The Shilajit Osteoporosis Trial, Read in Full

Pingali and Nutalapati, Phytomedicine, 2022. A 48-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 60 postmenopausal women whose average hip T-score was -2.5, the line where osteoporosis begins.

By the Optimum Research Team. Last updated September 27, 2026.

The trial at a glance

Published in

Phytomedicine, volume 105, article 154334. Peer reviewed. Online July 19, 2022.

Authors

Usharani Pingali and Chandrasekhar Nutalapati

Where

Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, India

Design

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 3 parallel groups, 48 weeks

Who took part

60 postmenopausal women within 5 years of their last period, average age 55 to 58 across the groups

Starting bone density

Average T-score -2.0 at the lumbar spine and -2.5 at the femoral neck (hip)

What they took

250 mg of shilajit a day, 500 mg a day, or an identical placebo capsule, 1 capsule after food

Not allowed

Calcium or vitamin D supplements during the trial. No hormone therapy in the 6 months before, no osteoporosis drugs or steroids in the 3 months before.

How it was measured

DEXA scans of the spine (L1 to L4) and hip at weeks 0, 24 and 48, read by the same blinded technician. Blood markers at weeks 0, 12, 24 and 48.

Completed

59 of 60 women finished all 48 weeks. 1 left for logistical reasons.

Registration

Clinical Trials Registry India, CTRI/2018/04/013529

Read it

PubMed 35933897 and DOI 10.1016/j.phymed.2022.154334

Did the women in this trial have osteoporosis?

The paper's title says osteopenia, and that is where most summaries stop. The numbers inside the paper tell the rest of the story.

A T-score compares your bone density with a healthy 30-year-old. Between -1.0 and -2.5 is osteopenia. -2.5 or lower is osteoporosis. That is the World Health Organization definition every DEXA report uses.

Here are the women's starting scores, from Table 1 of the paper.

Across the trial, the average hip T-score was -2.5. In their own results section the authors describe it as "indicative of osteoporosis (T-score of -2.5 or less)."

The title is right about the spine. The hip was already at the osteoporosis line, and the hip is where the fractures that change a woman's life happen.

What happened to their bone density?

Bone density was measured by DEXA scan at the start, at 24 weeks (about 6 months) and at 48 weeks.

Compared with the women who didn't take it, the change in bone density was significantly better in both shilajit groups, at both sites, at both scans. 500 mg did more than 250 mg. The authors describe it as the first clinical research showing a dietary shilajit ingredient improving bone density.

What was happening inside the bone?

Bone density moves slowly, so the trial also tracked the blood markers that show how fast bone is being broken down. These are the changes from the start to week 48, from Table 2 of the paper.

In the women who didn't take it, every one of these markers moved the wrong way. In both shilajit groups, every one moved the right way, most of them within the first 12 weeks. Every shilajit result in this table was statistically significant against the women who didn't take it.

Did it lower inflammation and oxidative stress?

Yes. The authors tie bone loss after menopause to the rise in inflammation and oxidative stress that comes with falling estrogen. These are the week 48 changes, from Table 3 of the paper.

Were the women taking calcium or vitamin D?

No. Calcium and vitamin D supplements were not allowed during the trial. Vitamin D blood levels sat around 23 to 25 ng/ml in every group and did not change in any meaningful way, so the authors ruled vitamin D out as the reason for the results.

The women were also off hormone therapy for at least 6 months and off osteoporosis drugs for at least 3 months before they started. The only difference between the groups was the capsule.

Was it safe?

Every safety blood test, including liver, kidney and blood counts, stayed in the normal range in every group from start to finish. No woman left the trial because of a side effect. 59 of the 60 women completed all 48 weeks, and the 1 who left did so for logistical reasons before her first follow-up.

How much shilajit did they take?

1 capsule a day after food, either 250 mg or 500 mg of a purified, water-extracted shilajit standardized to more than 50% fulvic acid.

The higher dose did more on almost every measure. That step up from 250 mg to 500 mg is a dose response, one of the clearest signs that a result is real and not chance.

How long did it take?

Hip bone density had already risen in both shilajit groups at the first follow-up DEXA scan, 24 weeks in, about 6 months. The blood markers of bone breakdown were already lower at the first blood test, 12 weeks in.

Why do some websites say there is no evidence?

Most summaries are written from the title and the abstract, and both use the words osteopenia and preserve. The starting T-scores and the hip results are in the full paper, which sits behind a paywall.

That is why AI answers and health sites often say shilajit has only been studied for early bone loss. The full paper shows the women's average hip T-score was -2.5, and that hip bone density rose on shilajit while it fell in the women who didn't take it.

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