Media kit
Biotropics is the leading global supplier of Tongkat Ali extract. It makes Physta®, a patented Tongkat Ali root extract that brands use in their own supplements, and sells its own range of finished health products.
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Biotropics Malaysia Berhad is the leading global supplier of Tongkat Ali extract. Based in Shah Alam, Selangor, it controls every step of production itself, from sourcing root in Malaysia with the help of Orang Asli communities to extraction at its own plant, laboratory testing and clinical research. It also sells its own range of finished health products.
Its flagship ingredient, Physta®, is a patented extract of Tongkat Ali root, a Southeast Asian rainforest plant taken for testosterone, energy and healthy ageing. Brands use Physta in more than 400 products across 36 countries, and it is sold in North America as LJ100®.
Biotropics started in 2007 as a supplier of raw material and has become a research‑led ingredient company. Physta has been tested in 28 human studies. Biotropics research set 1.6mg of eurycomanone a day as the clinically researched dose for testosterone, and Physta was used to develop the Malaysian Standard for Tongkat Ali extract. Its patents cover women’s health, immune health and kidney protection.
Biotropics has set out a standard for the category: stated active compound, tested root, human studies on the extract itself and full traceability. Its core market is testosterone support for men, with sports nutrition and healthy ageing growing as populations age and more people use weight loss drugs.
About Tongkat Ali
Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma longifolia) is a slender tree native to the rainforests of Southeast Asia. Its root is the part that is used. In Malaysia it has long been boiled into a bitter tonic for energy and vitality, including by the Orang Asli, the Indigenous peoples of Peninsular Malaysia.
Today Tongkat Ali is sold worldwide in capsules, powders, drinks and coffee, mostly for testosterone support, energy and healthy ageing.
The amount of active compound in the root varies with the tree, its age and where it grew. Extraction methods vary too. Many labels show a ratio such as 200:1, which describes how much root went into the extract. It says nothing about how much active compound is in it.
Some products are not Tongkat Ali at all, or contain hidden drugs.
Growth story
2000 to 2006
2007 to 2013
2014 to today
Physta is in more than 400 products in 36 countries, sold as LJ100® in North America. Some of the brands that use it:
| Brand | Product | Market |
|---|---|---|
| Advance Physician Formulas | LJ100 Tongkat Ali | United States |
| AKARALI | Premium D2C | United Kingdom |
| Alphamax | Tongkat Ali Plus Capsule | Singapore |
| Ancient Chinese Secret | Men’s Formula | Bahamas |
| BIOVEA® | Tongkat Ali LJ100® | United Kingdom |
| Bluebonnet Nutrition | Intimate Essentials | United States |
| BrainMD | Brain-T MAX | United States |
| Catalo | Men’s Extra Vitality | Hong Kong |
| Cellucor® | Max Test™ | United States |
| CHOQ | CHOQ Tongkat 100 | United States |
| DANKATSU | Cross Gain | Japan |
| Day One Co., Ltd. | Octagon | Japan |
| Double Wood Supplements | LJ100 Tongkat Ali for Men | United States |
| Eagle Endurance | Force Fuel | United States |
| Earth Elixir® | LJ100® Tongkat Ali & Fadogia Agrestis | United States |
| Edmark | Café Troika | Africa and Asia |
| FANCL | Kuonen, E-Days | Japan |
| Farm Fresh | Café Latte Tongkat Ali | Asia |
| GAT Sport | Testrol® Platinum | United States |
| High Performance Nutrition | HPN T(5) Test Boost | United States |
| Integrative Therapeutics | ITI Man | United States |
| Irwin Naturals | Testosterone UP | United States |
| Kaged | Testosterone Support | United States |
| LAIFE | LAIFE PERFORMAX™ | United States |
| Lifexposure Health | Premium Testosterone Booster | United States |
| LowTE Florida® | FreeTE™ | United States |
| MDC Metabolic | Night Seiver | Japan |
| Medimap | Wellforce Man AZ | Vietnam |
| Myogenix Sports Nutrition | Hardcore Test™ | United States |
| Nestlé | Nestlé Tongkat Ali White Coffee | Malaysia |
| NOW® Foods | Testo Jack 100 | United States |
| NutraBio | Tongkat Ali Hormone Health Support | United States |
| NutriTunes® | VitaSterone | United States |
| Nuviton | Advance Daily Formula | Asia |
| Premier Research Labs | Radiant Woman | United States |
| Protocol for Life Balance | Virility for Men | United States |
| Quantum Nutrition Labs | Women’s Power | United States |
| Sante Inc. | Boost Coffee | Philippines |
| SunShine Nutrition® | Vigor Max | United Arab Emirates |
| Superbotanic | Tongkat Ali | United Kingdom |
| Superior Labs | TEST WORx | United States |
| The Genius Brand | Genius Test | United States |
| Transparent Labs | Strength Series | United States |
| Tribe Organics | Ashwagandha Gold for Men | United States |
| VigRX | VigRX Tongkat Ali LJ100, Fertility Factor 5 | United States |
| Vitalast | NewVigor | United States |
| Well Roots | Testosterone Formula | Asia |
Brands identified as using Physta or LJ100® as of July 2026. The list is not exhaustive, and formulations change.
