Two ingredients compared
Tongkat Ali vs Horny Goat Weed: What the Vapofil Label Shows
Quick answer: Tongkat ali and horny goat weed are two herbs sold for men's sexual health. Tongkat ali has no monograph at NIH ODS, NCCIH or Memorial Sloan Kettering. Horny goat weed has one line from Memorial Sloan Kettering and several caution flags. Vapofil holds both, at 10 mg and 8 mg.
What is the difference between tongkat ali and horny goat weed?
They are two different plants with two different histories, and they share a shelf only because both are sold for the same goal.
Tongkat ali is the root of Eurycoma longifolia. On the Vapofil label it is the ingredient the product leads with. Horny goat weed is a plant in the Epimedium family; the label names Epimedium sagittatum. It is also called epimedium, and the label lists it as the seventh and last active.
Buyers often treat them as interchangeable. They are not. The question this page answers is narrow: what can be said, with sources, about each one, and what does the Vapofil label tell you about how much of each you would get?
How do the two compare side by side?
| Point | Tongkat ali | Horny goat weed |
|---|---|---|
| Plant name on the label | Eurycoma longifolia | Epimedium sagittatum |
| Amount per serving | 10 mg | 8 mg |
| Extract ratio printed | 100:1, stated as about 1000 mg dry | 10:1, stated as about 80 mg dry |
| Marker compound | Eurycomanone (not published) | Icariin (not published) |
| Monograph at NIH ODS, NCCIH, MSK | None found | MSK has one |
| What MSK says | Nothing to cite | Traditionally used for sexual dysfunction; more studies are needed |
| Proposed mechanism | A rise in free testosterone | Icariin blocking the PDE5 enzyme family |
| Do-not-take flags | Nothing citable | Heart disease; CYP3A4 substrates; aromatase inhibitors |
The mechanisms in the second to last row are ideas that circulate widely. They are not findings from the sources named on this site.
What does the research say about each one?
Start with tongkat ali. The three bodies this site checks, the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health and Memorial Sloan Kettering, carry no monograph for it. That is an absence of information. It is not evidence for the herb, and not evidence against it. This site will not fill the gap with a retailer's write-up.
Horny goat weed has a thin file. Memorial Sloan Kettering says that epimedium is traditionally used in herbal formulas for sexual dysfunction, and that more studies are needed to verify such effects. That is the whole of the quotable evidence. The same source lists reported effects: sweating, feeling hot, rapid irregular heartbeat and mood changes.
At category level, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says there is currently no definite evidence that any herbal product is effective or safe for ED. That sentence covers both of these herbs.
What are the key facts?
- Tongkat ali (Eurycoma longifolia): no monograph at NIH ODS, NCCIH or Memorial Sloan Kettering.
- Horny goat weed (Epimedium): traditionally used in herbal formulas for sexual dysfunction; more studies are needed to verify such effects.
- Vapofil holds tongkat ali at 10 mg (100:1 extract) and horny goat weed at 8 mg (10:1 extract) per serving.
- Neither marker compound is published: no eurycomanone figure and no icariin figure.
- Horny goat weed has do-not-take flags for heart disease, CYP3A4 substrates and aromatase inhibitors.
- No recommended dose for either herb is cited by the sources this site uses.
What is the horny goat weed dosage?
This is one of the most searched questions about the plant, and it is one this site cannot answer with a number. None of the sources named here gives a recommended dose. Any figure you read on a retail page came from somewhere else.
What we can tell you is what the Vapofil label says. A two-capsule serving holds 8 mg of horny goat weed from a 10:1 extract, stated as about 80 mg of dry plant. The label's instruction is to take two capsules daily with an 8 oz. glass of water, and not to exceed the recommended dose.
The missing piece is the amount of icariin, the compound the proposed mechanism is built on. Without it, 8 mg cannot be compared with any study that did report icariin. If you are weighing a dose for any reason, the person to ask is a clinician who knows your medicines and your heart history. The heart-disease flag is not a small one.
Can you compare 1000 mg dry with 80 mg dry?
The label invites it. Tongkat ali looks more than twelve times larger, on paper. But the figures are plant weights before extraction, and the two plants are different. A bigger dry equivalent does not mean a stronger or more useful capsule.
