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Shilajit - A relatively unrefined preparation of Humic

Substances from India, used in Indian
(Ayurvedic) Medicinal Practices. This article
points out that there is no standard Shilajit
substance due to the variety of soils from which it
comes. If toxins are present in the soil, the Shilajit
may enhance their negative effects.

Common Name:
Processed Shilajit
Botanical Name:
Asphaltum (mineral pitch)

Geographic origin of the

plant: Kalikot, Nepal
Method of growing:
Wild
Introduction / Varity of It is a bituminous substance which is a
plant / Method of
extraction / Distilled
compact mass of vegetable organic matter
organ: composed of dark red gummy matrix. It is
bitter in taste, and its smell resembles cow’s
stale urine.

1. Organoleptic Properties
Appearance Semi-hard
Color Brownish black to dark

3. Uses

(a) Shilajit is prescribed in various diseases - genito

urinary diseases, diabetes, jaundice, gallstones, enlarged spleen,
digestive disorders, epilepsy, nervous disesases, elephantiasis,
chronic bronchitis and anaemia. Shilajit is useful
as aphrodisiac, rejunvenator, alterative tonic, respiratory,
stimulant, internal antiseptic, diuretic, lithontriptic, worms, piles,
adiposity, renal and bladder stones, nervous diseases,
amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea, menorrhagia, eczema, anorexia,
fracture of bones5-6.

Detailed Click here for more information on Shilajit

information:
Website: http://www.msinp.com/herbs/Processed_Shilajit.htm

LINK:
http://www.msinp.com/herbs/product/processed_shilajit/e-
zine_issue_No_3_Mar_1997_Unearthing_the_evidence.htm
(This article is from e-zine issue No 3 Mar 1997)
Unearthing the evidence
The claims that surround folk medicines may not all be down
to superstition, says Paul Phillips; researchers are shedding
light on the healing properties of naturally-occurring
substances such as shilajit
Universal remedies, or panaceas, are used in folk medicine
all over the world. Millions of people - some highly educated
- will pay large sums of money for panaceas and in certain
cultures people will turn to these before conventional
medicine. This is strange to the majority of western
scientists, who often see panaceas as a barrier to rational
and effective medical provision. Most panaceas have little
medicinal value and, although in most cases acquiring them
does not harm the environment and is ethically acceptable,
the high value of such products sometimes encourages
criminal and cruel practices.
Nevertheless, there are plenty of recorded case studies
where sceptics have been proved wrong. Aspirin, for
example, originally obtained from willow bark, is an often
quoted example within western tradition. But it is to the East
that we have to look for many of today's exciting case
studies. Here, another folk medicine that has recently
captured the attention of scientists is shilajit - a
blackishbrown exudation found in the romantic
surroundings of the Himalayas, from Arunachal Pradesh in
the east to Kashmir in the west. It is also found in
Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, Nepal, Pakistan, Tibet and some
regions of the former USSR (Caucasus, Ural), as well as in
Norway, where it is gathered in small quantities from steep
rock faces at altitudes between 1000 and 5000 m.1
In regional folk medicine, shilajit is a reputed rasayana (a
rejuvenator and immunomodulator), claimed to arrest the
process of ageing and prolong life.2 It is also used to treat a
range of conditions ranging from ulcers and asthma, to
diabetes and rheumatism. Considering the claims made for
shilajit, it is surprising that detailed analytical work on this
product took so long to get going.
Researchers first began to investigate the chemical
composition and bioactivity of shilajit in the early 1970s.
Before then, it was not clear whether shilajit was a bitumen -
a plant fossil - that had been exposed due to rock weathering
at high altitude, or a material formed from modern plant
remains. If the substance is a fossil, then its future supply is
limited, but if formed recently then it may be possible to
produce future supplies relatively cheaply.
Active ingredients
Early work on shilajit showed that it is mainly composed of
humus - the characteristic organic constituent of soils -
together with other organic components. Humus consists of
organic residues that have lost their original structure
following rapid decomposition in the environment. It is not a
clearly defined substance - its composition changes
constantly and it can disappear by slow decomposition
unless new residual matter is incorporated. Humus contains
two components of interest: fulvic acid and humic acid. The
former has the lowest molecular weight components,
containing uronic acids, phenolic glucosides and amino
acids, while the latter is composed of high molecular weight
compounds and contains a high proportion of phenolics.
The humus extracts from shilajit were shown to possess a
lattice-like structure, perforated by voids of varying
dimensions (0.010.05 mm). These are filled with organic
molecules or metal complexes, which may be responsible for
the therapeutic effects. However, shilajit humus is not
special; degrading humus samples and analysing the
products spectroscopically shows that it is structurally
similar to ordinary soil.
Chemical research in the 1970s indicated that shilajit is quite
recent in origin. In 1976, components of the plant Euphorbia
royleana were discovered in shilajit, making the ancient
fossil route unlikely.3 The plant is named after Euphorbias,
who was the court physician of Juba II - the Romanised ruler
of a North African kingdom - in the first century AD. There
are ca 100 species of this plant growing wild in most
temperate regions of the world. When damaged, they exude
a milky latex that irritates the skin and eyes. Could this latex
be transformed into the components of shilajit? Some of the
organic compounds in Euphorbia royleana and shilajit are
also found in animals such as beavers, who frequently eat
the buds and bark of trees, and this is thought to be
responsible for the deposits in these animals.

