What’s in Your Supplement?
Posted on August 1, 2009
Millions of pet owners give dietary supplements with the expectation that they will improve their pet’s health or quality of life. Many are unaware that nutraceuticals are not subjected to FDA (Food and Drug Administration) regulations and stringent quality control to verify their contents. In July 2009, ConsumerLab released a report of its analysis of the commonly used pet arthritis supplements, glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate and methylsulfonylmethane (MSM).
While the efficacy of these supplements is still a topic of some debate in the veterinary field, there is no debate that if a supplement is labeled to contain a certain quantity of those compounds in mg, there is a reasonable expectation of accuracy of that claim. It was a disappointment to find that 4 widely available products failed to even come close to those labeled claims, containing <20% of that amount of chondroitin and, some cases, also glucosamine according to this report. All products tested contained the amount of MSM claimed. This discrepancy is likely because chondroitin is the more expensive ingredient and several assays to test chondroitin level are not very specific for chondroitin and can be elevated by other chemicals.
Notably, we would like to point out several companies had multiple formulations of their arthritis supplements that were analyzed and APPROVED to contain at least the labeled amounts of these compounds including Nutramax (Cosequin), IVX Animal Health Inc (Synovi), Travco (Curaflex), and GLC Direct. This report is a sobering reminder of the importance of recommending a reputable product/company when discussing nutraceuticals with your clients. It can be challenging enough to determine if a supplement is working for an animal without also having to wonder if it is even getting what the label claims.
Of note, the problem is not restricted to pet supplements. In a parallel report from ConsumerLab, about 20% of the human supplements tested also failed to either meet the labeled quantity of chondroitin listed and/or exceeded acceptable lead contamination levels. The complete reports can be purchased from ConsumerLab.com.
Since we try to put new information in the context of relevance for board exams, you should not be expected to know exactly which products pass or do not pass tests such as this one. What you do need to be aware of are the definitions, governing bodies and regulations (or lack thereof) for dietary supplements.
Animal dietary supplements are defined as oral substances intended for a specific benefit to the animal other than provision of essential nutrients or nutritional needs but excluding legally defined drugs.
Regulation of dietary supplements (for animals and humans) falls under the FFDCA (Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act). A second act, the DSHEA (Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act), only applies to human supplements according to the FDA. Unfortunately, it is difficult to easily assess even the safety of animal supplements because there is no standardization of active ingredients in supplements and no accepted adverse event reporting mechanism. While it is suggested by some that human data can be used to infer safety recommendations for animals, we know this is not true for many compounds. A classic example is garlic which is considered a safe supplement for humans but has a concern of causing hemolytic anemia in dogs, cats, and horses. Animal supplement use may meet or exceed drug use and many people just assume supplements are safe and contain what is on the label. In fact, there may not be very much safety data on some of these compounds and there is insufficient regulation and monitoring to ensure that supplements contain what they claim.
