Shilajit is a sticky, tar-like resin substance that oozes out of mountainous regions in the summer when it is heated by the sun. It is formed over centuries by the decomposition of plants and the activity of unique microorganisms such as Euphorbia royleana and Trifolium repens. Shilajit takes centuries to form, and scientists consider it a millenary product of nature.
Shilajit is traditionally consumed with fermented raw milk by people in Nepal. These are the Hunzan and Sherpan regions, where people are renowned for extremely old age and great health. They have a remarkable mental function as they age compared to Western countries and rarely ever have an age-related disease in these regions.
Shilajit is known universally by various other names, such as mineral pitch or mineral wax in English, black asphaltum, Asphaltum punjabianum in Latin, also locally as shargai, dorobi, barahshin, baragshun (Mongolian: Барагшун), mumlai (Farsi مملایی), brag zhun (Tibetan: བྲག་ཞུན་), chao-tong, wu ling zhi (Chinese: 五灵脂, which generally refers to the excrement of flying squirrels), baad-a-ghee (Wakhi for “devil’s feces”), and arkhar-tash (Kyrgyz: архар-таш). The most widely used name in the former Soviet Union is mumiyo (Russian: мумиё, variably transliterated as mumijo, mumio, momia, and moomiyo), which is ultimately from Persian mūmiyā (مومیا).