Fig 1. Some of the compounds that may be present

in samples of shilajit
However, the controversy about the origin of shilajit raged
on until the mid-1980s, when clear evidence emerged,
indicating that the substance was of recent plant origin.4
Chemical analysis of shilajit by researchers at Banaras
Hindu University in India revealed that, among other
compounds, it contains biphenyl metabolites, (Fig 1).
Interestingly, the group also identified some of the same
biphenyls (13) in Trifolium repens, a plant that grows
abundantly in regions where shilajit is found.5 This led to the
conclusion that humification of some resin/latex bearing
plants is the most likely source of shilajit.
When Banaras researchers subjected compounds (2) and (3)
to column chromatography, they discovered that they were
partially transformed to a benzocoumarin (4). This
compound (4) has also been detected in shilajit, possibly
arising via an intermediate compound (5). The results were
quite exciting because biphenyls are a rare group of natural
products in higher plants,6 and no biphenyl with a carboxy
function at C6 had been encountered before. Interestingly,
compounds (2), (3) and (4) have significant anti-allergic
activity - a property claimed for shilajit.
By the late 1980s it was known that humification of resin-
bearing plants was responsible for the major organic mass
of shilajit - about 80 per cent of the humus component. The
amount and composition of the remaining organic mass,
which is a mixture of low Mw compounds, varies depending
on where the shilajit comes from (Table 1). The most
common low Mw compounds present are oxygenated
dibenzo-a-pyrones (6), (7) and (8). They are probably
produced from the naturally-occurringmacrocycle (9), via an
intermediate such as (10), (Scheme 1). Solvent extraction of
shilajit results in a compound similar to (10), which can be
autoxidised to (6) and (8) when exposed to light.
Researchers propose that the physiological properties of
shilajit are due to compounds such as the dibenzo-a-
pyrones, along with triterpenes and phenolic lipids. Fulvic
acids may also have a physiological role, acting as carrier
molecules for the more bioactive smaller compounds.

