The Nutrient Data Laboratory (NDL), Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center (BHNRC), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), USDA, has been working with the Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health (ODS/NIH) and other federal agencies to plan and develop a Dietary Supplement Ingredient Database (DSID) to evaluate levels of ingredients in dietary supplement products. The DSID is funded in large part by the Office of Dietary Supplements. It builds on the well-recognized strengths of the USDA/ARS in developing databases that support the assessment of intake of nutrients from foods. ODS provides leadership, jointly with its federal partners, in making this a reality. The consortium of federal agencies includes ODS and partners at USDA/ARS, the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (NCHS/CDC), The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) , the National Cancer Institute (NCI), NIH and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the Department of Commerce.
The DSID is being developed by USDA and ODS in parallel with the ongoing research effort at NDL, the National Food and Nutrient Analysis Program, in which high consumption food products are identified, sampled and analyzed. For DSID, representative supplement products are identified, sampled and analyzed in order to obtain accurate information on their composition. The results from the DSID will be critical in assessing intakes of dietary ingredients from supplements and foods for a complete evaluation of the impact of nutrient intake on public health.
The DSID project was initiated in 2004 by identifying research questions and gaps in knowledge. For dietary supplements, priority product categories and ingredients were identified based on prevalence reports from national surveys. The highest priority category is adult multivitamin/minerals (MVMs), which are reported to be taken by over half of survey respondents. Other high priority categories include antacids, calcium, other single mineral supplements, multi-mineral supplements, vitamin E, vitamin C, B vitamins, and caffeine-containing products. In addition, the ingredients in dietary supplements were priority ranked based on exposure, public health significance, research priorities, and the availability of reference materials and validated analytical methods of analysis.
To aid in designing a research plan, pilot studies were conducted to review sample handling procedures and methods of analysis and to qualify laboratories for the analysis of prioritized dietary components in supplement products. Selected representative MVM products were then analytically tested to gather preliminary information about the levels of vitamins and minerals in supplements. A comprehensive evaluation of adult MVM products was carried out in 2006-2008, with multiple lots of over 115 products purchased and sent to laboratories for the analysis of eleven vitamins and eleven minerals. The results from this adult MVM study form the basis for the nutrient estimates published in the release of DSID-1. Results are reported in this release for 18 vitamins and minerals, including vitamins C, E (alpha-tocopherol), B-6, and B-12, folic acid, niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, calcium, iron, copper, iodine, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc.
