Tongkat Ali and Shilajit powder

We can tell you what shilajit is, what the research has and hasn't found, and where it stands under Australian law. We can't tell you it does anything for you, and we'll explain why that's not us being coy.

A good fit if

• You want the evidence and the regulations laid out before you spend
• You already buy shilajit and want to know whether your format is the one that was studied
• You'd rather be told about a gap in testing than have it left out

Check with us first if

• You're pregnant, breastfeeding or buying for a child. There's no data for any of these groups.
• You take any prescription medicine, because we found no interaction data for shilajit at all.
• You're being treated for a hormone or bone condition, which is where most of the research is, so talk to your doctor.
• You're buying raw resin, so we can talk through what test results to ask the seller for.

• Raw resin. Best known for: The traditional format, and most of what is sold online. Absorption: Minimally processed. Typical use: One open-label study with no comparison group. Its own authors say the clinical evidence on the resin form is limited. Not allowed in Australian listed medicines.
• Purified shilajit. Best known for: Processed to remove material that does not dissolve. Absorption: Not described in the study summaries. Typical use: 500 mg a day over 90 days in one randomised trial that reported no sample size and no effect sizes. Not allowed in Australian listed medicines.
• Standardised aqueous extract. Best known for: Consistent from batch to batch. Absorption: Chemically defined. Typical use: The form used in the 48-week trial, the most rigorous study of shilajit. Not allowed in Australian listed medicines.
• Named proprietary extracts. Best known for: The ones singled out in independent reviews. Absorption: Defined by the brand that makes it. Typical use: Where a systematic review gave credit for any effect, it credited a specific branded extract, not shilajit in general. Not allowed in Australian listed medicines.
• Powder and capsules. Best known for: Convenience. Absorption: Several trials gave doses by mouth without saying what form they used. Typical use: Not allowed in Australian listed medicines.
• Combination products. Best known for: Usually with chromium and Phyllanthus emblica (amla). Absorption: Does not apply. Typical use: The one combination trial used 6 to 12 mg a day of shilajit, roughly a fortieth of the dose used elsewhere. Chromium and amla are allowed ingredients, but shilajit is not, so the combination is not either.
• Fulvic acid on its own. Best known for: Its signature compound, sold separately. Absorption: We found no human trial on fulvic acid alone. Typical use: Fulvic acid is not on Schedule 1 either.

Reference values. There's no Nutrient Reference Value for shilajit, and no Australian dosing rules at all, because it isn't a permitted ingredient.

Typical supplemental range. Across the trials: 500 mg a day of purified shilajit for 90 days; 250 mg or 500 mg a day of standardised extract for 48 weeks; 500 mg or 1,000 mg a day for 8 weeks; and 1,000 mg a day for 28 days.

Upper level. There's no Australian cap, because it isn't in Australia's permitted ingredients list (Schedule 1) to carry one. That means there's no rule, not that any amount is fine. No one has assessed an upper limit for this ingredient here.

Worth knowing. One combination trial used 6 to 12 mg a day, which is so far below the others that it tells you almost nothing about shilajit. If you're comparing products, compare the dose with the standardised extract trials rather than with how confident the label sounds. What you need depends on your age, diet and health, so talk to one of our naturopaths in store.

Food first, where the diet allows it.

• None: shilajit isn't a food. It's collected from rock faces at altitude

If any of these sound like you, talk to one of our naturopaths or your doctor before you start.

• Everyone, on one regulatory point. Shilajit is not an allowed ingredient in Australian listed medicines, so a product containing it has not had its identity, purity and contaminant limits assessed under those rules. That is the single most important safety fact about this ingredient, and it is a regulatory one.
• Heavy metals and trace elements. Shilajit seeps from rock and is described as rich in minerals and trace elements. One lab study measured 14 elements using ICP-MS and presented its methods as a basis for safety assessment. The elements and amounts are not in the published summary, and none of our sources gives measured values or limits. We are naming the concern rather than pretending to put a number on it.
• Raw versus purified. Every positive trial used purified or standardised material. None of our sources covers the safety of unpurified raw resin, which is much of what is sold.
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding. We found no data, and there is no Schedule 1 entry to carry a warning either way.
• Children. We found no data in children. The trials enrolled people from age 18.
• Medicine interactions. None of our sources covers them. No data is not the same as no risk.
• Men being treated for a diagnosed hormonal condition. That is the one group a systematic review discussed, and it is a conversation to have with your doctor.
• Purity and testing claims. Shilajit seeps from rock, and lab methods for routine quality checks were only published recently. A claim of purity should come with testing data behind it.