Scheme 1. A possible route to making dibenzo-a-

pyrones (6) and (8)
It is now known that the composition of shilajit is influenced
by factors such as the plant species involved, the geological
nature of the rock, local temperature profiles, humidity and
altitude. Although the composition varies from place to
place, the general consistency of samples from various
sources points to a common production process that results
from biological and chemical action on plant remains.
Shilajit and health
By the late 1980s, several research groups had begun to take
the claims for the remarkable medicinal powers of shilajit
seriously, and to investigate whether they might have some
basis in fact. Banaras Hindu University researchers collected
shilajit from Badakstan, Afghanistan, at an altitude of 2800
m, and prepared aqueous solutions, to investigate its
pharmacological action on the central nervous and
cardiovascular systems, skeletal muscles, gastric secretions
and inflammation in albino rats.7
These simple aqueous solutions were shown to be
biologically active. For example, the anti-inflammatory
activity of shilajit is comparable to that of betamethasone - a
glucocorticoid given orally at doses of 0.55 mg. These
findings suggest that shilajit may have a role in treating
rheumatism, as proposed in folk medicine. Shilajit was also
found to be an analgesic and a possible anti-ulcer agent, and
doses of up to 1 g per kg caused no apparent problems - a
promising start.
Research continued to investigate other claims made for
shilajit. In 1989, the Banaras group published a paper on the
role of shilajit in treating allergic disorders.8 By now
researchers realised that crude aqueous solutions of shilajit
had limited value and that using combinations of the main
constituents would be the best way to pinpoint the bioactive
agents. They studied the effect of shilajit and the combined
effects of its main constituents: fulvic acids, 4¢-methoxy-6-
carbomethoxybiphenyl (2) and 3, 8-dihydroxy-dibenzo-a-
pyrone (8). The results were promising; shilajit and different
combinations of its main constituents seemed to offer a
potential treatment for allergic disorders - just as folk
medicine suggests.
Too good to be true?
But are there any risks in using crude shilajit? By the early
1990s, potential problems with crude shilajit were emerging,
highlighted in a paper by the Banaras researchers.2 This
focused on the fact that very little information about the
geographical origin of the shilajit is available to purchasers.
The place of origin is an important factor that determines its
composition and likely medicinal value.
Shilajit samples from different regions of the world can have
markedly different physiological properties. In a controlled
experiment on rats with stress-induced gastric ulcers, shilajit
from India and Nepal decreased the volume of gastric
secretion and acid output, whereas samples from Pakistan
and Russia did not. Therefore, for treating human ulcers, the
geographical origin of the shilajit is probably important.
Sufferers buying shilajit from the wrong region would gain
no benefit, yet they would continue to use the panacea
because of their commitment to this type of treatment.
What about the possible toxins that may be present? Some
samples of shilajit have been found to be heavily
contaminated with fungal organisms such as A. niger, A.
ochraceous and T. roseum. These are capable of producing
lethal mycotoxins, and it is not clear how many people have
been adversely affected.
Another potential problem of using the raw material is that
native, unprocessed shilajit contains significant amounts of
stable free radicals. Humic constituents from soils contain
high levels of such radicals. Two types of free radicals have
been detected using electron spin resonance: long lifetime
stable radicals, which are stabilised by metal ions present
within the sample, and short lifetime radicals. Free radicals
can cause irreparable cell damage. The concentration of free
radicals in humic material increases as the pH is raised;
above pH 8.0 such radicals are stabilised due to the
formation of semiquinone species. Table 1 indicates that
Russian shilajit has a pH in this range and, for this reason,
Russian doctors do not give shilajit to ulcer patients who
have a greater risk of developing cancer.
Table 1. How the composition of shilajit varies with
geographical region

Country pH of Relative % Fulvic acid Relative %

and 1% compositio % compositio
region of aqueou n of low Mw compositio n of humic
origin s extracts n constituent
solution s

India, 6.2 17.9 21.4 19.8

Kumaon
Nepal, 7.5 20.0 15.4 11.4
Dolpa
Pakistan, 6.8 4.3 15.5 5.6
Peshawar
Russia, 8.2 29.7 19.0 11.5
Tien-Shan
Although it is now widely accepted that shilajit can be
valuable in conventional medicine, the best way forward is to
formulate drugs using the active constituents, rather than
use crude shilajit. Those trained in classical science may
well smile at this stage and feel satisfied at the triumph of
the structurereactivity concept of drug action over a more
traditional folk-based approach. But we need to be careful
and humble at all times. Yes, a small band of dedicated
scientists worked away for many years to demonstrate the
real value in such a panacea. But what if they had dismissed
the many claims made for shilajit as being due to mere
superstition? How many other aids to healing are we
overlooking because they do not fit into our conceptual
framework?
Dr Paul Phillips is a senior lecturer in the school of
environmental science at Nene College of Higher Education,
Park Campus, Northampton NN2 7AL.
References
1. S.Ghosal et al, Phytotherapy Res., 1991, 5, 211.
2. S. Bhaumik, S. Chattopadhyay and S. Ghosal,
Phytotherapy Res., 1993, 7, 425.
3. S. Ghosal et al, J Pharm. Sci., 1976, 65, 772.
4. Y. C. Kong et al, Int. J. Crude Drug Res., 1987, 25, 179.
5. S. Ghosal, S. K. Singh and R.S. Srivastava, J. Chem.
Res., 1988, 196.
6. M. V. S. Sultanbawa, Tetrahedron, 1980, 36, 1465.
7. S. B. Acharya et al, Indian J. Exp. Biol., 1988, 26, 775.
8. S. Ghosal et al, Phytotherapy Res., 1989, 6, 249.

DISCLAIMER: This website presents a collection of statements from around the world
about the benefits of Humic Acid. This information is provided for informational purposes
only. These statements were variously made over several decades of time. There are many
sources of Humic Acid around the globe, and they differ significantly in their physical and
chemical properties. This website does not intend to provide medical advice, nor does it
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information herein is not intended to diagnose any disease, nor is it intended to prescribe
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