Significant discrepancies between actual and labelled amount of anti-ageing ingredients in supplements: NUS Medicine study

How do we know if the supplements we consume are giving us the right amount of ingredients as stated on their labels at the point of sale? Many of these anti-ageing (also called geroprotector) ingredients such as Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN) and Urolithin A are included to promote cell repair and improve muscle function and strength.

• From a detailed analysis of 18 Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN) and five Urolithin A (UA) supplements, significant discrepancies between the actual and labelled amounts of anti-ageing ingredients were found.
• These deviations range from having none (-100%), up to 28% more than the labelled amount
• This discovery highlights the lack of quality control and quantity accuracy of labelled supplements throughout the supplements industry that could lead to ineffective or harmful outcomes
• The paper was published in GeroScience, titled ‘Testing the amount of nicotinamide mononucleotide and urolithin A as compared to the label claim’.

A study, led by Prof Andrea Maier and her team from the Healthy Longevity Translational Research Programme at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine), found significant discrepancies between the labelled and actual amount of Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN) and Urolithin A (UA) in the supplements tested. The discrepancies ranged from none up to 28% more than the stated amount. A familiar ingredient in anti-ageing supplements which can be easily bought online or from pharmacies, NMN and UA are marketed as geroprotectors, compounds that target ageing mechanisms to potentially slow down or reverse the ageing process.

After procuring supplements from various sources including online stores, pharmacies and manufacturers, the research team conducted a detailed analysis of 18 NMN and 5 UA supplements using High Performance Liquid Chromatography, coupled with Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-QqQ-MS) to find out the actual content of NMN and UA in each supplement. In the NMN supplement, it was found that the actual NMN content found in the supplement ranged from undetectable to 99.2% of the total sample weight, the difference in content between the label claim and the quantity of supplement content, varied between -100% and +11.2%. For the UA supplement, the measured UA content varied from undetectable to 95% of the total sample weight, with the difference from the label claim ranging from -15.5% to 28.6%. There were no significant indications of suppression or enhancement of properties as the variability was not due to the interaction of the active ingredients with other components in the supplements.

Proven safe for consumption, NMN has shown to increase the levels of NAD+ in human blood that promotes cellular metabolism, insulin sensitivity in pre-diabetic females, aerobic capacity in amateur runners and improve sleep quality in older adults. While UA improves muscle endurance and performance and is commonly found in foods such as pomegranates, strawberries, raspberries and walnuts.

Singapore is projected to reach super-aged status by 2026. One in four Singapore citizens will be 65 and older in 2030, up from about one in five now. This would mean that the demand for geroprotective supplements is set to increase exponentially as people turn to alternatives that would enable them to lead healthier lives as they age. This discovery in ingredient discrepancy has brought to light a critical issue in the supplement industry – the accuracy and quality of labelled contents, and the lack of standardisation and quality control in the supplements industry.  There is an urgent need to ensure that there is universal accuracy of the contents of these supplements to optimise health and longevity of consumers, as mislabelled supplements can lead to ineffective or even harmful outcomes. These research findings strive to contribute to the ongoing discussions about upholding supplement efficacy and safety and pave the way for better quality control of supplements available in Singapore.