Shilajit Extract

Shilajit — Shilajatu in the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India, traded as Asphaltum punjabianum — is not a botanical extract in the ordinary sense. It is a herbo-mineral exudate that seeps from Himalayan rock strata in summer, formed over geological time by the humification of plant matter, and it carries fulvic and humic acids, oxygenated dibenzo-alpha-pyrones and a broad ionic mineral fraction. Thovek supplies purified material only: raw exudate is dissolved in potable water, filtered to remove rock, sand and undegraded plant debris, and evaporated under 60 °C, which is the step that separates a genuine ingredient from raw pitch. The house powder grade is standardised to not less than 50% fulvic acid by gravimetry with not less than 12% humic acid by HPLC; 20% and 40% fulvic acid grades are available, as are lots assayed for oxygenated dibenzo-alpha-pyrones (3-hydroxy and 3,8-dihydroxy DBP) where a customer's specification calls for them. Be aware that fulvic acid figures are method-dependent — gravimetry, titrimetry and HPLC do not return the same number on one lot — so state the method on the purchase order. The resin grade is a plastic, dark bituminous mass carrying 7 to 9% moisture by nature and is intended for direct-fill jars and squeeze formats; the powder grade is dry, free-flowing, readily water soluble and is what most tablet, capsule and stick-pack lines want. Heavy metals are the commercial risk in this ingredient and we treat them as a release parameter, not an afterthought. Because shilajit forms in mineral-bearing rock it can concentrate lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury, and unpurified market material frequently fails supplement limits. Every lot ships with an ICP-MS report against USP <232> and EU limits, with aluminium, chromium and nickel screened on request. On origin and diet: the material is mineral-organic with no plant or animal input, so it is vegan and carries no declarable allergen. One caveat matters for label accuracy — classical shodhana of Shilajatu can be carried out in cow's milk (godugdha) or cow urine, and a milk-processed grade must be declared as milk-containing. Our standard grade is purified in water only.