How Internet Websites Portray Herbal Vitality Products Containing Eurycoma longifolia Jack: An Evaluation of the Quality and Risks of Online Information

Abstract

Background: Tongkat Ali (TA) or Eurycoma longifolia is a herbal medicine (HM) plant traditionally used to treat sexual dysfunction and enhance libido in men. Websites containing information about HM are abundant. However, studies have shown that in general the quality of websites containing information on HM is low. The present study aims to assess the quality and risks of websites containing information about TA supplements and to identify the health claims for TA. Methodology: A cross-sectional study to evaluate the quality and risks of websites discussing TA supplements was conducted. Online marketing websites, research articles, news articles, personal opinions, and those restricted by password were excluded. The quality and risks of websites were assessed using a modified DISCERN tool and a set of risk assessment criteria, respectively. The health claims for TA were identified and analyzed using content analysis. Results: Overall, 321 websites met the inclusion criteria and were further evaluated. The overall rating of the quality of the websites was low, with a mean score ± standard deviation of 1.07 ± 0.51. Most websites lacked information that there may be more than one possible treatment choice and did not discuss areas of uncertainty. However, 67.9% (218/321) of the websites received a risk score of zero. A minority of websites (5/321, 1.6%) discouraged the use of conventional medicines. The most common health claims for TA included in the websites related to the enhancement of testosterone level (121/321, 37.7%), treatment of malaria (112/321, 34.9%), and improvement in libido (108/321, 33.6%). Conclusions: Websites containing information about TA supplements generally have a low-quality rating based on a modified DISCERN tool despite having a low-risk score. Government agencies and healthcare professionals (HCPs) must be more proactive in the critique and dissemination of information relating to HM, and in ensuring the safe use of HM among the public and patients.

The Evaluation of Videos about Branched-Chain Amino Acids Supplements on YouTube™: A Multi-Approach Study

“…Several tools have been developed to determine the content quality of web-based information, such as DISCERN, Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria, and Global Quality Score (GQS). To this point, some studies are notable regarding the evaluation of the quality and reliability of shared knowledge in the various websites [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. For instance, Ng et al investigated the quality of online dietary and herbal supplement websites ( n = 87), according to the DISCERN instrument, and they found high variability in the DISCERN instrument scores across websites [ 31 ].…”

“…In another study, the information about Ephedra sinica on online websites ( n = 28) had a poor quality [ 33 ]. Similarly, Wahab et al demonstrated, on the basis of a modified DISCERN tool, that websites ( n = 321) containing information about Eurycoma longifolia , which is an herbal medicine, were generally low-quality [ 34 ]. These studies show that there may be lower quality and reliability in online sources about dietary supplements with commercial value.…”