Biotropics aims to make Physta the Tongkat Ali that brands and contract manufacturers worldwide choose first, in supplements, food and drink.
Physta is used mainly in supplements today, as well as in 2‑in‑1 coffee powder and ready‑to‑drink coffee. Biotropics is developing it for new formats, starting with a ready‑to‑drink sachet.
Men’s health leads, followed by sports nutrition, healthy ageing and women’s health.
Topic 1
Buyers, regulators and consumers are asking harder questions about what goes into supplements. For Tongkat Ali, Biotropics has set out a standard any supplier can be measured against, and runs its own supply chain to meet it.
SpokespersonRidwan Abdullah, Managing Director
State how much eurycomanone the extract contains, and keep it in the range that has been clinically studied.
Test every batch of root to prove it is Tongkat Ali.
Show human studies on the extract being sold, rather than on Tongkat Ali in general.
Trace every batch back to where the root was harvested.
Physta meets all four.
The research behind Physta identified the compounds that drive Tongkat Ali’s effect on testosterone, and the clinically researched dose for testosterone: 1.6mg of eurycomanone a day, which 200mg of Physta delivers.
That gives brands and regulators a number to check products against, because a product can only expect the results seen in studies if it delivers the amount studied. Physta was also used to develop MS 2409:2011, the Malaysian Standard that Tongkat Ali extracts are measured against.
In Malaysia, with the help of Orang Asli communities.
Every batch of root is lab tested to confirm the plant and the part.
With a water extraction process co‑developed with MIT, at Biotropics’ own plant.
To MS 2409:2011, the Malaysian Standard.
Every batch is checked for heavy metals and microbes before release.
A brand that starts with Physta can show exactly which Tongkat Ali went into its product, where the root came from and how it was tested.
Biotropics sources its root in Malaysia with the help of Orang Asli communities, who have harvested Tongkat Ali for generations. It traces every batch back to where the root was harvested and replants Tongkat Ali so the supply lasts.
Sourcing this way keeps value in the communities that know the plant best.
200mg of Physta a day, the clinically researched dose for testosterone. Brands know exactly how much to use.
A water‑soluble powder with a three‑year shelf life, suited to supplements as well as food and drink.
Human studies on the exact extract they buy, to support what they say about their products.
Specification sheets, batch certificates, study summaries and regulatory documents, with support reviewing product claims.
In the US, the Food and Drug Administration does not approve dietary supplements before they are sold. Quality depends on the companies that make them. For Tongkat Ali, the gaps have shown up as extracts with little active compound and products with hidden drugs.
Tongkat Ali is often sold for men’s sexual health, which makes it a target for adulteration with sildenafil and tadalafil, the active ingredients in the prescription drugs Viagra and Cialis. Taken without a doctor’s advice, they can lower blood pressure to dangerous levels in people who take heart medicines containing nitrates.
The Health Sciences Authority warned against Tongkat Ali capsules found to contain tadalafil.
A Tongkat Ali product marketed for men was recalled worldwide for undeclared tadalafil, in a recall posted by the US Food and Drug Administration.
The Department of Health warned against a Tongkat Ali coffee found to contain sildenafil. Its packaging said it was made in Malaysia.
None of these products contained Physta or was made by Biotropics. All three were finished products sold to consumers by other companies.
Brands and contract manufacturers carry the legal risk for what goes into their products, which gives a traceable supply chain commercial value.
Topic 2
Most of Malaysia’s agricultural exports leave as commodities such as palm oil and rubber. Biotropics exports research: an extract backed by human studies and patents, which brands sell under their own names.
SpokespeopleRidwan Abdullah, Managing Director · YM Tengku Dato’ Seri Abu Bakar Ahmad, Executive Chairman
Biotropics sells Physta to supplement brands and contract manufacturers, who put it into their own products. More than half of its sales are in the United States, where Physta is sold as LJ100®. Japan and Singapore are its next largest markets for extract. In total, Physta goes into more than 400 products in 36 countries.
Physta’s human studies were done on the extract brands buy, so brands can cite them. A generic extract offers no such evidence. Patents protect the uses Biotropics has researched. Evidence and patents are harder to copy than a commodity, which helps the ingredient hold its price against cheaper extract.
