Identifying non‐vitamin & mineral bioactive (non‐VM) ingredients for inclusion in Dietary Supplement (DS) Composition Databases

Abstract

DSHEA defined DS and permitted addition of non‐VM ingredients if they meet the Act's requirements. Dietary Supplement Ingredient Database (DSID) is a federally funded database that contains analytically derived information on the composition of DS. DSID contains estimates of adult & child multi‐VM supplements (MVMs). Addition of over‐the‐counter (OTC) prenatal MVMs & omega‐3 fatty acid supplements to the database is in‐progress.ObjectiveDevelop a plan for including non‐VM ingredients in DSID.MethodThe DSID working group identified 41 non‐VM ingredients of interest. The criteria to rank and prioritize the 41 bioactives were existence of studies or safety concerns, public exposure, federal research priorities, and availability of validated analytical methods and analytical reference materials. Public health significance, previously used to rank VM ingredients, was not scored due to lack of data. The top 11 ingredients were: CoQ10, garlic, saw palmetto, ginkgo biloba, glucosamine, ginseng, green tea catechins (EGCG and other catechins), milk thistle, echinacea, flaxseed, and turmeric (curcumin).ConclusionObtaining input from the research community on which of these non‐VM ingredients should be incorporated into DSID and deciding on whether and how to report data for constituent levels not declared on the product label, i.e., proprietary formulas. (Funding Office of Dietary Supplements, NIH)