01.03.11
ConsumerLab.com, White Plains, NY, reported that tests of supplements containing resveratrol—a compound promoted as “life-extending”—revealed that two products provided only 43.4% and 86.7%, respectively, of their listed amounts of resveratrol. These two products were among the most expensive supplements of the 10 products selected for testing. All of the lower-priced products fared well in the tests. An additional nine products that passed the same testing through ConsumerLab.com’s Voluntary Certification Program are included in the report as well as another product similar to one that passed testing but sold under a different brand name. Resveratrol products have proliferated following reports in 2006 of life-extending and athletic endurance-enhancing effects of resveratrol in animals. Sales of resveratrol supplements reached $31 million in the U.S. in 2009, according to Nutrition Business Journal.
In addition to quality issues, ConsumerLab.com found the daily suggested dosage among resveratrol products to range from 50 to 1020 mg of resveratrol. The cost to obtain 100 mg of resveratrol from products ranged from $0.15 to as much as $2.76—more than a 17-fold difference. Based on a daily dose of 400 mg of resveratrol, the daily cost would range from $0.60 to $11.04. None of the products were contaminated with lead or cadmium, which can occur in plant-based supplements, and all tablets were able to properly break apart in solution.
In addition to quality issues, ConsumerLab.com found the daily suggested dosage among resveratrol products to range from 50 to 1020 mg of resveratrol. The cost to obtain 100 mg of resveratrol from products ranged from $0.15 to as much as $2.76—more than a 17-fold difference. Based on a daily dose of 400 mg of resveratrol, the daily cost would range from $0.60 to $11.04. None of the products were contaminated with lead or cadmium, which can occur in plant-based supplements, and all tablets were able to properly break apart in solution.