• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.190-194
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• 2006

Silajit is a blackish brown pitch-like gummy substance. It is an important Unani and Ayurvedic medicine widely used in the treatment of many diseases and as nutritional supplement It is found in certain mountainous regions of Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Australia and Russia. Silajit samples of Pakistani origin were obtained from different sources and analyzed for their physical characteristics and biochemical & elemental composition. X-ray diffraction studies on Silajit showed that it is an amorphous substance and has no crystalline structure. Also, pH studies of Silajit (2 g/L of water) indicated that it was slightly acidic in nature and ranged from 3.45 to 7.23. Conductivity ranged from 157.7 to 330. Amino acid analysis revealed that Silajit contained lysine and alanine in higher amounts than all other amino acids and ranged from 1456 to 2240 and 68 to $1615{\eta}mole/g$, respectively. Mean concentration of arsenic, mercury, cadmium, lead, copper and zinc was 73.15, 104.92, 0.496, 3.89, 4.04 and 17.23 ppm, respectively. Silajit samples were also analyzed for calcium, potassium and sodium.