Shilajit

Shilajit (Sanskrit: शिलाजीत "Conqueror of mountains, Conqueror of the Rocks, Destroyer of Weakness") or Mumijo[1] is a blackish-brown powder or an exudate from high mountain rocks, often found in the Himalayas, Badakhshan- Afghanistan, Karakoram, Gilgit-Baltistan - Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Russia, Central Asia, Iran, Mongolia and in the south of Peru, where it is called Andean Shilajit.[2] Also known as μούμια (in Greek), Mumiyo (in Russian), Brag-shun or Barakhshin (means "oil of the mountains" in South Siberian region of the Sayano-Altai Mountains, Khakassia, Buryatia, Mongolia), Rock sap or Rock juice (in Tibet, Central Asia, Himalaya, Pamir and Altai), Marathi or Gujarati (in Hindi), شلاجیت ( in Urdu ) Asphalt (in English), Silajita, Silajatu (in Bengali), Hajarul-Musa or Araq-al-jibal (in Arabic), Myemu, Moomiaii or Mumnaei (in Persian), Mumie (in German), Mineral Pitch, Jew’s Pitch, Mineral Wax, Kao-tun (blood of the mountain in Burma), Tasmay and Slag (China), "Blessing of Nature" (Nepal).[3]

Look up shilajit in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Shilajit in a glass of water.
Shilajit, as commonly consumed.

Composition

Although shilajit is sometimes referred to as a mineral tar or resin, it is not actually either of those. It is a highly viscous substance like a tar or resin that is very dark brown or black in color, but unlike these is readily soluble in water but insoluble in ethanol.

Shilajit is composed of 60% to 80% humic substances such as humic and fulvic acids.[4][5][6][7] The mineral content is 15–20%, along with trace elements including selenium.[8] Therefore, Shilajit is rich in nutrients such as mineral salts, amino acids, etc., and other organic components including: benzoic acid, hippuric acid, fatty acids (myristic acid, stearic acid, Oleic acid, petroselinic acid, linoleic acid, lauric acid, saturated fatty acids), ichthyridine, salicylic acid, resins, triterpenes, sterols, aromatic carboxylic acids, 3,4-benzocoumarins, amino groups acids, phenolic lipids, 85 trace minerals (potassium, calcium, and magnesium are the most prevalent), latex, albumin, sterols, tea polyphenols, phenolic lipids, dibenzo-alpha-pyrones (DBP), selenium, and dibenzo-α-pyrone chromoproteins (DCPs).[5][9]

Mumijo varieties

The composition of mumiyo varies by location[10] and appearance:[11]

Coprolitic (mumiyo-saladji, Pamir and Altai mumiyo, mumiyo-asil, etc.) are fossilized phyto- and zooorganic remains mixed with fragments and gruss of rocks and soil formations. The content of extractive substances in coprolite mumiyo ranges from 10 to 30% or more.

Mumiyo-bearing breccias are large-clastic rocks (more often, fissured limestones) cemented by mumiyo-bearing clay mass. The content of extractive substances is from 0.5 to 5.0%.

Evaporite mumiyo occurs in formations of streaks, icicles and shiny black or gray dull, thin films that stain the roofs and walls of caves, niches, grottoes and other large cavities. Its extraction is difficult.

Some researchers hypothesize that shilajit is produced by the decomposition or humification of latex and resin-bearing plant material from species such as Euphorbia royleana and Trifolium repens over a period of centuries.[12][13]

Mumioids are a group of natural formations resembling mumiyo in appearance. The group includes ozokerite, saltpeter, fossilized vegetable resins and gums, mountain wax, white, stone and mountain oils, Antarctic shilajit, lofor, or aqua bitum.[11]

Classification

Shilajit occurs in different colors and grades according to the type of metal contained: red (Sauvarna Shilajit) with gold, white (Rajat Shilajit) with silver, blue (Tamra, with copper Shilajit) and iron-containing black (Lauha Shilajit Shilajit). Of these, black shilajit containing gold is the rarest and is considered to have the best curative effect. In nature, shilajit containing iron is used most in traditional medicine.[5]

Mumiyo has been used as a folk medicine and in alternative medicine for more than 4000 years.[14] Mumiyo has been used for medicinal purposes since antiquity in Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, India, Tibet, China, etc. The healing effects of Mumiyo for different diseases is mentioned in the works of Aristotle, Razi, Biruni, Ibn Sina and others.[15][16][17]

Research

In 1955 Shakirov, based on ethnography study and old medical manuscripts, started systematic pharmacological study of Mumiye-asil.

In 1976 Mumiye-asil was found beneficial in the complex treatment of bone fractures.[18]

In 1978, on the initiative of the Ministry of Health of the Uzbek SSR, the 3rd All-Union Symposium was held in Tashkent on experimental and morphological studies of the effect of mumiyo on the regeneration of nerves, heart muscle and bones.

