Shilajit is a traditional herbal supplement that contains natural antioxidants and has been shown in previous studies to support egg cell development, which might explain why it helps protect ovaries from radiation damage.

Radiation harms ovaries by causing egg cells to die through programmed cell death and by creating DNA damage and harmful molecules, and shilajit's natural antioxidant properties might help fight against these damaging processes.

This was the first scientific study to look at whether shilajit could help protect ovaries from radiation damage, using rats as a model system.

Giving rats a traditional herbal supplement called shilajit for 4 days before radiation exposure helped protect their ovaries by reducing cell death signals that normally get turned on by radiation.

Shilajit seemed to work particularly well at protecting the earliest stage of egg cells (primordial follicles) in rats' ovaries from radiation damage.

When rats were given shilajit before radiation treatment, their ovaries showed lower levels of proteins that trigger cell death, suggesting shilajit might help prevent radiation from killing egg cells.