What is mumijo?

Shilajit or Mumijo is a blackish-brown powder or an exudate from high mountain rocks, often found in the Himalayas, Karakoram, Afghanistan Zoob, Nepal, Bhutan, Girda, Russia, Iran, Mongolia and in the south of Peru, where it is called 'Andean Shilajit'.

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, along with trace oligoelements including selenium.

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.