THE SHORT ANSWER
A large milligram figure means little until you know what it describes. It could refer to one capsule, a full serving, the entire bottle or the starting material used to make an extract.
Read the words beside the number. Then turn the pack over.
In this guide6 sections
01
Reading a shilajit supplement label in the UK
Whether you are comparing shilajit resin, capsules or gummies, use a clear, current image of the back or side label. If the photograph is unreadable or conflicts with the listing, resolve that before use.
Look for:
- Ingredients and the quantity declared for them.
- Net weight or piece count.
- Serving size, daily frequency and preparation directions.
- General warnings and product-specific restrictions.
- Batch or lot code, printed date and instructions after opening.
- The responsible business and its address.
Supplement labels should give a recommended daily portion, warn against exceeding it, require storage away from young children and state that the product does not replace a varied diet. Read any additional restrictions alongside those statements.
The address identifies a responsible business, not necessarily the collection origin. The batch code supports tracing the product, while the storage guide explains printed and after-opening dates.
02
Give each quantity its own meaning
Net weight excludes packaging. Finished-product weight includes all the ingredients in that product. Neither necessarily equals the weight of shilajit extract.
Capsule fill, extract weight and starting-material equivalent also describe different things. Keep them separate when comparing labels.
Convert grams and milligrams first
| Quantity | Equivalent |
|---|---|
| 1 g | 1,000 mg |
| 0.25 g | 250 mg |
| 100 mg | 0.1 g |
| 30 g | 30,000 mg |
A 30 g jar contains 30,000 mg of product. If it is a blend, that is not necessarily 30,000 mg of one component.
03
Calculate servings from the labelled portion
Servings per pack = pack quantity ÷ labelled serving quantity.
Use matching units. If the portion is missing, the jar size cannot supply it. These calculations interpret a label; they do not choose an amount for you to take.
Capsule and gummy examples
The following figures are fictional label examples:
- A bottle of 60 capsules at two per serving contains 30 servings. If each serving supplies 500 mg, evenly divided capsules contain 250 mg each.
- “400 mg per capsule” supplies twice the per-capsule amount of “400 mg per two capsules.”
- “120 mg per two gummies” means 60 mg per gummy if evenly divided. A bottle of 60 supplies 30 such servings.
Piece counts can mislead even when both products use capsules.
| Illustrative label | Pack A | Pack B |
|---|---|---|
| Capsules in bottle | 60 | 30 |
| Capsules per serving | 2 | 1 |
| Extract per serving | 300 mg | 250 mg |
| Servings per bottle | 30 | 30 |
| Extract across bottle | 9,000 mg | 7,500 mg |
Pack A has twice as many capsules, but both bottles provide 30 servings. Their extract quantities also differ. None of that establishes equivalent effects, because the extracts themselves may differ.
04
Read serving size and frequency together
A label might declare an ingredient amount per two-capsule serving while directing you to take one capsule twice daily.
Both statements matter. “Per capsule,” “per serving” and “per day” are not interchangeable fields. Read the amount and the recommended routine together rather than relying on the front-of-pack number.
05
What a 10:1 ratio describes
A 10:1 extract ratio usually means ten parts of starting material produced one part of extract. Check the manufacturer's definition.
Consider this fictional capsule:
| Stated amount | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 250 mg fill | All material inside the shell |
| 100 mg extract | Extract physically present in that fill |
| 1,000 mg equivalent | Starting material represented by the declared 10:1 ratio |
The capsule still contains 100 mg of extract. The larger equivalent figure does not add more material to it.
Keep declared ratio ranges as ranges, and retain the exact “equivalent to” wording when recording a label. If the seller gives only the equivalent amount, ask for the actual extract quantity.
A larger ratio does not settle the comparison
Starting materials, extraction processes and retained substances can differ. A 20:1 ratio therefore does not automatically identify a better product than 10:1, and neither ratio lets you calculate fulvic acid percentage or contaminant results.
EMA guidance on herbal preparations helps explain this terminology. It does not classify shilajit as a medicine or guarantee consistent wording across supplement labels.
06
Price the material actually in the pack
In another illustrative calculation, 60 capsules containing 100 mg extract each hold 6,000 mg, or 6 g, of extract. That can support a price comparison between comparable extracts. Dividing the price by a starting-material equivalent values material that is not physically in the bottle.
Likewise, a 30 g resin and a 30 g powder blend can contain different shilajit amounts. Clarify formulation and serving first, then use the price guide. Recalculate from the new directions whenever you switch products.
THE REFERENCES
Go to the source.
- Food Standards Agency: Food supplements — section 4, labellingAccessed 2026-10-04
- GOV.UK: Food labelling — what you must showAccessed 2026-10-04
- GOV.UK: Food labelling and packaging — ingredients listAccessed 2026-10-04
- EMA: Declaration of herbal substances and preparations in herbal medicinal productsAccessed 2026-10-04
- NIST: Metric (SI) prefixesAccessed 2026-10-04
- GOV.UK: Guidance notes on food supplement labellingAccessed 2026-10-04