Shilajit and brain health: memory and dementia

Brain health is one of the most hopeful-sounding claims about shilajit, and one of the least proven. The interest comes mainly from a research group in Chile, which showed that fulvic acid, a major component of shilajit, can stop tau protein from clumping in the test tube. Tau tangles are one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease.

The same group has since tested a product combining Andean shilajit with B vitamins in people with Alzheimer’s. That makes this a little stronger than “lab studies only”, but not by much. We grade the evidence as weak.

What does fulvic acid do to tau protein?

In laboratory experiments, it blocks tau from forming the filaments seen in Alzheimer’s and can break up filaments that have already formed. Researchers at the University of Chile showed this using purified proteins in solution, studying the fibrils with atomic force microscopy (Cornejo et al., 2011). A later review by the same team described fulvic acid as shilajit’s main active principle and called for clinical trials (Carrasco-Gallardo et al., 2012).

In 2023 they reported that fractions of Andean shilajit made rat brain cells grow longer branches in culture and stopped tau aggregating after 10 days (Andrade et al., 2023).

This is a plausible starting point, but test-tube results often fail to carry over to people. Nobody has shown that fulvic acid from oral shilajit gets into the human brain.

Has shilajit been tested in people with Alzheimer’s?

Only as part of a blend. BrainUp-10 combines Andean shilajit with B-complex vitamins (Calfio et al., 2020). After earlier safety and pilot work, some of it described in a 2012 review by the same group (Carrasco-Gallardo et al., 2012, Arch Med Res), the developers ran a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in Chile (Guzman-Martinez et al., 2021).

The limitations are significant:

• It’s a combination product. B vitamins affect brain health and homocysteine in their own right, so the trial can’t tell us what shilajit contributed.
• The memory result is reported against patients’ starting scores. The summary says it met the trial’s pre-set superiority criteria but gives no direct figure against placebo.
• The developers ran it. The trial came from the same research group that created BrainUp-10. That doesn’t make the results wrong, but independent replication matters.
• Apathy was the main measure, not memory or the progression of Alzheimer’s.

What do animal studies show?

A scattering of rodent studies point to effects on brain chemistry, none of them directly about memory in healthy animals:

• In rats injected with shilajit for seven days, activity of the enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine, a chemical messenger involved in memory, fell in the basal forebrain (Schliebs et al., 1997).
• In rats with head injuries, shilajit injections reduced brain swelling and pressure inside the skull and improved neurological scores (Khaksari et al., 2013).
• In rats and mice, shilajit given by mouth for 15 days reduced chemically and electrically triggered seizures (Durg et al., 2015).

Injected doses and induced injuries in rodents are far removed from a person taking a daily supplement.

Does shilajit help focus or “brain fog”?

There is no research on this. It’s a common marketing claim, but we found no human or animal study that measured focus, concentration or brain fog.

What should you do if you’re worried about memory?

See a GP. Memory problems have many causes, some treatable, such as low vitamin B12, thyroid problems, depression or medicine side effects. Early assessment also gives access to support and treatment if dementia is diagnosed.

If someone with dementia wants to try shilajit, check with their doctor or pharmacist first (see drug interactions) and choose a product tested for heavy metals, since metals such as lead are themselves harmful to the brain (heavy metals in shilajit). Fulvic acid is covered in more depth on our fulvic acid page, and the benefits overview compares every claim.