AZHIN: Complementary and Alternative Medicine: The FDA and Dietary Supplements

Introduction

The Definition of "Dietary Supplement"

The law defines dietary supplements in part as products taken by mouth that contain a "dietary ingredient." Dietary ingredients include vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and herbs or botanicals, as well as other substances that can be used to supplement the diet.

What's Included?

Dietary supplements come in many forms, including tablets, capsules, powders, energy bars, and liquids. These products are available in stores throughout the United States, as well as on the Internet. They are labeled as dietary supplements and include the following, in addition to other items:

vitamin and mineral products
"botanical" or herbal products—These come in many forms and may include plant materials, algae, macroscopic fungi, or a combination of these materials.
amino acid products—Amino acids are known as the building blocks of proteins and play a role in metabolism.
enzyme supplements—Enzymes are complex proteins that speed up biochemical reactions.

Source: . Consumer Updates - FDA 101: Dietary Supplements [WebContent]. Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm050803.htm

Learn More: Dietary Supplements

FDA - Dietary Supplements
Learn about products, ingredients, and how to report a complaint, concern, or problem related to dietary supplements.
FDA Guidance Documents - Complementary and Alternative Medicine Products and their Regulation by the Food and Drug Administration
Discover the regulations governing dietary supplements.
Dietary Supplement Label Database
NLM’s Dietary Supplement Label Database offers information about ingredients in more than two thousand selected brands of dietary supplements. It enables users to determine what ingredients are in specific brands and to compare ingredients in different brands. Information is also provided on the health benefits claimed by manufacturers.
Office of Dietary Supplements – NIH
The mission of the Office of Dietary Supplements is to strengthen knowledge and understanding of dietary supplements. The Web site includes information on dietary supplement use and safety, nutrient recommendation reports and tables and vitamin supplements.
Food and Nutrition Information Center
The Food and Nutrition Information Center (FNIC) at the National Agricultural Library (NAL) provides a directory to credible, accurate, and practical resources for consumers, nutrition and health professionals, educators and government personnel. FNIC nutrition information specialists review all site content to ensure top quality resources.

Learn More: Herbs

About Herbs – Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
This Web site for consumers and healthcare professionals provides objective information and a clinical summary for each agent and details about constituents, adverse effects, interactions, and potential benefits or problems. Evaluations of alternative or unproved cancer therapies also are given.
HerbMed
HerbMed is a searchable database which provides hyperlinked access to the scientific data underlying the use of herbs for health. It is an evidence-based information resource for professionals, researchers and the general public.
Medicinal Herb Garden
Located on the campus the University of Washington in Seattle, the Medicinal Herb Garden is a resource for herbalists, medics, and botanists of all levels. The site contains high quality photographs of a wide variety of herbs.
AGRICOLA
HerbMed is a searchable database which provides hyperlinked access to the scientific data underlying the use of herbs for health. It is an evidence-based information resource for professionals, researchers and the general public.