3 ms·

The problem with your "melatonin" suggestion is that there's no way to know how much melatonin you actually took, since there is no regulation on the chemical,

by dimino 10y ago

The problem with your "melatonin" suggestion is that there's no way to know how much melatonin you actually took, since there is no regulation on the chemical, and the "sleep pills" that are purchasable don't say on the label what concentration they're made at, and concentrations vary by brand, and could vary bottle to bottle (due to an inexact manufacturing technique, for example).

duckingtest 10y ago
In several EU countries, you can buy melatonin pills made by an actual pharmaceutical companies (which also manufacture prescription drugs) OTC. You could order it online. Note there's a difference between unregulated supplement and an OTC drug. Although I think your worry about quality excessive, it's not like making pills is rocket science. The supplement companies most likely get the powder in bulk from biochemical factories that also manufacture prescription drugs.
- dalke 10y ago
  In the US, the supplement industry is much less regulated than the pharmaceutical industry. The concern is not excessive, at least in the US. Consider https://consumerist.com/2016/07/27/anyone-can-make-market-a-dietary-supplement-including-consumer-reports/ https://consumerist.com/2016/07/27/anyone-can-make-market-a-... : > While real drugs — prescription or over-the-counter — must demonstrate levels of safety and effectiveness before hitting store shelves, dietary supplements are effectively regulated like food products. https://consumerist.com/2016/01/20/7-things-you-need-to-know-from-frontlines-investigation-on-supplements-safety/ https://consumerist.com/2016/01/20/7-things-you-need-to-know... gives a summary of a Frontline episode on the topic; Frontline does documentaries on public affairs topics. Or, from 2001, http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/73/6/1101.full http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/73/6/1101.full - "All plant products were correctly identified by botanical plant species (ie, Panax species or E. senticosus); however, concentrations of marker compounds differed significantly from labeled amounts. There was also significant product-to-product variability: concentrations of ginsenosides varied by 15- and 36-fold in capsules and liquids, respectively, and concentrations of eleutherosides varied by 43- and 200-fold in capsules and liquids, respectively." Or from the 1990s, http://www.sportsci.org/jour/0003/lmb.html http://www.sportsci.org/jour/0003/lmb.html : > Analysis of 16 commercial DHEA products revealed that only half the products contained the amount of DHEA stated on the product label; content varied from 0 to 150% of the stated content (Parasrampuria et al., 1998). > Melatonin supplements have failed to meet quality claims or delivery profiles stated on their labels (Hahm et al., 1999). It lists others as well.

by dimino 10y ago

duckingtest 10y ago

In several EU countries, you can buy melatonin pills made by an actual pharmaceutical companies (which also manufacture prescription drugs) OTC. You could order it online. Note there's a difference between unregulated supplement and an OTC drug. Although I think your worry about quality excessive, it's not like making pills is rocket science. The supplement companies most likely get the powder in bulk from biochemical factories that also manufacture prescription drugs.

dalke 10y ago
In the US, the supplement industry is much less regulated than the pharmaceutical industry. The concern is not excessive, at least in the US. Consider https://consumerist.com/2016/07/27/anyone-can-make-market-a-dietary-supplement-including-consumer-reports/ https://consumerist.com/2016/07/27/anyone-can-make-market-a-... : > While real drugs — prescription or over-the-counter — must demonstrate levels of safety and effectiveness before hitting store shelves, dietary supplements are effectively regulated like food products. https://consumerist.com/2016/01/20/7-things-you-need-to-know-from-frontlines-investigation-on-supplements-safety/ https://consumerist.com/2016/01/20/7-things-you-need-to-know... gives a summary of a Frontline episode on the topic; Frontline does documentaries on public affairs topics. Or, from 2001, http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/73/6/1101.full http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/73/6/1101.full - "All plant products were correctly identified by botanical plant species (ie, Panax species or E. senticosus); however, concentrations of marker compounds differed significantly from labeled amounts. There was also significant product-to-product variability: concentrations of ginsenosides varied by 15- and 36-fold in capsules and liquids, respectively, and concentrations of eleutherosides varied by 43- and 200-fold in capsules and liquids, respectively." Or from the 1990s, http://www.sportsci.org/jour/0003/lmb.html http://www.sportsci.org/jour/0003/lmb.html : > Analysis of 16 commercial DHEA products revealed that only half the products contained the amount of DHEA stated on the product label; content varied from 0 to 150% of the stated content (Parasrampuria et al., 1998). > Melatonin supplements have failed to meet quality claims or delivery profiles stated on their labels (Hahm et al., 1999). It lists others as well.