Progress in developing analytical and label-based dietary supplement databases at the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements

• Published in: Journal of food composition and analysis 2008-02, Vol.21, p.S83-S93
• Main Authors: Dwyer, Johanna T., Frances Picciano, Mary, Betz, Joseph M., Fisher, Kenneth D., Saldanha, Leila G., Yetley, Elizabeth A., Coates, Paul M., Milner, John A., Whitted, Jackie, Burt, Vicki, Radimer, Kathy, Wilger, Jaimie, Sharpless, Katherine E., Holden, Joanne M., Andrews, Karen, Roseland, Janet, Zhao, Cuiwei, Schweitzer, Amy, Harnly, James, Wolf, Wayne R., Perry, Charles R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analytical substantiation; Biological and medical sciences; Certified reference materials; chemical analysis; Dietary supplement composition; Dietary supplement ingredient database; Dietary supplement labels; Dietary supplements; DSID; DSLD-USA; Feeding. Feeding behavior; food composition; Food industries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; ingredients; Methods of analysis, processing and quality control, regulation, standards; National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; NHANES; NHANES-DSLD; nutrient content; nutrient databanks; nutrition labeling; reference standards; serving size; Standard reference materials; USDA; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems
• ISSN: 0889-1575; 1096-0481
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jfca.2007.07.010

Although an estimated 50% of adults in the United States consume dietary supplements, analytically substantiated data on their bioactive constituents are sparse. Several programs funded by the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) at the National Institutes of Health enhance dietary supplement database development and help to better describe the quantitative and qualitative contributions of dietary supplements to total dietary intakes. ODS, in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture, is developing a Dietary Supplement Ingredient Database (DSID) verified by chemical analysis. The products chosen initially for analytical verification are adult multivitamin-mineral supplements (MVMs). These products are widely used, analytical methods are available for determining key constituents, and a certified reference material is in development. Also MVMs have no standard scientific, regulatory, or marketplace definitions and have widely varying compositions, characteristics, and bioavailability. Furthermore, the extent to which actual amounts of vitamins and minerals in a product deviate from label values is not known. Ultimately, DSID will prove useful to professionals in permitting more accurate estimation of the contribution of dietary supplements to total dietary intakes of nutrients and better evaluation of the role of dietary supplements in promoting health and well-being. ODS is also collaborating with the National Center for Health Statistics to enhance the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey dietary supplement label database. The newest ODS effort explores the feasibility and practicality of developing a database of all dietary supplement labels marketed in the US. This article describes these and supporting projects.