One randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial found that purified shilajit at 250 mg twice daily for 90 days raised total testosterone, free testosterone and DHEAS in healthy men aged 45 to 55. That is the strongest evidence that exists, and it is one small trial in one narrow age group. It does not establish anything about younger men, about fertility outcomes, about erectile function, or about performance. Most of what is sold on this topic goes far past that single result.
This is the page in this category most likely to be written dishonestly, so here is the version with the limits left in.
The trial, in full
Pandit et al., Andrologia, 2016.
- Design: randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled. The right shape for a question like this.
- Participants: healthy male volunteers, aged 45 to 55.
- Dose: 250 mg of purified shilajit, twice daily.
- Duration: 90 days.
- Result: significantly higher total testosterone, free testosterone and DHEAS versus placebo.
That is a real finding and worth knowing. Now the parts that get dropped.
It studied men in their late forties and early fifties. Testosterone declines with age, and a supplement that shifts it in a 50-year-old tells you very little about a 25-year-old whose levels are already normal.
It measured hormone levels, not outcomes. A number on a blood test moved. Whether that translated into anything a man would notice was not what the trial reported.
It ran 90 days. Nothing about longer use follows from it.
It used one specific purified preparation. Another product at another dose is not the same intervention.
It is one trial. In nutrition research, single small trials are where inquiry starts.
What has weaker evidence, or none
Fertility and sperm quality. Frequently claimed, including previously on our own site. The human evidence is thin, and we are not going to assert it. If you are dealing with fertility, that is a doctor and a semen analysis, not a supplement bought online.
Erectile function. No good human evidence. Anyone claiming otherwise is selling.
Gym performance and muscle. Early human work exists on fatigue and muscular strength, linked in what the research actually shows. Early is the accurate word.
Libido. Widely claimed, mostly self-reported, largely untested in controlled conditions.
"Natural Viagra". This phrasing appears across the category. It has nothing behind it, and a product sold that way is more likely to be adulterated with an actual pharmaceutical than to be doing anything on its own.
The risk worth naming
Products marketed hard for male performance are, across the whole supplement industry, among the most frequently adulterated with undeclared prescription drugs. That is a documented pattern in the category rather than a comment on any particular seller.
If you are buying anything sold on this promise, from anyone, the questions in our purity guide and a batch laboratory report matter more here than anywhere else.
If you want to try it anyway
Reasonable, and here is the honest framing.
- A rice-grain portion daily, under 600 mg. See how to use salajeet.
- Give it at least a month, and remember the trial ran three.
- Expect modest or no effect. That is the realistic expectation, not pessimism.
- If you are under 40 with no symptoms, the trial above does not describe you.
- If you have real symptoms, low energy, low mood, low libido, get tested. Those are things a doctor can measure and treat. Self-treating them with a supplement mostly costs time.
- Do not take it alongside prescription medication without asking your doctor. See side effects and who should avoid it.
Frequently asked questions
Will salajeet raise my testosterone? In men aged 45 to 55, over 90 days, one placebo-controlled trial found it did. Outside that group, it has not been shown.
How long before I see a difference? The trial ran 90 days. Anything promising results in days is not describing this research.
Should I get my testosterone tested first? If you are taking it for that reason, yes. Otherwise you have no way to know whether anything changed, and you are guessing in both directions.
Is it safe with blood pressure or diabetes medication? Ask your doctor before starting. This is a real interaction question, not a formality.
Does it help with fertility? We are not claiming that. If fertility is the concern, see a doctor.
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This article summarises published research for general information. It is not medical advice. Salajeet is a supplement, not a treatment for any medical condition, and nothing here should be used to diagnose or treat one. Speak to a doctor before taking it, particularly if you take medication or are managing a health condition.
<!-- OWNER NOTE: this is the highest-traffic and highest-risk topic in the category, which is exactly why it is written this way. The storefront's feature cards currently claim "improve fertility" and describe effects on sperm quality and libido. This article will not support those, and a site that contradicts its own blog is a trust problem as well as an SEO one. Those cards are editable in the dashboard. -->
