# Shilajit drug interactions: what we know

Source: https://shilajit.uk/safety/drug-interactions/
Author: Sam Rowan · Updated 2026-10-16

**Short answer:** No study in humans has tested whether shilajit interacts with any medicine, so nobody can say it is safe to combine with prescription drugs. Lab and animal studies suggest it could change how some drugs are absorbed and may affect blood sugar, potassium and hormones. If you take any regular medicine, ask your GP or pharmacist first.

We searched PubMed for any study of shilajit, mumijo or momiai taken alongside a medicine in people. There are none. No trial has measured whether shilajit changes the blood levels of a drug, and none of the shilajit trials report results for participants on regular medication. So the honest answer to "does shilajit interact with my medicine?" is that nobody knows.

That is not the same as "no interactions". What exists is a small amount of lab and animal research, plus what shilajit does to the body in trials, that points to a few groups of medicines where caution makes sense. Everything below in the "precaution" column is our inference from that indirect evidence. None of it is a tested risk, and none of it is a substitute for asking a pharmacist about your own medicines.

## Has shilajit been tested with any medicines in humans?

No. The closest human evidence is indirect: trials in healthy people show shilajit can change blood sugar, hormones and blood fats, and a few reports describe effects on blood pressure and potassium. Any medicine that works on the same things could, in principle, be affected. The table summarises where the concern comes from.

| Medicine group | Why there is a concern | Type of evidence | Precaution (not tested) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Diabetes medicines (insulin, gliclazide, metformin and others) | Shilajit lowered blood sugar in a diabetes trial and in rats (Gupta et al., 2016; Bharati et al., 1996) | One small human trial without placebo; animal study | Ask your diabetes team; check sugars more often if you go ahead |
| Blood pressure tablets and diuretics (water tablets) | One case of high blood pressure and low potassium with mumijo (Stavropoulos et al., 2018) | Single case report | Ask your GP; report muscle weakness, cramps or palpitations |
| Testosterone, hormone therapy, prostate cancer treatment | Shilajit raised testosterone and DHEA-S (Pandit et al., 2016) | One randomised trial | Avoid unless your specialist agrees |
| Chemotherapy and cancer medicines | Changed the effect of chemotherapy in rats and cancer cells | Animal and lab studies | Don't take during cancer treatment without your oncology team's agreement |
| Strong painkillers such as morphine | Altered tolerance to morphine in mice (Tiwari et al., 2001) | One animal study | Tell your prescriber |
| Iron tablets | Shilajit contains iron (Kamgar et al., 2026) | Chemical analyses | Avoid if you have iron overload; ask before combining |
| Medicines that are hard to dissolve, such as some anti-epilepsy drugs | Fulvic and humic acids from shilajit bind drugs and changed absorption in the lab | Lab and rodent studies | Ask your pharmacist, especially for drugs that need steady blood levels |

## Can shilajit change how a medicine is absorbed?

Possibly. The best evidence comes from pharmacy researchers trying to use shilajit's acids as drug carriers. Fulvic acid extracted from shilajit formed a complex with the water tablet furosemide, changing its solubility and how quickly it dissolved and passed through membranes (Agarwal et al., 2008). Humic acid from shilajit increased the solubility of the epilepsy drug carbamazepine by about 1,742%, made it roughly 3.5 times better at crossing rat gut tissue, and increased its anti-seizure effect in rodents (Mirza et al., 2011). A later paper by the same group found similar effects with both fulvic and humic acid (Mirza et al., 2011, Results Pharma Sci).

These were deliberately prepared drug complexes, not someone swallowing shilajit resin with a tablet, and the journal later published an expression of concern about the carbamazepine paper. Still, the chemistry is a plausible route by which shilajit could change how much of a drug gets into the blood. For medicines where small changes in blood levels matter, such as anti-epilepsy drugs, that is reason enough to ask first.

## Could shilajit affect diabetes medicines?

It might add to their effect. In an Ayurvedic trial in India, 40 people with type 2 diabetes took 500 mg of shilajit twice a day for 3 months. Their fasting blood sugar fell by about 24% and blood sugar after meals by about 20% (Gupta et al., 2016). There was no placebo group, the comparison was another Ayurvedic remedy, and the paper does not say what other diabetes treatment participants were on. An older rat study also found shilajit lowered blood sugar (Bharati et al., 1996).

In healthy people without diabetes, shilajit did not change blood sugar (Sharma et al., 2003). The precaution is for people already taking medicines that lower blood sugar: adding something else that lowers it could, in theory, cause a hypo.

## Could shilajit affect blood pressure or potassium?

There is one warning sign. A pregnant woman who had taken mumijo for 6 months developed high blood pressure and low potassium, which resolved after she stopped it and received potassium (Stavropoulos et al., 2018). If that effect is real, it would matter most for people taking blood pressure tablets or diuretics, and for anyone on a medicine whose effect depends on potassium levels. Your pharmacist can tell you whether yours is one of them.

