Public safety and dietary supplementation

Abstract

Approximately 6 in 10 Americans report regularly using some type of dietary supplement, and approximately 1 in 6 Americans reports using herbal remedies on a regular basis. The diversity of manufacturers, manufacturing processes, and quality control issues are enormous. As with all plant products, herbal products are complex mixtures of a variety of chemical constituents with considerable variation in the growth, harvesting, and storage conditions, including different extraction procedures. Furthermore, not only is there variation in batches, but also the potential for contamination. In addition, herbal products have the potential to interact with pharmaceuticals. These problems have led to consumer and physician confusion about the use of herbal products and have not been satisfactorily resolved, because the Food and Drug Administration has only very recently started to fulfill its mission of consumer protection in the realm of dietary supplements. More importantly, we provide a working plan for addressing this important issue.

Perspective and Direction for Future Research on Phytochemicals in Neurological Disorders

“…Plants products contain complicated mixtures of organic chemicals, the levels of which may vary substantially depending upon many factors related to the growth of plants, harvesting, production, and storage conditions. These factors may cause alterations in chemical compositions of dietary supplement resulting in batch variation (Bent and Ko 2004 ;Gershwin et al 2010 ) . Signi fi cant US population believes that economically the use of supplement is better than drugs because drugs are more expensive than supplements.…”

“…Due to the lack of clear identi fi cation of their active ingredients and their amount and combinations, it is dif fi cult to standardize supplements produced by different companies. Today, approximately six in ten Americans regularly consume some phytochemicals, and approximately one in six Americans uses phytochemicals (herbal remedies) on a regular basis (Gershwin et al 2010 ) . Unlike drugs (pharmaceuticals), which undergo extensive clinical trials in animals and humans prior to FDA approval, dietary phytochemicals are not tested for their ef fi cacy and safety.…”

The coenzyme Q10 content of food supplements

“…Supplements are therefore very interesting for marketing not only to people with improper nutrition, but also to people who would like to stay healthy-meaning the general population. For this reason, food supplements are being used in extreme volumes (Gershwin et al 2010;Skeie et al 2009). Producers achieve this by employing aggressive marketing supported by health claims.…”

Essentials of Herb-Drug Interactions in the Elderly With Cardiovascular Disease

“…179 With the limited resources available to the FDA, and presence of 1,800 manufacturers and more than 75,000 products in the supplement market, 178 enforcement of existing laws is difficult. 180 The FDA cannot fully accomplish its mission of consumer protection without increased resources and regulations on the industry.…”