Surapaneni, Dinesh Kumar, Adapa, Sree Rama Shiva Shanker, Preeti, Kumari et al. · Journal of ethnopharmacology · 2012 · DOI
Researchers tested a natural substance called shilajit in rats with fatigue symptoms similar to ME/CFS. The shilajit appeared to reduce fatigue-like behaviors and anxiety, and improved how well the rats' cells produced energy. This suggests shilajit might work by helping the body's stress response system and protecting mitochondria—the 'powerhouses' inside cells.
This study identifies mitochondrial dysfunction and HPA axis dysregulation as potential therapeutic targets in ME/CFS, suggesting natural compounds may modulate these pathways. If validated in human studies, it could open new avenues for treating fatigue and post-exertional malaise, two hallmark symptoms of ME/CFS.
This rat model does not prove that shilajit will be effective or safe in humans with ME/CFS. The forced-swim stress model may not capture the full complexity of human ME/CFS pathology, and findings cannot be directly extrapolated to clinical outcomes without human trials.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Surapaneni, Dinesh Kumar, Adapa, Sree Rama Shiva Shanker, Preeti, Kumari, Teja, Gangineni Ravi, Veeraragavan, Muruganandam, & Krishnamurthy, Sairam (2012). Shilajit attenuates behavioral symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome by modulating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and mitochondrial bioenergetics in rats.. Journal of ethnopharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2012.06.002
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-surapaneni-2012-shilajit-attenuates,
author = {Surapaneni, Dinesh Kumar and Adapa, Sree Rama Shiva Shanker and Preeti, Kumari and Teja, Gangineni Ravi and Veeraragavan, Muruganandam and Krishnamurthy, Sairam},
title = {Shilajit attenuates behavioral symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome by modulating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and mitochondrial bioenergetics in rats.},
journal = {Journal of ethnopharmacology},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1016/j.jep.2012.06.002},
note = {PubMed: 22771318},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/surapaneni-2012-shilajit-attenuates},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/surapaneni-2012-shilajit-attenuates
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