{"title":"A Comprehensive Review on Shilajit: What We Know about Its Chemical Composition.","authors":"Elham Kamgar, Massoud Kaykhaii, Joanna Zembrzuska","doi":"10.1080/10408347.2023.2293963","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Shilajit, a natural material known for thousands of years, is primarily famous because it was the main constituent used for the mummification of bodies by dynastic Egyptians. However, for millennia, it has also been an important drug and supplement in traditional and modern medicine. A full search of Shilajit in the literature, reveals that its chemical composition is not known with certainty. That's due to the fact that surprisingly, no comprehensive chemical analysis has ever been performed to find all the chemicals and species present in it. Moreover, its source is not known; some believe that it is formed from dead plant residues or animal excrements, and some others believe it is a mineral secreted from rocks gradually. In this review article, it is tried to gather chemical property information available regarding this soft, mysterious black material to clarify what it is composed of and what formulation commercial supplements and drugs based on Shilajit may have. While there are many differences in the chemical compositions of Shilajit from various regions, it has been discovered that more than 80% of weight of Shilajit is mainly composed of humic substances and almost 20% of its weight consists of calcium, potassium, and magnesium. It also contains amino acids (mainly glycine) and proteins, fatty acids, bioactive compounds such as caffeic acid and gallic acid, and heavy metals including chromium, selenium, and cobalt.</p>","PeriodicalId":10744,"journal":{"name":"Critical reviews in analytical chemistry","volume":" ","pages":"461-473"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Critical reviews in analytical chemistry","FirstCategoryId":"92","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10408347.2023.2293963","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/12/22 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, ANALYTICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Shilajit, a natural material known for thousands of years, is primarily famous because it was the main constituent used for the mummification of bodies by dynastic Egyptians. However, for millennia, it has also been an important drug and supplement in traditional and modern medicine. A full search of Shilajit in the literature, reveals that its chemical composition is not known with certainty. That's due to the fact that surprisingly, no comprehensive chemical analysis has ever been performed to find all the chemicals and species present in it. Moreover, its source is not known; some believe that it is formed from dead plant residues or animal excrements, and some others believe it is a mineral secreted from rocks gradually. In this review article, it is tried to gather chemical property information available regarding this soft, mysterious black material to clarify what it is composed of and what formulation commercial supplements and drugs based on Shilajit may have. While there are many differences in the chemical compositions of Shilajit from various regions, it has been discovered that more than 80% of weight of Shilajit is mainly composed of humic substances and almost 20% of its weight consists of calcium, potassium, and magnesium. It also contains amino acids (mainly glycine) and proteins, fatty acids, bioactive compounds such as caffeic acid and gallic acid, and heavy metals including chromium, selenium, and cobalt.
期刊介绍:
Critical Reviews in Analytical Chemistry continues to be a dependable resource for both the expert and the student by providing in-depth, scholarly, insightful reviews of important topics within the discipline of analytical chemistry and related measurement sciences. The journal exclusively publishes review articles that illuminate the underlying science, that evaluate the field''s status by putting recent developments into proper perspective and context, and that speculate on possible future developments. A limited number of articles are of a "tutorial" format written by experts for scientists seeking introduction or clarification in a new area.
This journal serves as a forum for linking various underlying components in broad and interdisciplinary means, while maintaining balance between applied and fundamental research. Topics we are interested in receiving reviews on are the following:
· chemical analysis;
· instrumentation;
· chemometrics;
· analytical biochemistry;
· medicinal analysis;
· forensics;
· environmental sciences;
· applied physics;
· and material science.