Shilajit vs Zinc Supplements: What the Evidence Shows for Immunity, Testosterone, Fertility and Mineral Content

Zinc is an essential mineral with well-defined intake targets and decades of trial data. Shilajit contains zinc among many other elements, but nobody has established how much, or shown that it works as a zinc supplement. People ask whether shilajit can replace zinc, whether the two should be taken together, and which one is better for testosterone or immunity. This article answers those questions with the official intake values, the trials that tested zinc, and the lab analyses of what shilajit actually contains.

Zinc basics and Australian intake limits

Zinc is needed for immune function, wound healing, growth and many enzymes. Australia and New Zealand's Nutrient Reference Values, set by the NHMRC, give the following adult figures [1]:

The upper limit applies to total zinc from food, water and supplements together, and it is set from the adverse effects seen with chronic supplemental zinc, not from food [1]. The NRV also notes that absorption is higher from animal foods than plant sources, so vegetarians, particularly strict vegetarians, need intakes about 50% higher than the figures set [1]. Because the limit counts every source, anyone taking more than one product containing zinc should add the amounts up.

Does shilajit contain meaningful zinc?

This is the question the evidence can answer most directly, and the answer is that nobody can give a reliable per-serve figure. Two laboratory studies analysed the elements in shilajit:

• A 2022 analysis of commercial Indian and Pakistani shilajit using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy and ICP detected a long list of elements including calcium, sulfur, potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron and copper. The authors reported that several elements, including zinc, lead, arsenic and mercury, exceeded standard permissible limits in those samples. The abstract does not give a zinc concentration per serve [2].
• A 2026 analysis of twelve shilajit samples from different geographical origins used ICP-MS and found distinct variability in major metals (calcium and magnesium), essential elements (iron, zinc, manganese) and toxic elements, with calcium the most abundant element. In this study, toxic metals were present below established toxicity thresholds [3].

Two points follow. First, zinc content varies between samples, so there is no standard amount to count on. Second, the two studies disagree on contamination, which is exactly why a lab report for the specific batch you are buying matters. Our own batch results are public, and what a report does and does not show is explained in How to Read a Shilajit Lab Test Report. Whatever zinc a serve of resin contains, it is not a verified, standardised dose, so it cannot stand in for a zinc supplement with a labelled amount.

Immunity

Zinc. The best-known evidence is for zinc acetate lozenges taken at the start of a cold. An individual patient data meta-analysis of three randomised, placebo-controlled trials with 199 patients found colds were shorter by 2.73 days (95% CI 1.8 to 3.3) in a one-stage analysis and 2.94 days (95% CI 2.1 to 3.8) in a two-stage analysis, against an average cold length of 7 days in those trials. The effect was consistent across allergy status, smoking, baseline severity, age and sex, but the authors say the best lozenge composition and dosing schedule still need investigating [6]. This evidence is for lozenges at the onset of a cold, not for taking zinc capsules daily to prevent infections.

Shilajit. We found no human trial of shilajit for colds, infections or immune function. Immunity claims for shilajit rest on laboratory and animal research. See Shilajit and Immunity for the details.

Testosterone

Zinc. A 2023 systematic review of 38 papers (8 clinical and 30 animal studies) concluded that zinc deficiency lowers testosterone and that zinc supplementation improves it, with the effect depending on baseline zinc and testosterone levels, the form of zinc, the dose and the duration [4]. The key word is baseline. In a trial of 14 healthy, regularly exercising men aged 22 to 33 whose usual zinc intake was already 11.9 to 23.2 mg a day, a high-dose zinc supplement (ZMA) raised serum zinc but did not change total or free testosterone or the urinary testosterone metabolites. The authors concluded zinc had no effect on testosterone in men eating a zinc-sufficient diet [5].

Shilajit. One randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of purified shilajit (250 mg twice daily for 90 days) in healthy volunteers aged 45 to 55 reported significantly higher total testosterone, free testosterone and DHEAS than placebo [8]. It has not been replicated in the studies we found. Notably, this result does not tell us whether shilajit works through zinc: zinc status was not the reported explanation, and the abstract gives no zinc measurements.

