Recently, Dartmouth Senior Instructional Advisor Ano Lobb published an article in the Hawaii journal of Medicine & Public Health that highlights the misrepresentation of data in the marketing of liquid dietary supplements and, more specifically, mangosteen juice.
The mangosteen is a tropical fruit that is grown in South East Asia, boasted to have high amounts of antioxidants.
In his article, Lobb emphasizes that liquid dietary supplements have been showing an upward trend in popularity in recent years. The companies that sell these products usually cite that extensive research has found their supplements to be effective. They boast that the ingredients “protect against free radicals, increase energy and stamina, support the immune system, promote a healthy digestive system, assist in recovery after exercise, and support joint and cartilage functionality.”
Lobb contends that the “science” used to back up these claims is usually faulty or severely flawed. In particular, he draws attention to extremely small sample sizes and short trial durations. For example, one website for a liquid dietary supplement cites that the “product was shown to be safe at all dosages tested. There were no adverse events attributed to the product during the course of the study.” However, further inquiry showed that the product was tested on a sample of only fourty people. Lobb found the company’s claim to be far too bold relative to the scope of the study. Another problem he finds with these studies is that they are generally funded by the companies who sell the products themselves. In his opinion, such a conflict of interest is entirely inappropriate.
What Lobb found most disconcerting was the fact that the companies selling liquid dietary supplements were not held accountable for their actions. Lobb found that while the companies’ marketing methods were likely legal, they lacked “basic social responsibility and good business practice.”
Currently, companies that sell liquid dietary supplements are not required to inform consumers about potential conflicts of interest or the design of their studies. Lobb hopes that both clinicians and government regulators will take a more active stance in inquiring about the details of studies for these supplements. He hopes to avoid the possibility of adverse events caused by these little-tested dietary supplements.