Pharmacist Andreas Hensel and his group determine quality shortages in food supplements.
Food supplements are available in a great deal of places– in pharmacies, natural food shops, pharmacies, and on the Internet– and the market is booming. A lot of these items include plant extracts whose components are supposed to have healthy advantages– provided they do really contain what they claim. Since no place near all of these so-called botanicals deliver what they guarantee.
” Discussions with producers frequently get no place.”
Food supplements are available in a lot of places– in drugstores, health food stores, pharmacies, and on the Internet– and the market is expanding. The IPBP is carrying out its own scientific research studies as part of a long-lasting project on evaluating the quality of food supplements. Another study on food supplements from blueberries showed “devastating quality shortages” in some cases, reports food chemist Dr. Matthias Lechtenberg, a senior assistant teacher at the Institute and a professional on the analytics of natural compounds. In contrast to medications, which are subject to strict, continuous quality tests, food supplements are governed by food law. “There is an EU directive,” says Hensel, “which states that such claims for food supplement botanicals may only be made when the European Food Safety Agency thinks about such claims to be clinically proven through research studies including healthy people.
” Over the past few years there have been increasing signs that some of these botanicals have substantial quality shortages,” reports Prof. Andreas Hensel from the Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology and Phytochemistry (IPBP) at the University of Münster. There might be reduced content levels, or in some cases products are discovered which have no active ingredients, or they include doubtful, undeclared ingredients. The IPBP is performing its own scientific research studies as part of a long-lasting project on evaluating the quality of food supplements. The complex, verified analytical methods being utilized are oriented towards procedures such as are also routinely used for drug trials.
In summing up his findings, pharmacist Andrea Hensel says: “Some of the results we have actually released up until now verify that there are disconcerting quality shortages. There were clear quality problems in more than 50 percent of all broccoli extract supplements evaluated which are utilized to avoid cancer.” Particularly, the researchers demonstrated that particular glucosinolates (mustard oil glycosides) which are expected to avoid cancer were present in less than half of the samples according to the declaration. Sometimes, no traces at all could be found of the specific glucosinolates.
Food supplements made from blueberries were attested by the Münster team as having “catastrophic quality shortages.”
Another study on food supplements from blueberries showed “devastating quality deficiencies” in some cases, reports food chemist Dr. Matthias Lechtenberg, a senior assistant professor at the Institute and a specialist on the analytics of natural compounds. Blueberries– or, more exactly, the tannins and anthocyanins they include– are generally utilized in medicine for instance in the treatment of extreme diarrhea. In addition to items which had no traceable quantities of blueberries or just extremely low amounts of tannins and anthocyanins, the researchers also discovered samples of food supplements that had been adulterated with anthocyanins from other botanical sources.
Andreas Hensel is convinced that food supplements are not, in themselves, bad. The problem he says, is the inadequate quality control. In contrast to medications, which go through stringent, constant quality tests, food supplements are governed by food law. The producers responsibility is simply to make random checks of their items. “Strict analytical checks on the part of the food control authorities are rarely carried out, one reason being the absence of workers.”
Dr. Matthias Lechtenberg. Credit: © WWU– Peter Dziemba
In a position paper in which Andreas Hansel is also included, the German Society for Phytotherapy calls for procedures defining a separation in between food supplements and herbal medical items– because for customers the difference is frequently difficult to acknowledge. Food supplements are offered as tablets or as a service and, according to the statement, sometimes include the exact same organic ingredients as some medicines. What is not transparent for customers is the truth that, in contrast to medications, quality is not constantly assured in botanicals, especially as many makers market the positive effects on health– which are in some cases not shown. “There is an EU instruction,” says Hensel, “which mentions that such claims for food supplement botanicals might only be made when the European Food Safety Agency considers such claims to be clinically proven through research studies including healthy people. In practice, nevertheless, this instruction is not complied with.”
Nor is it always clear that food supplements are indicated to offset deficits in healthy peoples nutrition. “The unchecked usage of food supplements can trigger enormous damage to the health of people with serious diseases,” says Matthias Lechtenberg.
Andreas Hensel and his team have actually faced manufacturers with their outcomes. Some, he says, were horrified at the bad outcomes produced by the analyses and were eager to discuss them. Some kept that the researchers results were wrong. The most frequent response was no reaction at all. “Discussions with manufacturers frequently get nowhere,” Hensel reports. “One example was when we alerted a producer of a huge quality deficiency– a blueberry product was nearly completely lacking in active ingredients. The makers reaction was to market the item using the motto purchase 2, get 3 in order to make a quick sale of the batch we had criticized.”