Shilajit and Testosterone: the Trial Is Real — But It Tested a Purified Extract, Not the Resin You're Buying
A randomised placebo-controlled trial of purified shilajit raised total testosterone about 20%, free testosterone 19% and DHEAS 31% over 90 days. It used a standardised, purity-tested extract — not the raw resin going viral, where thallium levels vary batch to batch.
Sterling studies black shilajit resin dripping from a spoon into a dark jar
Our usual finding with a viral supplement is that the claim outruns the evidence. Shilajit is the rarer case: the anchor trial holds up. The problem is not the molecule — it is what is being sold.
What the trial actually found
Pandit 2016 was randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled. Healthy men aged 45 to 55 took purified shilajit at 250 mg twice a day for 90 consecutive days. Total testosterone rose roughly 20%, free testosterone about 19%, and DHEAS about 31% against placebo, with gonadotropic hormones (LH and FSH) well maintained. For a plant-derived supplement, that is an unusually clean result.
The catch is the product, not the molecule
That trial used a standardised, purity-tested extract. The raw resin trending on social media is a different thing. A 2025 analysis quantifying thallium found up to 0.5 micrograms per gram in some commercial shilajit supplements, against up to 0.226 in natural shilajit — meaning some retail product tested dirtier than the raw material it came from.
To be fair to shilajit: most analysed samples fall below WHO and FDA limits for heavy metals. The honest framing is not "shilajit is toxic" but "purity is variable and batch-dependent", which is exactly why an untested product is a gamble and a third-party-tested one is not.
How strong is the evidence, really
An independent 2024 systematic review of 27 proposed testosterone boosters rates purified shilajit only "possibly effective" — and files it under men with late-onset hypogonadism rather than healthy men generally. Context helps: across 50 testosterone-booster products, only about a quarter had any published data showing a testosterone increase at all. Shilajit's studied extract is in that minority.
The honest verdict
The compound can work at the studied dose and verified purity. The unregulated resin is the gamble. Buy third-party tested, or skip it — and treat any product that will not show you a heavy-metal panel as untested until proven otherwise.
SOURCES
- Pandit S et al. — Andrologia 2016: randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of purified Shilajit 250 mg twice daily for 90 days in healthy men aged 45-55; significantly (P < 0.05) increased total testosterone, free testosterone and DHEAS versus placebo (PMID 26395129)
- Kamgar N et al. — BMC Chemistry 2025: quantification of thallium in shilajit and its supplements; up to 0.5 ug/g measured in commercial supplements versus up to 0.226 ug/g in natural shilajit (PMID 39827344)
- Morgado A et al. — Int J Impot Res 2024: systematic review of 52 studies covering 27 proposed testosterone boosters; purified shilajit (PrimaVie) rated only "possibly effective", classified under late-onset hypogonadism (PMID 37697053)
- Clemesha CG et al. — World J Mens Health 2020: of 50 testosterone-booster products reviewed, only 24.8% had published data showing a testosterone increase; 10.1% had data showing a decrease (PMID 31385468)