# Shilajit and fertility: does it help sperm?

Source: https://shilajit.uk/benefits/fertility/
Author: Sam Rowan · Updated 2026-10-16

**Short answer:** The evidence is weak. In the only human study, 28 men with low sperm counts took 100 mg of processed shilajit twice a day for 90 days and their total sperm count rose by 61% (Biswas et al., 2010). There was no placebo group, no pregnancies were reported, and no study has tested women.

**Evidence grade:** Weak evidence. Small, short or poorly controlled human studies, or animal and lab work only.

Shilajit has been used as a male tonic in Ayurvedic medicine for centuries, and modern marketing leans hard on that history. The science behind the fertility claim is much smaller than the marketing suggests: one human study without a control group, and a few studies in rats and mice.

That doesn't mean shilajit does nothing. It means nobody has yet run the kind of trial that could tell us. We grade the evidence as weak.

## What did the human sperm study find?

Men with low sperm counts saw sizeable improvements over 90 days, but the study had no placebo group. Researchers in Kolkata screened 60 infertile men and enrolled 35 whose sperm count was below 20 million per millilitre (oligospermia). They took a 100 mg capsule of processed shilajit twice a day after main meals for 90 days, and 28 men finished (Biswas et al., 2010).

Compared with their own results at the start, the men who completed the study showed:

| Measure | Change after 90 days |
| --- | --- |
| Total sperm count | Up 61.4% |
| Semen volume | Up 37.6% |
| Normal-shaped sperm | Up 18.9% |
| Motility (movement) | Up 12.4% to 17.4%, depending on time point |
| Semen MDA, a marker of oxidative damage | Down 18.7% |
| Blood testosterone | Up 23.5% |
| Blood FSH | Up 9.4% |

Liver and kidney blood tests did not change, and the researchers found shilajit compounds in semen samples.

## Why isn't one positive study enough?

Because sperm counts naturally swing a lot from one sample to the next, and men who enrol in a study when their count is at its lowest will often show a better count later even with no treatment. A placebo group is the only way to separate a real effect from that drift. This study had none.

Three other gaps matter:

- **Seven of 35 men dropped out**, and the results describe only those who finished.
- **It measured sperm, not babies.** Higher counts don't automatically mean more pregnancies, and the study didn't report any.
- **It hasn't been repeated** in the 16 years since, by the same team or anyone else.

A 2014 review concluded that "animal and human studies indicate that shilajit enhances spermatogenesis" but also called for well-controlled human studies with standardised products (Stohs, 2014). That call has not been answered.

## What do animal studies show?

They are broadly positive, but most of them test whether shilajit can undo damage rather than improve normal fertility.

- **Healthy rats:** after six weeks of shilajit, young male rats had more sperm in the testes and epididymis than controls. In female rats, ovulation was induced in seven of nine treated animals against three of nine controls (Park et al., 2006).
- **Mice poisoned with cadmium:** shilajit given for one 35-day sperm cycle restored sperm production and motility, raised testosterone, and improved mating success and litter numbers (Mishra et al., 2018).
- **Mice given chemotherapy:** shilajit protected sperm-producing cells from the drug cyclophosphamide (Rajpoot et al., 2024).
- **Rats exposed to radiation:** in a study of 40 female rats, those given shilajit kept more healthy early-stage egg follicles after radiation (Kececi et al., 2016).

These findings explain why researchers are interested, but animal results often fail to carry over to people, and the doses per kilo were much higher than human doses.

There is also a 2024 case report of a farmer exposed to pesticides whose sperm quality improved after Ayurvedic treatment including shilajit, followed by IVF (Mathiya et al., 2024). A single case, with several treatments at once, can't tell us what shilajit contributed.

## Is shilajit safe when trying to conceive?

For men, the fertility study reported no change in liver or kidney tests over 90 days, but it was small. The bigger practical risk is contamination: raw shilajit can contain lead and other metals that are themselves harmful to fertility, so product quality matters (see [heavy metals in shilajit](/safety/heavy-metals/)).

For women, we suggest not using shilajit while trying to conceive or during pregnancy. This is a precaution, not a proven risk: there are simply no safety data. Our page on [pregnancy and breastfeeding](/safety/pregnancy-and-breastfeeding/) explains more.

## What should couples do first?

See a GP. The NHS advises seeing a GP if you haven't conceived after a year of trying, or sooner if the woman is 36 or over or either of you already knows of a possible fertility problem. A semen analysis is cheap, quick and tells you far more than a supplement trial.

If you decide to try shilajit alongside medical advice, the only human dose studied for fertility was 100 mg twice a day for 90 days. For the related hormone evidence, read [shilajit and testosterone](/benefits/testosterone/), and see the [benefits overview](/benefits/) for every other claim and how we grade it.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does shilajit increase sperm count?

One study found total sperm count rose 61.4% after 90 days in men with low counts, but it compared the men only with their own starting values (Biswas et al., 2010). Without a placebo group we can't be sure shilajit caused the change.

### Does shilajit help women get pregnant?

There are no human studies in women. One rat study found more female rats ovulated after shilajit, seven of nine against three of nine controls (Park et al., 2006), which is far too small to apply to people.

### How long would shilajit take to affect sperm?

The human study ran for 90 days, which roughly covers one full cycle of sperm production. There is no evidence about shorter courses.

## References

1. [Biswas TK et al. Clinical evaluation of spermatogenic activity of processed Shilajit in oligospermia. Andrologia. 2010;42(1):48-56.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20078516/)
2. [Park JS, Kim GY, Han K. The spermatogenic and ovogenic effects of chronically administered Shilajit to rats. J Ethnopharmacol. 2006;107(3):349-53.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16698205/)
3. [Mishra RK, Jain A, Singh SK. Profertility effects of Shilajit on cadmium-induced infertility in male mice. Andrologia. 2018;50(8):e13064.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29947420/)
4. [Rajpoot A et al. Shilajit mitigates chemotherapeutic drug-induced testicular toxicity: Study on testicular germ cell dynamics, steroidogenesis modulation, and Nrf-2/Keap-1 signaling. J Ayurveda Integr Med. 2024;15(4):100930.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39121783/)
5. [Kececi M et al. Evaluation of preventive effect of shilajit on radiation-induced apoptosis on ovaries. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2016;293(6):1255-62.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26530234/)
6. [Mathiya P et al. Integrative Approach to Address Male Infertility: A Case Study on Organophosphorus Compound Exposure and Traditional Medicinal Interventions. Cureus. 2024;16(6):e62697.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39036134/)
7. [Stohs SJ. Safety and efficacy of shilajit (mumie, moomiyo). Phytother Res. 2014;28(4):475-9.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23733436/)
8. [NHS. Infertility.](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/infertility/)