“Shilajit boosts testosterone.”
Shilajit has not been shown to reliably boost testosterone; the main evidence is one trial paid for by a company that sells it.
Shilajit is not a proven way to raise testosterone. One company-funded trial is not enough to count on, and product quality, including heavy metal content, varies from brand to brand.
If you have symptoms you think come from low testosterone, ask a doctor about getting your testosterone tested instead of buying shilajit.
Safety note: Shilajit comes from rock and naturally contains toxic metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury. In one lab study of 12 samples, these were below safety limits, but quality varies by source, and a study of Ayurvedic medicines sold online found about 1 in 5 contained lead, mercury or arsenic.
Talk to a healthcare professional if: you have lasting low sex drive, erection problems or other symptoms you think come from low testosterone.
One randomized trial found a rise in testosterone, but it was funded by the company that sells the extract and has not been repeated. A single trial like that is a small grain of truth, not proof that shilajit reliably boosts testosterone.
Shilajit has not been shown to reliably boost testosterone; the main evidence is one trial paid for by a company that sells it. In that 90-day trial, healthy men aged 45 to 55 who took a purified extract (250 mg twice a day) had higher total and free testosterone than men on placebo. A 2024 review of testosterone boosters rated this extract only "possibly effective", and only for older men with low testosterone.
Shilajit is a sticky resin that seeps from mountain rocks and is used in Ayurvedic medicine. An earlier study gave a purified extract to 28 men with low sperm counts for 90 days; their testosterone rose about 23.5%, but there was no placebo group, so the rise cannot be pinned on shilajit. The 2016 trial tested one branded extract (PrimaVie), and raw resins and other products differ from it. The same 2024 review found that most ingredients sold as testosterone boosters do not raise testosterone.
- Pandit S, Biswas S, Jana U, De RK, Mukhopadhyay SC, Biswas TK. Clinical evaluation of purified Shilajit on testosterone levels in healthy volunteers. Andrologia. 2016;48(5):570-575. DOI: 10.1111/and.12482. PMID: 26395129
- Biswas TK, Pandit S, Mondal S, Biswas SK, Jana U, Ghosh T, Tripathi PC, Debnath PK, Auddy RG, Auddy B. Clinical evaluation of spermatogenic activity of processed Shilajit in oligospermia. Andrologia. 2010;42(1):48-56. DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0272.2009.00956.x. PMID: 20078516
- Morgado A, Tsampoukas G, Sokolakis I, Schoentgen N, Urkmez A, Sarikaya S. Do "testosterone boosters" really increase serum total testosterone? A systematic review. International Journal of Impotence Research. 2024;36(4):348-364. DOI: 10.1038/s41443-023-00763-9. PMID: 37697053
- Kamgar E, Angaits A, Zembrzuska J, Kaykhaii M, Szpunar J. Characterization of metal composition and molecular weight distribution in Shilajit. Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology. 2026;96:127913. DOI: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2026.127913. PMID: 42364294
- Saper RB, Phillips RS, Sehgal A, Khouri N, Davis RB, Paquin J, Thuppil V, Kales SN. Lead, mercury, and arsenic in US- and Indian-manufactured Ayurvedic medicines sold via the Internet. JAMA. 2008;300(8):915-923. DOI: 10.1001/jama.300.8.915. PMID: 18728265