I have recently done research about two products claiming to be tongkat ali (Eurycoma longifolia), Libidus and Maxidus.
There are indications that the two are the same, with Libidus being renamed Maxidus. Among other indications (such as similarities in Internet marketing), I have seen a paid Google ad that says "Libidus is now Maxidus".
The products or product claim to be mostly tongkat ali (Eurycoma longifolia):
http://www.maxidus-pill.com/
maxidus_ingredients.html
On another Maxidus website, it is claimed that the product is entirely herbal, and that it's other enhancers that contain chemicals.
http://www.maxidus-usa.com/faq.htm
This article is carefully worded as I assume that Libidus and Maxidus are big business. This article is carefully worded as people who want to protect their big income may resort to all kinds of measures, including legal, to silence people who raise questions on the source of said big income.
Libidus and Maxidus have been associated with a new chemical compound: hydroxythiohomosildenafil (hydroxythiohomo-sildenafil). The name of this compound suggests that it is a derivation (or analog) of sildenafil.
There has been one scientific study into this matter. I accessed it via Google Scholar Search. The URL through which this scientific article can be accessed is:
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/
content/tandf/tfac/
2009/00000026/00000002/art00001
The study and investigation was done in affiliation with the Faculty of Science, Department of Pharmacy, National University of Singapore and the Centre for Analytical Science, Health Sciences Authority, Singapore.
It concluded that:
Quote
An unknown compound is detected and isolated from two herbal dietary supplements bought on the internet. The structure of the unknown compound is elucidated using ESI-MS/MS, NMR, UV and IR. The compound, named hydroxythiohomosildenafil, is identified as an analogue of sildenafil in which the oxygen atom is substituted with a sulfur atom in the pyrazolopyrimidine moiety, and a hydroxyethyl group instead of a methyl group is attached to the piperazinyl nitrogen.
Unquote
Only the abstract is accessible for free on the Internet. The full article was puplished in the scientific journal Food Additives and Contaminants, Volume 26, Number 2, February 2009 , pp. 145-151(7). One can purchase the full article online through Ingenta Connect, but it costs some 45 US dollar to do so.
However, one can do a Google search for: Libidus hydroxythiohomosildenafil And for: Maxidus hydroxythiohomosildenafil
In both cases, I obtained just one return that linked to the following site:
http://www.informaworld.com/
smpp/ftinterface?
content=a905455228&rt=0&format=pdf
An abstract is here:
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/
content~db=all~content=a905455228
The full article is also not available online (though through this source, one can purchase it for 37 dollar). But the Google search engine apparently had access to the full version, and actually, one can read snippets of this article for free if one does a Google search that is restricted to this URL. For example:
site: http://www.informaworld.com/ Libidus
The Google reference then goes to the same scientific article.
Now, what is hydroxythiohomosildenafil?
For one thing, its something one can buy from companies that distribute chemicals.
For example here:
http://www.tlcpharmachem.com/
tlc_item.php?upc=S-0611
&li=&sub=
Hydroxythiohomosildenafil is also spelled: hydroxy thio homosildenafil
It seems to have a similar effect as Pfizer's patented sidenafil citrate. But it appears that it hasn't been studied as rigorously as sildenafil citrate. Changing a pharmacological compound only slightly can result in hugely different side effects.
For those who want to dig deeper into the problem of pharmacological analogs, there is an interesting article here:
http://rivm.openrepository.com/
rivm/bitstream/10029/
16459/1/370030001.pdf
The title of the above article is:
Recent developments in counterfeits and imitations of Viagra, Cialis and Levitra
And one of the statements made in this article right at the beginning is:
Quote
However, a high health risk is posed by the increased use of potent active substances, mixtures thereof, and the rising number of active substances in adulterated herbal aphrodisiacs that have no known safety or toxicological profile (analogs). Consumers can not be certain of any of these products as to their pharmacological and toxicological safety.
Unquote
I haven't seen any research in as how far as hydroxythiohomosildenafil alias hydroxy thio homosildenafil has been studied as a medication for humans. The substance is definitely not registered as such.
Chemically and pharmacologically, hydroxythiohomosildenafil is considered an analog of sildenafil citrate, the approved Pfizer drug.
On
http://rivm.openrepository.com/
rivm/bitstream/10029/
16459/1/370030001.pdf
one can read this about analogs:
Quote
All analogs of sildenafil, tadalafil and vardenafil can reasonably be assumed to be potent PDE-5 inhibitors that also act on other enzymes. However important, potency only partially contributes to the resulting health risk. Small differences in molecular structure may have drastic effects on their absorption in the body, their distribution, metabolism and excretion. Onset of action, blood levels, halflives, brain penetration and metabolism may all be very different. All of these factors could give rise to (un)expected side-effects and do permanent health damage after single or repeated exposure.
Unquote
Amazon.com, of course, is also only a trader, and for sure, they will not be liable. A genuine tongkat ali company, in my understanding, is a company that can document, for example through photos, that indeed, they are an original source, with legitimate stock, and a legitimate production site.
On websites that sell Maxidus, I only saw spam photos on "doctorss", chemistry, tablet production, and people or couples who allegedly use it, but none of these photos were conclusively associated with a particular source. They were just illustration photos of the kind that can easily be copied from anywhere on the Internet.
After this research, I must say that consuming alleged herbal extracts that contain the synthetic chemical hydroxythiohomosildenafil sounds very unappetizing indeed. And all those who did have unknowingly been human guinea pigs for an untested chemical that may indeed produce erections, but apart from that may or may not cause more or less severe health problems in the short or long range. No, thank you.
For all those who want to benefit from the proven positive health effects of tongkat ali (Eurycoma longifolia) my advice is to buy from a GENUINE tongkat ali company, and not from a Internet spam site. Even if the spam site sells a product that does what it claims, and even if this product is cheaper than genuine tongkat ali extract, to buy from a spam site is simply not worth the damage that one may do to one's overall health.
Amazingly enough, not only spam sites have been selling Maxidus. Even at Amazon.com, it could be bought.
http://www.amazon.com/
Maxidus-Libidus-Erectile-
Maxdus-Enhancement/dp/B000U8Q7HC
Amazon.com, of course, is also only a trader, and for sure, they will not be liable. A genuine tongkat ali company, in my understanding, is a company that can document, for example through photos, that indeed, they are an original source, with legitimate stock, and a legitimate production site.
On websites that sell Maxidus, I only saw spam photos on "doctorss", chemistry, tablet production, and people or couples who allegedly use it, but none of these photos were conclusively associated with a particular source. They were just illustration photos of the kind that can easily be copied from anywhere on the Internet.