Microbiological quality and safety of dietary supplements sold in Saudi<br>Arabia

Abstract

The global market for dietary supplements has advanced in recent years capitalizing on the growing awareness of healthy living worldwide. Supplements provide enhanced nutritional levels for daily competitive performance. However, there is a need to explore the quality of dietary supplements as there are few studies related to this area. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the microbiological quality of dietary supplements in the local markets of Saudi Arabia. The total bacterial count, coliform, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus aureus were included in this analysis. The 80 most popular supplements were tested in this study. Our results showed that microbial contamination was present in only nine products. The microbial level ranged from 1.69-8.43 Log CFU/mL. The higher level of total count (8.43 Log CFU/mL) and S. aureus (8.39 Log CFU/mL) were found in supplement glutamine. Amino acids, dynamisan, glucosamine sulfate, glucosaiene, creatine monohydrate, whey protein, and folate acid also showed the presence of bacterial contamination. Our findings suggested that improvements are needed in these supplements which were tested for microbiological contamination. These findings highlight the fact that a review of product safety and quality is becoming increasingly important for consumer health. This will help to ensure safe products available for today's savvy, health-conscious consumer.

Understanding the Behaviors and Attitudes of Athletes Participating in the 2016 Rio Olympics Regarding Nutritional Supplements, Energy Drinks, and Doping

“…A majority of the athletes reported that supplements are safe and can be consumed without any harm [22,23]. Our results showed that a majority of athletes (n = 75; 45.73%) also agreed that energy drinks are safe to consume, which is similar to a previous study [24], in which the main reason given for using energy drinks was to gain energy in general and to help compensate for a lack of proper sleep (12.8%).…”

Use of Energy Drinks Among College Students in Saudi Arabia

“…In earlier studies [12], it was noted that the use of energy drinks among college students was primarily to enhance performance. Similarly, in a study involving Saudi students, 73% of the students reported using energy drinks to enhance performance objectives [11].…”

“…For college athletes, consuming even small doses of caffeine (1 -2 mg/kg body mass) can influence reaction time, alertness, and visual information processing, which are crucial during exercise, practice, and competition. However, overdosing can negatively affect reaction time and alertness [11]. Therefore, the objective of this study was to access the usage patterns of energy drinks among college Students in Saudi Arabia.…”

Microbiological Quality and Safety of Energy Drink Available in the Local Markets in Saudi Arabia

“…As a result of this, even imported products such as energy drinks have been shown to be a potential risk factor for the development of microbial hazards. In addition, there is very limited published information regarding the quality and safety of these products in Saudi Arabian markets [11]. Therefore, in this study we tested the microbiological quality of these drinks to ensure that the products are safe.…”

“…The samples were collected based on the protocol described earlier by Aljaloud et al [11]. The numbers of samples were based on the availability of drinks in a particular district of Riyadh.…”