Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Site Tools

  • AAAS
  • Subscribe
  • Feedback

Site Search

Search Advanced

Science 17 September 1999:
Vol. 285. no. 5435, pp. 1853 - 1855
DOI: 10.1126/science.285.5435.1853
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Policy Forum

HEALTH:
Regulation of "Nutraceuticals"

Steven H. Zeisel

The U.S. Congress, in the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) established a framework for regulation of dietary supplements by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. For dietary supplements, the FDA regulates labeling to limit health claims, but is not empowered to insist on rigorous studies establishing safety before marketing (as would be required for drugs or food additives). This creates a substantial potential risk to the health of the public, and serious adverse effects have been reported from some dietary supplements that are currently being marketed. The author recommends that a new category of dietary supplements, called "nutraceuticals," be established for supplements to be administered at doses that exceed normal human exposure to these agents in foods. Regulations should require that these nutraceuticals be judged safe before they are marketed.

The author is at the School of Public Health and School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7400, USA. E-mail: steven_zeisel{at}unc.edu.

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Current role of glucosamine in the treatment of osteoarthritis.
J.-Y. Reginster, O. Bruyere, and A. Neuprez (2007)
Rheumatology 46, 731-735
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Workshop Overview: Hepatotoxicity Assessment for Botanical Dietary Supplements.
K. L. Willett, R. A. Roth, and L. Walker (2004)
Toxicol. Sci. 79, 4-9
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Dietary supplements and functional foods: 2 sides of a coin?.
C. H Halsted (2003)
Am. J. Clinical Nutrition 77, 1001S-1007
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Nutraceuticals,: edited by Lisa Rapport and Brian Lockwood, 2002, 163 pages, hardcover. Pharmaceutical Press, London..
C. M Hasler (2003)
Am. J. Clinical Nutrition 77, 996-997
   Full Text »    PDF »
Functional Foods: Benefits, Concerns and Challenges--A Position Paper from the American Council on Science and Health.
C. M. Hasler (2002)
J. Nutr. 132, 3772-3781
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Toxic Effects Associated With Consumption of Zinc.
P. G. Igic, E. Lee, W. Harper, and K. W. Roach (2002)
Mayo Clin. Proc. 77, 713-716
   Abstract »    PDF »
Balancing Safety of Dietary Supplements with the Free Market.
J. D. Lewis and B. L. Strom (2002)
Ann Intern Med 136, 616-618
   Full Text »    PDF »
Suggested guidelines for articles about botanical dietary supplements.
C. A Swanson (2002)
Am. J. Clinical Nutrition 75, 8-10
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Dietary soy exerts an antihypertensive effect in spontaneously hypertensive female rats.
D. S. Martin, N. P. Breitkopf, K. M. Eyster, and J. L. Williams (2001)
Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol 281, R553-R560
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Variability in commercial ginseng products: an analysis of 25 preparations.
M. R Harkey, G. L Henderson, M E. Gershwin, J. S Stern, and R. M Hackman (2001)
Am. J. Clinical Nutrition 73, 1101-1106
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Clinical Pharmacology of the Dietary Supplement Creatine Monohydrate.
A. M. Persky and G. A. Brazeau (2001)
Pharmacol. Rev.
   Abstract »    Full Text »
The Changing Face of Functional Foods.
C. M. Hasler (2000)
J. Am. Coll. Nutr. 19, 499S-506
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Dietary supplements and The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition1.
C. H Halsted (2000)
Am. J. Clinical Nutrition 71, 399-400
   Full Text »    PDF »
Clinical Pharmacology of the Dietary Supplement Creatine Monohydrate.
A. M. Persky and G. A. Brazeau (2001)
Pharmacol. Rev. 53, 161-176
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »

E-Letters:

Read all E-Letters

Desperate FDA
Zen Robert
Science Online, 1 Oct 1999 [Full text]
Nutraceutical Research and Education Act
Debra Bass
Science Online, 22 Nov 1999 [Full text]

To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)