A ratio is a manufacturing fact. It says how much plant went into a given weight of extract. It does not say how much of the active compound came out. Until a percentage of eurycomanone or icariin appears next to each row, you cannot rank the two, and neither can we.
Which one carries more safety flags?
On the sources we hold, horny goat weed does. Memorial Sloan Kettering lists it as a do-not-take with heart disease, with CYP3A4 substrates and with aromatase inhibitors. It cites a patient who developed a rapid irregular heartbeat. One case is weak evidence, and it is the only kind available.
For tongkat ali, there is nothing citable at all, in either direction. Please do not read that as a clean bill of health. It means that if you take regular medicines, a pharmacist is the right person to ask, because no one has published a list for you to check.
Neither warning is printed on the Vapofil bottle. The amounts are small, but the decision belongs to your prescriber.
How do the two sit inside Vapofil?
They are two of seven actives, and together they make up 18 mg of the 118 mg total. The other five rows are saw palmetto, wild yam, sarsaparilla and nettle at 20 mg each, plus the boron chelate at 20 mg. So most of the capsule weight comes from rows other than the two this page is about.
| Item | What is published |
|---|---|
| Serving | 2 capsules daily with an 8 oz. glass of water |
| Tongkat ali | 10 mg per serving, 100:1 extract |
| Horny goat weed | 8 mg per serving, 10:1 extract |
| Total actives | 118 mg per serving |
| Standardisation | Not published for any of the seven |
| Price | Not published; shown at checkout |
| Money-back window | 60 days from purchase, unless the sales page prints a longer one |
What should you ask before buying a product with either herb?
- Which plant part and which species is in the capsule?
- What is the amount of the extract, and what is the extract ratio?
- Is it standardised, and to what percentage of the marker compound?
- Does any medicine I take fall under a published do-not-take list?
- Is there a named laboratory and a certificate for this lot?
Which sources does this post use?
Every outside fact below comes from a source named on this site. Nothing else is cited.
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (2026). Epimedium - About Herbs. https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/epimedium
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (2026). Dietary Supplements Marketed for Weight Loss, Bodybuilding, and Sexual Enhancement: What the Science Says. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/providers/digest/dietary-supplements-marketed-for-weight-loss-bodybuilding-and-sexual-enhancement-science
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2026). Tainted Sexual Enhancement Products. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/medication-health-fraud/tainted-sexual-enhancement-products
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, tongkat ali or horny goat weed?
No source named here ranks them. Tongkat ali has no monograph at NIH ODS, NCCIH or Memorial Sloan Kettering, and horny goat weed has one line saying more studies are needed.
What is the horny goat weed dosage?
No recommended dose is given by the sources this site uses. Vapofil holds 8 mg per two-capsule serving from a 10:1 extract. Ask a clinician about any dose, especially if you have heart disease.
Does Vapofil contain both?
Yes. Each serving has 10 mg of tongkat ali from a 100:1 extract and 8 mg of horny goat weed from a 10:1 extract.
Is the 1000 mg figure on the tongkat ali row a dose?
No. It is the stated dry-plant equivalent of the 10 mg of extract. The amount of the active compound is not published.
Is horny goat weed safe with heart disease?
Memorial Sloan Kettering lists heart disease as a do-not-take for epimedium, citing a case of rapid irregular heartbeat. Ask your doctor first.
Do these herbs treat ED?
The Vapofil label makes no such claim. NCCIH says there is currently no definite evidence that any herbal product is effective or safe for ED.
Our view
If you came for a winner, the file offers none. One herb has no monograph at all, and the other has a single cautious sentence and a list of flags. Neither is proven, neither is condemned, and both are small rows on a longer panel.
The practical advice is the same for both. Look for the ratio, look for the marker percentage, and ask a clinician about your medicines. Do not let a dry-weight number do the persuading.
Vapofil is not FDA approved, and no dietary supplement is. This post is general information, not medical advice. Take medical questions to your doctor or pharmacist.
Last updated October 29, 2026. Medically reviewed by Dr. Lindsey Wells, ND, Naturopathic physician, on October 16, 2026.