Dietary Supplements and its consequences

A dietary supplement is defined as manufactured product intended to supplement the diet when taken by mouth as a pill, capsule, tablet, or liquid. A supplement provides the nutrients either extracted from food sources or synthetic, individually or in combination, in order to increase the quantity of their consumption. The class of food and nutrient compounds comprises of vitamins, minerals, fiber, fatty acids and amino acids. Dietary supplements may also contain substances that have not been confirmed as being essential to life, but are marketed as having a beneficial biological effect, such as plant pigments or polyphenols.

The research studies claims that 24 products labelled as containing higenamine or the synonyms "norcoclaurine" or "demethylcoclaurine" and found unpredictable and potentially harmful quantities of the stimulant ranging from trace levels to 62 mg per serving. Out of the 24 products tested, only five out of 24 listed a specific quantity of higenamine on the label, and none of those five quantities were accurate. Based on the labelled directions for use, consumers could be exposed to up to 110 mg of higenamine per day. The health risks of higenamine remain poorly understood, but as a beta-2 agonist, it has been prohibited and therefore poses a risk to healthy individuals and competitive athletes' careers posing a critical condition based upon food and nutritional immunology.

Some plants, such as ephedra, contain stimulants. Intake of excess dietary foods containing too much of the stimulants found in ephedra, it can have life-threatening consequences. Dietary supplements leads to an estimated 23,000 emergency department visits each year in the United States, and weight loss and sports supplements contribute to a large portion of emergency department visits. Higenamine is a natural constituent of several traditional botanical remedies, such as aconite root and Aristolochia brasiliensis. While higenamine is considered a legal dietary ingredient when present as a constituent of botanicals research identified concerning levels of the stimulant and wildly inaccurate labelling and dosage information. The research points to the need for independent testing and certification of dietary supplements, additionally dietary supplements must be produced in a manufacturing facility that is inspected twice a year to comply with the U.S. FDA's Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements.