ArticleMolecules (Basel, Switzerland)2021
Adulteration of Weight Loss Supplements by the Illegal Addition of Synthetic Pharmaceuticals.
Article in Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- From 'traditional' remedies to 'modern' supplements: a systematic review and meta-analysis of pharmaceutical adulteration in weight-loss natural products.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- When herbal supplements cause heart problems: Clinical case report and forensic toxicological analysis.Toxicology reports · 2026Article
- Acute liver injury linked to an adulterated weight-loss product: Integrated clinical, chemical, and toxicological evidence supporting a highly probable causality as assessed by updated RUCAM (2016).Toxicology reports · 2026Article
- A Framework for Developing Intake and Use Guidance for Dietary Supplement Bioactives.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2026Review
- Obesity and Natural Products: Mechanisms, Therapeutic Potential, and Future Directions.Food science & nutrition · 2026Review
- A Scoping Review of Published Literature on the Contributions of the Natural Health Products (NHPs) Industry to Pharmacovigilance for NHPs.Drug safety · 2026Article
- Perceptions and experiences of community pharmacists about weight loss dietary supplements: a qualitative study.Journal of pharmaceutical health care and sciences · 2025Article
- The regulation on the use of supplements for weight control: Case studies from Australia, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom.Health policy OPEN · 2025Review
- Effects of Media Literacy Intervention on Weight-Control Products Digital Marketing Targeting Adolescents.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Article
- Microscopy, HPTLC, and LC-DAD-Q-ToF validation of nut-based weight-loss dietary supplements,Food additives & contaminants. Part A, Chemistry, analysis, control, exposure & risk assessment · 2024Article
- Notifications and Health Consequences of Unauthorized Pharmaceuticals in Food Supplements.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Incidents and Potential Adverse Health Effects of Serious Food Fraud Cases Originated in Asia.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Weak regulations threaten the safety of consumers from harmful weight-loss supplements globally: results from a pilot global policy scan.Public health nutrition · 2023Article
- Determination of Fluoxetine in Weight Loss Herbal Medicine Using an Electrochemical Sensor Based on rGO-CuNPs.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Interpol Review of Drug Analysis 2019-2022.Forensic science international. Synergy · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Weight loss supplements that have illegal additives of pharmaceutical drugs or analogues have additional health risks, and customers may not be aware of what they are taking. This research is an essential investigation and quantification of illegally added pharmaceuticals or prescription medications, specifically fluoxetine, phenolphthalein, and sibutramine, in herbal weight loss supplements offered for sale in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In this case, 137 weight loss supplements were collected and analyzed in this study. Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with UV absorption detection coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (RP-HPLC-MS/MS) analyses were used to determine the presence of the pharmaceutical chemicals. Among the weight loss supplements, 15.3% (95% CI: 9.2-21.4) contained undeclared sibutramine, 13.9% (95% CI: 8.01-19.7) contained undeclared phenolphthalein, and 5.1% (95% CI: 1.4-8.8) contained undeclared fluoxetine. Amongst all weight loss supplements, 17.5% (95% CI: 11.07-24) contained significant concentrations of either sibutramine, phenolphthalein, or fluoxetine. Whilst weight loss herbal supplements offered for sale in the UAE have relatively low percentages of undeclared pharmaceuticals, many people take several different supplements daily and may encounter quite high levels of combined exposure to toxic compounds.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.