Thu Hnin Ei, Mohamed Isa Naina, Hussain Zahid, Jayusman Putri Ayu, Shuid Ahmad Nazrun
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (The National University of Malaysia), Jalan Yaacob Latif 56000, Malaysia.
Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam Campus, Bandar Puncak Alam 42300, Malaysia.
Chin J Nat Med. 2017 Jan;15(1):71-80. doi: 10.1016/S1875-5364(17)30010-9.
Eurycoma longifolia (EL) has been well recognized as a booster of male sexual health. Over the past few decades, numerous in vivo animal studies and human clinical trials have been conducted across the globe to explore the promising role of EL in managing various male sexual disorders, which include erectile dysfunction, male infertility, low libido, and downregulated testosterone levels. The aim of the present review is to analyze and summarize the literature on human clinical trials which revealed the clinical significance and therapeutic feasibility of EL in improving male sexual health. This systematic review is focused on the following databases: Medline, Wiley Online Library, BioMed Central, Hindawi, Web of Knowledge, PubMed Central and Google Scholar, using search terms such as "Eurycoma longifolia", "EL", "Tongkat Ali", "male sexual health", "sexual infertility", "erectile dysfunction", "male libido", and "testosterone levels". Notably, only human clinical studies published between 2000 and 2014 were selected and thoroughly reviewed for relevant citations. Out of 150 articles, 11 met the inclusion criteria. The majority of articles included were randomized placebo-controlled trials, multiple cohort studies, or pilot trials. All these studies demonstrated considerable effects of EL on male sexual health disorders. Among them, 7 studies revealed remarkable association between the use of EL and the efficacy in the treatment of male sexual disorders, and remaining 4 studies failed to demonstrate sufficient effects on male sexual health. In summary, there is convincing evidence for the prominence of EL in improving the male sexual health. The review also substantiates the use of current methodology in the development of novel and more rationale natural herbal medicines for the management of male sexual disorders.
长叶刺蒺藜被公认为男性性健康的增强剂。在过去几十年里，全球范围内进行了大量的体内动物研究和人体临床试验，以探索长叶刺蒺藜在治疗各种男性性障碍方面的潜在作用，这些障碍包括勃起功能障碍、男性不育、性欲低下和睾酮水平下调。本综述的目的是分析和总结关于人体临床试验的文献，这些文献揭示了长叶刺蒺藜在改善男性性健康方面的临床意义和治疗可行性。本系统综述聚焦于以下数据库：Medline、Wiley Online Library、BioMed Central、Hindawi、Web of Knowledge、PubMed Central和Google Scholar，使用的搜索词如“长叶刺蒺藜”、“EL”、“东革阿里”、“男性性健康”、“性不育”、“勃起功能障碍”、“男性性欲”和“睾酮水平”。值得注意的是，仅选择了2000年至2014年发表的人体临床研究，并对相关引用进行了全面审查。在150篇文章中，有11篇符合纳入标准。纳入的文章大多是随机安慰剂对照试验、多项队列研究或试点试验。所有这些研究都证明了长叶刺蒺藜对男性性健康障碍有显著影响。其中，7项研究揭示了使用长叶刺蒺藜与治疗男性性障碍疗效之间的显著关联，其余4项研究未能证明对男性性健康有足够的影响。总之，有令人信服的证据表明长叶刺蒺藜在改善男性性健康方面具有突出作用。该综述还证实了当前方法在开发用于治疗男性性障碍的新型且更合理的天然草药方面的应用。
