When a dietary supplement product name says “energy”, what’s in the bottle? (634.1)

Abstract

Caffeine in energy products is currently a focus of concern. However, not all energy products are caffeinated.Objective: To profile dietary ingredients (DI) in DS sold as energy products.Methods: We used the Dietary Supplement Label Database (DSLD) to identify DS with “energy” in the product name and compile their composition. We categorized the DI using the LanguaL® DS Thesaurus.Results: 157 DS in DSLD had “energy” in the product name; 126 in non‐liquid (mainly pills) and 31 in liquid (serving size >1 fl oz) form. Of the non‐liquid forms 52 of 126 (41%) declared caffeine on the label and 43 of 52 (83%) provided the amount of caffeine. Of the liquid forms 30 of the 31 (97%) and 9 of the 30 (30%) respectively did so. The table below provides the % content of other DI of interest in energy products surveyed. Vitamins Botanicals L‐Carnitine Glucuronolactone/Glucuronic Acid Taurine Non‐liquid 62% 86 16 0 13 Liquid 81 42 10 55 65 Conclusions: Few products report amounts of non‐Daily Value (DV) nutrients on the label, e.g., taurine, glucuronolactone (or glucuronic acid), and L‐carnitine. Labeling amounts of these DI is optional if a component of a blend. Thus, estimating exposure to these DI from the label information is not possible. Specialized databases for non‐DV, DI of interest are needed from manufacturers, publications and/or analyzed data.Grant Funding Source: Office of Dietary Supplements, NIH