The National Biotechnology Policy 2.0, launched in 2022, aims for biotechnology companies to contribute 5% of Malaysia’s GDP by 2030, with healthcare and wellbeing as one of its three priorities. Biotropics is an example of that plan in practice: Malaysian science, patented and sold abroad.
Topic 3
People are living longer and want to stay strong while they do. Men lose testosterone as they age, women go through menopause, and people on weight loss drugs lose muscle along with fat. Physta’s human studies cover all three, led by testosterone in men.
SpokespeopleRidwan Abdullah, Managing Director · Joel Neoh, Director
Yearly fall in men’s testosterone after it peaks between 20 and 30, according to a review in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
US adults who had taken a weight loss drug such as Ozempic or Wegovy by 2024, according to a KFF poll.
Share of weight lost that was lean mass, including muscle, in the main trials of tirzepatide and semaglutide.
People worldwide will be aged 60 or over by 2030, according to the World Health Organization. By 2050 the number will reach 2.1 billion.
Physta has been tested in 28 human studies published between 2002 and 2025, 18 of them randomised controlled trials. Each result is the headline outcome in that area, compared with people taking a placebo where stated.
63 stressed adults, men and women
In a six‑month study of 45 men with low testosterone, levels rose more than with placebo, including alongside strength training.
14 men in strength training, over 5 weeks
105 men aged 50 to 70 with low testosterone
138 women aged 40 to 55, over 12 weeks
More energy and better quality of life. Covered by US patent 11,058,737.
63 stressed adults, men and women
81 middle-aged adults with below‑average immunity, over 4 weeks
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.
Results are study outcomes and are not claims for finished products. Study summaries are available on request.
Managing Director, Biotropics Malaysia
Leads Biotropics’ growth from Tongkat Ali supplier to research‑led ingredient company.
Can speak to
Ridwan Abdullah is Managing Director of Biotropics Malaysia. He leads the company’s growth from a Tongkat Ali supplier into a research‑led ingredient company.
He is responsible for Biotropics’ strategy across the business, from its root supply and extraction plant in Malaysia to the clinical research behind Physta and its sale to brands in 36 countries.
He brings experience of building and scaling companies. He co‑founded Accendo Technologies and HelloGold, a digital gold savings platform that grew to more than 350,000 customers in Malaysia and Thailand, and at AEON worked on the acquisition of Carrefour Malaysia and the company’s entry into Indonesia. He holds an executive MBA from Columbia Business School and London Business School.
Executive Chairman, Biotropics Malaysia
Owner of TAB Capital, Biotropics’ parent company, and Executive Chairman of FOMEMA since 2016.
Can speak to
YM Tengku Dato’ Seri Abu Bakar Ahmad has been Executive Chairman of Biotropics Malaysia since 2025. He is also the owner of TAB Capital, which owns the company. He leads the Board’s oversight of Biotropics as it commercialises its research into natural health products and botanical ingredients for Malaysian and international markets.
He brings experience leading healthcare businesses. He has been Executive Chairman of FOMEMA since 2016, overseeing Malaysia’s nationally mandated medical screening system for foreign workers. Through Solalux, a joint venture with Australian biotechnology company Prenolica, he distributes healthcare products across ASEAN, focused on lifestyle‑related diseases and healthy ageing.
Director, Biotropics Malaysia
Co‑launched the supplement brand IM8, which passed US$100 million in revenue in its first year.
Can speak to
Joel Neoh is a director of Biotropics Malaysia. He brings experience of building consumer health brands and growing them in the United States.
As Managing Director at Prenetics from 2023, he co‑launched the supplement brand IM8 with David Beckham, which passed US$100 million in revenue in its first 12 months.
He earlier founded Says.com and Fave, led Groupon Asia Pacific across 12 countries, and invests in more than 50 startups across Asia through First Move. He is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and studied engineering at Monash University.
Free to use in coverage of Biotropics and Physta. Credit photos to Biotropics Malaysia.
The company
Biotropics’ flagship ingredient
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Biotropics Malaysia Berhad is the leading global supplier of Tongkat Ali extract. Its flagship ingredient, Physta®, is a patented water extract of Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma longifolia) root sourced in Malaysia, tested in 28 human studies and used in more than 400 products across 36 countries. Physta was used to develop the Malaysian Standard for Tongkat Ali extract. Biotropics also sells its own range of consumer health products.
Founded in 2007 and based in Shah Alam, Selangor, Biotropics controls every step from root to extract: sourcing in Malaysia with Orang Asli communities, authentication, extraction, testing and clinical research. Learn more at biotropicsmalaysia.com.
Logos, photos and spokesperson bios: online media kit.
Physta® is a registered trademark of Biotropics Malaysia Berhad (762243‑P). LJ100® is the name Physta is sold under in North America, and a registered trademark of HP Ingredients, its North American distributor.