References
  1. Wilson, Eugene; Rajamanickam, G. Victor; Dubey, G. Prasad; Klose, Petra; Musial, Frauke; Saha, F. Joyonto; Rampp, Thomas; Michalsen, Andreas; Dobos, Gustav J. (2011-06-14). "Review on shilajit used in traditional Indian medicine". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 136 (1): 1–9. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2011.04.033. ISSN 1872-7573. PMID 21530631.
  2. Hill, Carol A.; Forti, Paolo (1997). Cave Minerals of the World. National Speleological Society. ISBN 978-1-879961-07-4.
  3. Rahmani Barouji, Solmaz; Saber, Amir; Torbati, Mohammadali; Fazljou, Seyyed Mohammad Bagher; Yari Khosroushahi, Ahmad (2020). "Health Beneficial Effects of Moomiaii in Traditional Medicine". Galen Medical Journal. 9: e1743. doi:10.31661/gmj.v9i0.1743. ISSN 2322-2379. PMC 8343599. PMID 34466583.
  4. Ghosal, Shibnath (1990-01-01). "Chemistry of shilajit, an immunomodulatory Ayurvedic rasayan". Pure and Applied Chemistry. 62 (7): 1285–1288. doi:10.1351/pac199062071285. ISSN 1365-3075. S2CID 20837659.
  5. Schepetkin, Igor A.; Khlebnikov, Andrei I.; Ah, Shin Young; Woo, Sang B.; Jeong, Choon-Soo; Klubachuk, Olesya N.; Kwon, Byoung S. (2003-08-27). "Characterization and biological activities of humic substances from mumie". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 51 (18): 5245–5254. doi:10.1021/jf021101e. ISSN 0021-8561. PMID 12926866.
  6. Stohs, Sidney J. (2014-04-03). "Safety and Efficacy of Shilajit (Mumie, Moomiyo): SHILAJIT (MUMIE, MOOMIYO) SAFETY AND EFFICACY". Phytotherapy Research. 28 (4): 475–479. doi:10.1002/ptr.5018. PMID 23733436. S2CID 22593008.
  7. Schepetkin, Igor A.; Xie, Gang; Jutila, Mark A.; Quinn, Mark T. (2009-03-01). "Complement-fixing activity of fulvic acid from Shilajit and other natural sources". Phytotherapy Research. 23 (3): 373–384. doi:10.1002/ptr.2635. ISSN 1099-1573. PMC 2650748. PMID 19107845.
  8. Khanna, Rajesh; Witt, Matthias; Khalid Anwer, Md.; Agarwal, Suraj P.; Koch, Boris P. (December 2008). "Spectroscopic characterization of fulvic acids extracted from the rock exudate Shilajit". Organic Geochemistry. 39 (12): 1719–1724. doi:10.1016/j.orggeochem.2008.08.009.
  9. Ding, Rong; Zhao, Mingming; Fan, Jiuyu; Hu, Xiuquan; Wang, Meng; Zhong, Shihong; Gu, Rui (2020-06-29). "Mechanisms of generation and exudation of Tibetan medicine Shilajit (Zhaxun)". Chinese Medicine. 15 (1): 65. doi:10.1186/s13020-020-00343-9. ISSN 1749-8546. PMC 7322889. PMID 32612671.
  10. Пещеры: Выпуск 14-15 (in Russian). Пермский государственный университет. pp. 174–267.
  11. Savinykh, Mikhail (2022-05-15). Encyclopedia of mumiyo (in Russian). Litres. ISBN 978-5-04-090878-3.
  12. Agarwal, Suraj P.; Khanna, Rajesh; Karmarkar, Ritesh; Anwer, Md. Khalid; Khar, Roop K. (May 2007). "Shilajit: a review". Phytotherapy Research. 21 (5): 401–405. doi:10.1002/ptr.2100. PMID 17295385. S2CID 40620070.
  13. Ghosal, S.; Reddy, J.P.; Lal, V.K. (May 1976). "Shilajit I: Chemical Constituents". Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 65 (5): 772–773. doi:10.1002/jps.2600650545. PMID 932958.
  14. Kloskowski, T.; Szeliski, K.; Krzeszowiak, K.; Fekner, Z.; Kazimierski, Ł; Jundziłł, A.; Drewa, T.; Pokrywczyńska, M. (2021-11-19). "Mumio (Shilajit) as a potential chemotherapeutic for the urinary bladder cancer treatment". Scientific Reports. 11 (1): 22614. Bibcode:2021NatSR..1122614K. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-01996-8. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 8604984. PMID 34799663.
  15. "MUMIYO • Great Russian encyclopedia - electronic version". bigenc.ru. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
  16. Korchubekov, B. K., Altymyshev, A. A. (1987). Mumië "arkhar-tash" i ego fiziologicheskai︠a︡ aktivnostʹ. Soviet Union: Ilim.
  17. Source study and textual criticism of monuments of medieval sciences in the countries of Central Asia: a collection of scientific works. (1989). Russia: "Science," Siberian Branch.
  18. Shakirov, A.S. (1976). Mumiye-asil in the complex treatment of bone fractures (in Russian). Tashkent – via Russian State Library.
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