## Is shilajit safe with hormone treatments?

We would avoid the combination unless a specialist agrees. In a randomised trial, 250 mg of purified shilajit twice a day for 90 days raised total and free testosterone and DHEA-S in men aged 45 to 55 compared with placebo (Pandit et al., 2016). That is a hormonal effect, and it could work against or add to treatments that raise or block hormones, including testosterone replacement and prostate cancer treatment.

## Is shilajit safe during cancer treatment?

Not without your oncology team's agreement. In rats with bone cancer, shilajit given with a chemotherapy combination appeared to strengthen its effect and reduce liver and kidney damage (Jambi and Abdulaziz Alshubaily, 2022). In glioblastoma cells in a dish, it increased the cell-killing effect of the drug temozolomide (Dalbayrak et al., 2026). These sound positive, but anything that changes how a cancer drug behaves is exactly what oncologists need to know about, and nothing here has been tested in people.

## What should I do if I take medicines and want to try shilajit?

Speak to your GP or a community pharmacist before you start. Bring the product, or a photo of its label, so they can see the dose and other ingredients, since many shilajit products contain added herbs. Ask specifically about the medicines in the table above. If you do go ahead, start at a low dose used in trials (see [shilajit dosage](/how-to-take-shilajit/dosage/)), watch for anything unusual, and report suspected problems through the MHRA [Yellow Card scheme](https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/).

Remember too that contaminated shilajit adds its own risks on top of any interaction; see [heavy metals in shilajit](/safety/heavy-metals/). For other risks, read [shilajit side effects](/safety/side-effects/) and our [safety overview](/safety/).

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I take shilajit with my medication?

There is no human research to say either way. Because of that, the safe answer is to check with your GP or pharmacist before combining shilajit with any prescription medicine, and to tell them the exact product you plan to take.

### Can I take shilajit with metformin or insulin?

No study has tested the combination. A small Ayurvedic trial found shilajit lowered fasting blood sugar by about 24% in people with type 2 diabetes, so adding it to diabetes medicines could, in theory, push blood sugar too low. Talk to your diabetes team first.

### Can I take shilajit with blood pressure tablets?

Untested. One case report linked mumijo, another name for shilajit, to high blood pressure and low potassium, and these could matter if you take blood pressure tablets or water tablets. This is a precaution based on a single case, so ask your GP or pharmacist.

### Should I take shilajit at a different time from my medicines?

Spacing them out has never been tested, so we can't say it makes a combination safe. Lab studies show fulvic acid from shilajit can bind to some drugs, which is a reason to get advice rather than to rely on timing.

## References

1. [Agarwal SP, Anwer MK, Aqil M. Complexation of furosemide with fulvic acid extracted from shilajit: a novel approach. Drug Dev Ind Pharm. 2008;34(5):506-11.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18473233/)
2. [Mirza MA et al. Role of humic acid on oral drug delivery of an antiepileptic drug. Drug Dev Ind Pharm. 2011;37(3):310-9.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20815797/) The journal published an expression of concern about this paper in 2021.
3. [Mirza MA et al. Comparative evaluation of humic substances in oral drug delivery. Results Pharma Sci. 2011;1(1):16-26.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25755978/)
4. [Gupta V et al. A comparative study of Shilajatu and Asanadi Ghana Vati in the management of Madhumeha w.s.r. to type-2 diabetes mellitus. Ayu. 2016;37(2):120-124.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29200750/) Blood sugar figures from the full text.
5. [Bharati, Singh RH, Chansouria JP. Hypoglycaemic property of shilajeet and yashada bhasma. Anc Sci Life. 1996;16(2):118-21.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22556779/)
6. [Stavropoulos K et al. Pseudohyperaldosteronism due to mumijo consumption during pregnancy: a licorice-like syndrome. Gynecol Endocrinol. 2018;34(12):1019-1021.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29933704/)
7. [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/)
8. [Jambi EJ, Abdulaziz Alshubaily F. Shilajit potentiates the effect of chemotherapeutic drugs and mitigates metastasis induced liver and kidney damages in osteosarcoma rats. Saudi J Biol Sci. 2022;29(9):103393.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35957703/)
9. [Dalbayrak B et al. Mumio Potentiates Temozolomide by Inducing Apoptosis and Ferroptosis in Glioblastoma Cells. Curr Pharm Des. 2026 (online ahead of print).](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42634542/)
10. [Tiwari P, Ramarao P, Ghosal S. Effects of Shilajit on the development of tolerance to morphine in mice. Phytother Res. 2001;15(2):177-9.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11268125/)
11. [Kamgar E et al. Characterization of metal composition and molecular weight distribution in Shilajit. J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2026;96:127913.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42364294/)
12. [Sharma P et al. Shilajit: evalution of its effects on blood chemistry of normal human subjects. Anc Sci Life. 2003;23(2):114-9.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22557121/)