Getting More Than You Paid For: Unauthorized “Natural” Substances in Herbal Food Supplements on EU Market

Abstract

As the population in the industrialized world develops preference for what is perceived as a natural and holistic way of disease treatment, the popularity and the number of food supplements on the market, including herbal ones, is experiencing an unprecedented rise. However, unlike herbal medicinal products, intended for treating or preventing disease, current legislation classifies food supplements as products intended for achieving nutritional or physiological effect and to supplement the normal diet. Accordingly, most food supplements are not to be associated with specific health claims. However, either due to the subtle suggestions by the producers or the wishful thinking of the consumers, certain pharmacological effects from food supplements are often expected. Medicinal plants included in food supplements usually do not produce dramatic and instant pharmacological effects. Therefore, in order to meet the expectation of their customers, some producers have turned to the illicit and dangerous practice of adulterating their products with synthetic adulterants, including naturally occurring molecules, having the desired activity. Such practice is prevalent in, although not limited to, food supplements intended for use as weight-loss aids, as well as for sport performance and libido enhancement. The review is focusing on naturally occurring alkaloids, phenylethanolamines, and their semi-synthetic derivatives in food supplements in the European Union as reported by the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed. Their desired and undesired pharmacological effects, as well as the methods for their detection and quantification in food supplements, will be reviewed.

Protein Supplements and Their Relation with Nutrition, Microbiota Composition and Health: Is More Protein Always Better for Sportspeople?

“…At the international level, the regulation is fragmented and varies between markets, the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation (NHCR) being one of the strictest [34]. The availability of cheap and counterfeit products challenges the industry, especially in developing markets [23] but illegal ingredients such as those banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have been found worldwide (see e.g., references [35,36,37]). Marketing of supplements for extending beyond sportsmen has increased ethical concerns [38,39].…”

Dietary Supplements—For Whom? The Current State of Knowledge about the Health Effects of Selected Supplement Use

“…Herbal supplements, which are commonly perceived by patients as completely safe due to their natural origin, are particularly dangerous [102][103][104]. The risk is associated, among others, with the higher content of active substances in the supplements than occur in the natural herbal resources, which results from the use of concentrated extracts and sometimes additional synthetic analogues [105,106]. Additionally, recent years have witnessed the appearance of numerous preparations that include plants that have never previously been used in Western medicine.…”

“…There is also an associated problem of additional ingredients that are also dangerous being included with the banned substances. For instance, the number of reports on laxatives, antidepressant, yohimbine, and even amphetamine and its derivatives being found in supplements continues to grow [105,106,127,137]. A US study revealed that 11 out of 21 supplements that contained the Acacia rigidula extract that were purchased on the Internet contained the isomer of amphetamine [138].…”

“…Overall, it is estimated that approximately 20% of the supplements contain at least one banned substance. Importantly, in view of the number of products available on the market, the published cases are merely the tip of the iceberg [105,106].…”

“…For example, Exolise-a weight loss supplement that contained green tea extract-was withdrawn from the market in Spain and France in 2003 [112,129]. Dexaprine was a multi-ingredient supplement with green tea extract that was withdrawn in 2014 in Holland, as even half a tablet resulted in emesis, anxiety, and tachycardia [106]. In Poland, anaphylactic reactions were observed in the case of a multi-ingredient preparation with green tea extract known as Linea Detox [133].…”