Fertility

Zinc. This is the strongest data point in the comparison. The Folic Acid and Zinc Supplementation Trial randomised 2,370 men (mean age 33) whose partners were planning infertility treatment to 30 mg of elemental zinc plus 5 mg of folic acid daily, or placebo, for 6 months. Live birth was 34% in the supplement group versus 35% with placebo (risk difference -0.9%; 95% CI -4.7% to 2.8%). Sperm concentration, motility, morphology, volume and total motile count were not significantly different. Sperm DNA fragmentation was slightly higher with supplementation (29.7% versus 27.2%; mean difference 2.4%; 95% CI 0.5% to 4.4%), and gastrointestinal symptoms were more common (abdominal discomfort 6% versus 3%, nausea 4% versus 2%, vomiting 3% versus 1%). The authors concluded the findings do not support folic acid and zinc supplementation for male partners in infertility treatment [7].

Shilajit. An uncontrolled 2010 trial of 100 mg of processed shilajit twice daily for 90 days in oligospermic men (35 enrolled, 28 completed) reported higher sperm counts and testosterone compared with baseline, but with no placebo group the changes cannot be attributed to shilajit [9]. We cover that trial in Shilajit Benefits for Men.

Side-by-side summary

The honest verdict

If you need more zinc because of a deficiency, a diet low in it, or a vegetarian pattern, a zinc supplement or zinc-rich food gives you a known amount, and the Australian reference values tell you how much is enough and how much is too much. Shilajit is not a substitute for that. It contains zinc in unstandardised and variable amounts, and its human evidence is a separate story from zinc's.

If you are thinking about taking both, there is no trial of the combination. Count the zinc from every supplement you take, stay under the 40 mg a day upper limit, and check with a doctor or pharmacist if you take medication or have a health condition. Neither product treats infertility, low testosterone or infections.

References

1. National Health and Medical Research Council, Australian Government, and New Zealand Ministry of Health. Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand: Zinc. nrv.gov.au/nutrients/zinc.
2. Aldakheel RK, Gondal MA, Alsayed HN, et al. Rapid Determination and Quantification of Nutritional and Poisonous Metals in Vastly Consumed Ayurvedic Herbal Medicine (Rejuvenator Shilajit) by Humans Using Three Advanced Analytical Techniques. Biol Trace Elem Res. 2022;200(9):4199-4216. DOI: 10.1007/s12011-021-03014-4. PMID: 34800280.
3. Kamgar E, Angaits A, Zembrzuska J, et al. Characterization of metal composition and molecular weight distribution in Shilajit. J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2026;96:127913. DOI: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2026.127913. PMID: 42364294.
4. Te L, Liu J, Ma J, Wang S. Correlation between serum zinc and testosterone: A systematic review. J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2023;76:127124. DOI: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2022.127124. PMID: 36577241.
5. Koehler K, Parr MK, Geyer H, et al. Serum testosterone and urinary excretion of steroid hormone metabolites after administration of a high-dose zinc supplement. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2009;63(1):65-70. DOI: 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602899. PMID: 17882141.
6. Hemila H, Petrus EJ, Fitzgerald JT, Prasad A. Zinc acetate lozenges for treating the common cold: an individual patient data meta-analysis. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2016;82(5):1393-1398. DOI: 10.1111/bcp.13057. PMID: 27378206.
7. Schisterman EF, Sjaarda LA, Clemons T, et al. Effect of Folic Acid and Zinc Supplementation in Men on Semen Quality and Live Birth Among Couples Undergoing Infertility Treatment: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2020;323(1):35-48. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2019.18714. PMID: 31910279.
8. Pandit S, Biswas S, Jana U, et al. Clinical evaluation of purified Shilajit on testosterone levels in healthy volunteers. Andrologia. 2016;48(5):570-575. DOI: 10.1111/and.12482. PMID: 26395129.
9. Biswas TK, Pandit S, Mondal S, et al. Clinical evaluation of spermatogenic activity of processed Shilajit in oligospermia. Andrologia. 2010;42(1):48-56. DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0272.2009.00956.x. PMID: 20078516.

All trial and analysis figures above are taken from the PubMed abstracts of the cited papers and the NRV web page. We did not review the full texts, so details such as exact zinc concentrations, funding and secondary outcomes are not covered here.

Related Reading

• Men's healthShilajit Benefits for Men
• ComparisonShilajit vs Magnesium
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