If it isn't dark brown it is fake…It also has to come the "Root" of a tree 20-30 years old from Indonesia
Real is dark…I bought fake bulk see the difference
found this while researching Bros about the color of tongkat...
The color of Tongkat Ali
So what color should Tongkat Ali root extract be?
The truth is, there is no color or shade that it "should" be and there never ever has been, the color may be determined by a number of factors such as temperatures used, extraction methods, extract solvents used, extraction times, species used, drying methods etc. It could be whitish yellow, yellow, creamy white, pink, pinky brown, reddish brown, tan brown, dark brown etc, it honestly makes zero difference to the quality if done correctly.
Of course you will find sellers of dark extracts saying it should be dark and sellers of light extracts saying it should be light, blah blah blah, etc etc. You can ignore every single one of them as none of them have any proof for what they say and it is a marketing technique or sometimes lack of knowledge from resellers who just repeat what their supplier tells them.
Traditional extraction methods using high temps and milling tend to be darker, newer methods of extraction such as high pressure extraction, and drying methods like freeze and spray drying, tend to produce lighter extracts.
In fact you can take a light extract, put it in an oven on a high temp and darken it up yourself to see what effect high temp extraction and drying methods would have. It will turn dark brown, proving temps effect the color. Infact most things turn dark brown when exposed to high temps, right before they turn black and burn...
The whole " 1:200 should always be dark brown", rumour started because Sumatra Pasak bumi, who used to supply many Tongkat ali resellers including World A.B.S but thankfully no longer do, told people this, and they seemed to have all the certificates required so people had no reason to doubt them. I myself even used to paste their info on my site, but then I did my own unbiased research and found this not to be the case at all, and I quickly removed everything they had told me and reported them.
Since then Sumatra Pasak Bumi has now also corrected their site to reflect the truth, and now admit light extracts are from different extraction methods and now even make lighter extracts themselves using more modern extraction methods, thus ending the rumors. However this is to little to late and they are no longer used.
The only thing that truly determines if an extract is real or a fake substitute herb such as Tribulus, is if it contains Eurycomanone or another constituent that is only found in the roots of Eurycoma Longifolia, and NOT color. This is why HPLC testing and the standardization of herbal extracts in general is now becoming much more common and hopefully one day it will be mandatory.
Indeed the study I refered to on other pages of this site by the Journal of applied sciences, which tested 41 products and found many to be fake, lists many of the products and if you look at the ones that were tested and found to be real, you will find they were not dark brown, and they were not all the same color, which is yet more proof color does not matter.
Below is what World A.B.S say about the color of their extract...
1:200 Tongkat Ali HPLC Standardized Color Variation
Due to the process used to produce the new 2.4% Eurycomanone HPLC Standardized Tongkat Ali extract, the color may vary from batch to batch. The color will range from a sand brown to a slightly darker reddish brown; This variation arises from the color of the Tongkat Ali root used, the color of the chosen extract that passes the required specifications and also the drying process used.
HPLC Standardized Extraction
One of the many benefits of using the HPLC standardized extract is that Tongkat Ali root can be sourced based on its sustainability, rather than color or age. World A.B.S allow the HPLC testing to monitor the strength of the extract during the liquid stage before going on to the drying phase.
Spray Drying Process
This technique drys the extract without overheating it, unlike the traditional drying process that often darkens the color.
Traditional Drying Process
In traditional Tongkat Ali extraction, a vacuum drying process is commonly used. This longer exposure to higher temperatures will often overheat the extract damaging the active ingredients darkening the extract further, and in some instances reduce the extract almost to a charcoal state.
Other things of note...
I have had a few people recently emailing in asking about the color of Tongkat Ali extract, because they have read a few false statements on another sellers sites, who sells what is claimed to be 1:200 Tongkat at a very low price, sometimes in bigger capsules, that Tongkat Ali is "more impure the darker the color" This is obviously marketing hype but can be very confusing for customers.
The statement they use is...
“Eurycomanone is snow white.” “The further from white an extract is the more impurities in contains.”
Yes, Eurycomanone "as a single constituent In its pure form when not attatched to anything else" is White, BUT this is irrelevant and has nothing at all to do with regular herbal extracts in any way, shape or form, and is nothing at all to do with how pure or un pure Tongkat Ali extract is. I will explain why below in simple terms...
Oranges are Orange, everyone knows this!
Pure Orange juice is Orange, everyone knows this!
Vitamin C, which is one of the many constituents in Oranges and the most well known, just like Eurycomanone is one of the many constituents in Tongkat Ali and the most well known, is white when removed and viewed in its pure form.
Everyone that has purchased Vitamin C powder knows this. Vitamin C powder is usually crystalline and white for those that don't know!
This obviously does not mean the further from White your Orange juice is, the less pure it is! But that is what the seller of the light extract seems to want you to believe, based on just one constituent being white, which is actually quite common.
Removing solitary constituents from any herb or plant, regardless of what it is, almost always results in a color different to the plant or herb it came from, and that color is very often WHITE!
Contact any lab that specializes in producing pure singular constituents and they will verify this for you. Also, there are many many constituents in Tongkat Ali, not just Eurycomanone.
All the active constituents of Tongkat Ali can be seen in the image below...eurycomanone is probably the most recognised and studied, but there are many of them and the effects of them all is yet to be discovered.
