# Pandit 2016: shilajit and testosterone trial

Source: https://shilajit.uk/research/pandit-2016-testosterone/
Author: Sam Rowan · Updated 2026-10-16

**Short answer:** In a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, healthy men aged 45 to 55 took 250 mg of purified shilajit twice a day for 90 days. Total testosterone, free testosterone and DHEA-S rose significantly compared with placebo, while LH and FSH stayed steady. It is one funded trial and has not been independently repeated.

This is the study behind most claims that shilajit "boosts testosterone". Researchers at a state Ayurvedic medical college in Kolkata gave healthy men aged 45 to 55 either purified shilajit or a dummy capsule for three months, without the men or the researchers knowing who had which. Testosterone and a related hormone, DHEA-S, rose more in the shilajit group.

It is a well-designed trial on paper, and a 2024 systematic review leaned on it to rate purified shilajit as "possibly effective" for men with age-related low testosterone (Morgado et al., 2024). But it is a single trial, paid for by the company whose extract was tested, and the published abstract gives few numbers. Here is what it did and did not show.

## What did the Pandit 2016 study do?

It was a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, the most reliable design for testing a supplement. Healthy volunteers aged 45 to 55 took 250 mg of purified shilajit twice a day, or a placebo, for 90 consecutive days. Blood was tested for testosterone and other hormones (Pandit et al., 2016).

| Detail | What the study reports |
| --- | --- |
| Design | Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled |
| Participants | Healthy men aged 45 to 55. The abstract does not give the number, and we could not access the full paper, so we don't state one |
| Dose | 250 mg twice a day (500 mg a day) |
| Product | Purified shilajit, described by a later study as PrimaVie, Natreon's standardised extract (Keller et al., 2019) |
| Length | 90 days |
| Outcomes | Total testosterone, free testosterone, DHEA-S, and the pituitary hormones LH and FSH |
| Results | Total testosterone, free testosterone and DHEA-S rose significantly (P < 0.05) compared with placebo; LH and FSH were "well maintained" |
| Funding and conflicts | Natreon Inc, maker of PrimaVie, is listed as funder in the PubMed record |
| Dropouts | Not reported in the abstract |
| Main limitations | Single trial, manufacturer funding, healthy men rather than men with low testosterone, hormone levels only |

## What did it find?

Men taking shilajit ended the 90 days with higher total testosterone, free testosterone (the portion not bound to proteins in the blood) and DHEA-S than men taking placebo. The difference was statistically significant at the P < 0.05 level. The pituitary hormones LH and FSH, which signal the testes to make testosterone, stayed steady.

The abstract does not give the size of the increases. A later paper from a US university team, citing this trial, summarised them as rises of about 20% in total testosterone, 19% in free testosterone and 31% in DHEA-S (Keller et al., 2019). Treat those as a second-hand summary: we could not check them against the full paper.

## What does this mean?

It is the best human evidence that purified shilajit can nudge testosterone upward in middle-aged men. The design guards against the two biggest sources of false results in supplement research: people feeling better because they expect to, and researchers seeing what they hope to see. That is why we grade the [testosterone claim](/benefits/testosterone/) as moderate rather than weak.

It also fits with a smaller, uncontrolled study from some of the same researchers, in which 28 men with low sperm counts saw testosterone rise by 23.5% from baseline on 200 mg a day (see [Biswas 2010](/research/biswas-2010-sperm/)).

## What doesn't it show?

- **That shilajit treats low testosterone.** The men were described as healthy volunteers. The trial does not show what happens in men with diagnosed testosterone deficiency, and it is not a substitute for medical assessment.
- **That anyone felt different.** The abstract reports blood hormone levels only. It does not report energy, mood, sex drive, erections, muscle or fat.
- **That the effect is large enough to matter.** A rise of around a fifth, if that figure is right, keeps most healthy men within the normal range. Whether that makes a noticeable difference is unknown.
- **That other products work the same way.** The trial used one purified, standardised extract. Raw resin or other brands may contain different amounts of the active compounds.
- **That it works at other ages or for longer.** Only men aged 45 to 55 were studied, for 90 days.

A 2026 open-label study of a different product, a shilajit resin, found no change in total testosterone after 28 days at 500 mg a day in younger men (see [Yadav 2026](/research/yadav-2026-resin/)). That study had no placebo group and was much shorter, so it doesn't cancel out this one, but it is a reminder that the effect is not settled.

## How much should we trust it?

Moderately. The design is strong, but three things hold it back. First, it has not been independently repeated. Second, PubMed lists Natreon, which makes the extract tested, as the funder. Industry funding doesn't make a result wrong, but it is a reason to want confirmation from an independent team. Third, the published abstract leaves out the sample size, dropout numbers and the size of the effect, which makes it hard for readers to judge how robust the finding is.

If you are thinking about shilajit for testosterone, it is worth knowing that men with prostate cancer or other hormone-sensitive conditions should avoid anything that might raise testosterone. That is a precaution based on this trial, not a tested risk. See [is shilajit safe?](/safety/) and talk to your GP first.

## Where does this study fit?

This trial is the main evidence on our [shilajit and testosterone](/benefits/testosterone/) page, and it shapes the 500 mg a day figure on our [dosage](/how-to-take-shilajit/dosage/) page. For the other human trials, see the [research library](/research/).

## Frequently asked questions

### How much did testosterone go up in the Pandit trial?

The abstract reports only that the rise was statistically significant compared with placebo. A later paper by Keller and colleagues summarised the increases as about 20% for total testosterone, 19% for free testosterone and 31% for DHEA-S.

### What shilajit product did Pandit 2016 use?

The trial used purified shilajit, which a later study by Keller and colleagues identifies as PrimaVie, a standardised extract made by Natreon. PubMed lists Natreon as the funder.

### Does this trial prove shilajit treats low testosterone?

No. The men were healthy volunteers, not men diagnosed with low testosterone, and the study measured hormone levels rather than symptoms such as energy, mood or sex drive.

## References

1. [Pandit S et al. Clinical evaluation of purified Shilajit on testosterone levels in healthy volunteers. Andrologia. 2016;48(5):570-5.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26395129/) Funding listed in the PubMed record: Natreon Inc.
2. [Keller JL et al. The effects of Shilajit supplementation on fatigue-induced decreases in muscular strength and serum hydroxyproline levels. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2019;16(1):3.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30728074/) Full text describes the Pandit product as PrimaVie and summarises its percentage increases.
3. [Morgado A et al. Do 'testosterone boosters' really increase serum total testosterone? A systematic review. Int J Impot Res. 2024;36(4):348-364.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37697053/)
4. [Yadav D et al. Safety and Efficacy of TruBlk Shilajit Resin Supplementation on Physical Performance and Blood Biomarkers in Healthy Adults: A 28-Day Open-Label Pilot Study. Cureus. 2026;18(1):e102372.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41613504/)