Today in the United States there is a high demand and correspondingly a huge market for dietary supplements. Accordingly, any regulatory policy in the area of dietary supplements has the potential to affect a large portion of the population. About sixty percent of Americans take dietary supplements in one form or another. The results of a recent American Dietetic Association survey indicate tha...

It is well recognized that herbal supplements or herbal medicines are now commonly used. As many patients taking prescription medications are concomitantly using herbal supplements, there is considerable risk for adverse herbal drug interactions. Such interactions can enhance the risk for an individual patient, especially with regard to drugs with a narrow therapeutic index such as warfarin, cy...

BACKGROUND/AIM A considerable number of patients suffering from diabetes mellitus (DM) turn to self-medication using medicinal plants, preparations, and medicine. The aim of this study was to investigate self-medication using medicinal plants and the potential influence of health care professionals' advice or media information regarding the use of herbal dietary supplements with hypoglycemic ef...

BACKGROUND Evidence for the scientific basis of purported therapeutic effects and adverse effects of herbal supplements continues to grow. Many herbal supplements are touted for their immunostimulatory properties, and both in vitro and in vivo experiments have supported this claim. Although this explains their beneficial effects in preventing or curtailing disease, to our knowledge, no immunost...

BACKGROUND Adulterated herbal weight loss products with containing undeclared synthetic drugs are common and responsible for many serious health damages. OBJECTIVES The purpose of the study was to determine five synthetic adulterants in eight common herbal weight loss supplements, which are currently sold in Iran markets, to verify their presence in supplements, without mentioning on the labe...

Herbal dietary supplements are often considered by patients to be safe and free from side effects. The case described here shows digoxin toxicity in a patient taking a dietary supplement not normally considered to contain digoxin. In addition to highlighting the risks of herbal supplements, this case also demonstrates the concept that digoxin equivalents are not picked up by the standard digoxi...

Adulteration of herbal supplements with synthetic drugs is illegal. A rapid and reliable method which utilizes direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) was developed for the identification of seven synthetic antidiabetic drugs used as adulterants in herbal dietary supplements. The supplement sample was simply extracted with methanol/water by manually shaking several times and di...

objective: in recent years the use of herbal slimming supplements has increased in iran. one problem may be the illegal inclusion of synthetic drugs by some manufacturers in these products. the aim of this study is to determine four undeclared synthetic adulterants in some herbal slimming products present in the iranian market. methods: this survey studyresearched six common herbal slimming sup...

It is estimated that one-third of Americans use dietary herbal supplements on a regular basis. Diets rich in bioactive phytochemicals are associated with reduced risk of certain cancers, notably, colon cancer. Herbal supplements have not been directly tested as sources of bioactive cancer preventives. Hence, this study compares the ability of four herbal flavonoids (quercetin, curcumin, rutin a...

INTRODUCTION The aim of the study was to estimate potential availability of essential oil in some brands of herbal products. METHODS A comparison was performed on the basis of the essential oil yield in the unprocessed raw materials such as leaves of peppermint and lemon balm and inflorescence of chamomile as well as herbal tea bags and in dietary supplements. The yield of essential oil was d...