Amazon-purchased alpha lipoic acid raises “profound” potency concerns, flags NOW

16 Nov 2020 --- Alpha lipoic acid (ALA) supplements that are mainly purchased on Amazon may not be as potent as labeled, warns NOW.

The natural products company found varying levels of potency of the antioxidant, with only two out of fifteen brands reaching the 100 percent potency mark.

“Given that many consumers rely on Amazon for dietary supplement purchases, the finding of significant quality concerns in every category we have tested raises profound concerns,” states NOW. 

Analysis of ALA supplements is the company’s fifth report of 2020, following previous analyses of CoQ10, SAMe, acetyl-l-Carnitine and phosphatidyl serine. 

ALA’s performance
Results for ALA were better than expected compared to prior reports, where average potencies were often below 50 percent of label claims. 

For ALA, NOW’s brand tested at 110 percent and the other 13 brands combined to average 69 percent of label claim. 

Six out of these 13 brands were under 75 percent potency, with two of these falling under a mere 10 percent potency. 

All of these products listed were legally unacceptable as cGMP’s (current Good Manufacturing Practices) require a minimum of 100 percent potency tested at label claims. Table 1. NOW's results of alpha lipoic acid potency found in supplements purchased on Amazon.

Identifying potency
In October 2020, NOW purchased two samples of each ALA product listed on Table 1 on Amazon. 

Each product was tested internally on NOW’s high-performance liquid chromatography instrument. The test method known as RP-HPLC with UV detection was used. 

The same lot of each product was also sent to Eurofins, which is a recognized and independent quality laboratory, to test by the same method.

In May, NOW revealed “mathematically impossible” false labeling on Amazon-purchased supplements, following internal testing. 

The May report looked specifically at Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) and S-Adenosylmethionine (SAMe) purchased on Amazon. 

Gaining consumer trust 
Consumer trust and ingredient transparency are increasingly important, as indicated by Innova Market Insights’ number one consumer trend for 2021: “Transparency Triumphs.” 

In an effort to guarantee potency, NOW adds significant overages to all supplement products. This is in order to exceed label claims throughout the listed “best by” date. 

For ALA, NOW adds a minimum of 5 percent overage to always test over 100 percent label claim. 

While this is normal for NOW, it is not standard practice for many brands, as indicated in NOW’s report. 

NOW also tests all ALA products in-house for heavy metals, pathogenic bacteria, such as E. coli and Salmonella, and other impurities. 

In doing so, the supplements company aims to assure safety and to meet full potency label claims.

Edited by Missy Green