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Thyroxine and triiodothyronine content in commercially available thyroid health supplements.
- Source :
-
Thyroid : official journal of the American Thyroid Association [Thyroid] 2013 Oct; Vol. 23 (10), pp. 1233-7. Date of Electronic Publication: 2013 Sep 14. - Publication Year :
- 2013
-
Abstract
- Background: As defined by the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act 1997, such substances as herbs and dietary supplements fall under general Food and Drug Administration supervision but have not been closely regulated to date. We examined the thyroid hormone content in readily available dietary health supplements marketed for "thyroid support."<br />Methods: Ten commercially available thyroid dietary supplements were purchased. Thyroid supplements were dissolved in 10 mL of acetonitrile and water with 0.1% trifloroacetic acid and analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography for the presence of both thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) using levothyroxine and liothyronine as a positive controls and standards.<br />Results: The amount of T4 and T3 was measured separately for each supplement sample. Nine out of 10 supplements revealed a detectable amount of T3 (1.3-25.4 μg/tablet) and 5 of 10 contained T4 (5.77-22.9 μg/tablet). Taken at the recommended dose, 5 supplements delivered T3 quantities of greater than 10 μg/day, and 4 delivered T4 quantities ranging from 8.57 to 91.6 μg/day.<br />Conclusions: The majority of dietary thyroid supplements studied contained clinically relevant amounts of T4 and T3, some of which exceeded common treatment doses for hypothyroidism. These amounts of thyroid hormone, found in easily accessible dietary supplements, potentially expose patients to the risk of alterations in thyroid levels even to the point of developing iatrogenic thyrotoxicosis. The current study results emphasize the importance of patient and provider education regarding the use of dietary supplements and highlight the need for greater regulation of these products, which hold potential danger to public health.
- Subjects :
- Animals
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
Dietary Supplements adverse effects
Dietary Supplements economics
Dietary Supplements standards
Electrochemical Techniques
Food Labeling
Humans
Internet economics
Maryland epidemiology
Patient Education as Topic
Risk
Thyroid (USP) chemistry
Thyroid Diseases diet therapy
Thyroid Gland chemistry
Thyrotoxicosis chemically induced
Thyrotoxicosis epidemiology
Thyrotoxicosis etiology
Thyroxine adverse effects
Thyroxine poisoning
Triiodothyronine adverse effects
Triiodothyronine poisoning
United States epidemiology
Consumer Product Safety
Dietary Supplements analysis
Food Contamination
Thyroid Diseases prevention & control
Thyroxine analysis
Triiodothyronine analysis
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1557-9077
- Volume :
- 23
- Issue :
- 10
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Thyroid : official journal of the American Thyroid Association
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 23758055
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1089/thy.2013.0101