming depleted. Therefore, Tongkat Ali cultivation in oil palm plantations appears feasible for the commercial production of Tongkat Ali roots. A trial on Tongkat Ali integration with oil palm was conducted in 2003 on a mineral soil at the MPOB Research  Plot in KLIA Sepang.

Main Research: Norkaspi Khasim