Nearly 50 per cent of US sleep aid dietary supplements failed to live up to their claims, ConsumerLab.com reported this week. The company, an independent evaluator of dietary supplements and nutrition products, released recently the results of its Product Review of valerian supplements, used primarily as sleep aids and minor tranquilisers. Sales of valerian more than doubled in the past twelve months, making it the fastest growing herbal product in the U.S. according to the research firm Information Resources, Inc. ConsumerLab.com purchased seventeen products claiming to contain Valeriana officinalis root, the species for which most supporting clinical evidence exists, and tested them for key marker compounds to evaluate the identity and quantity of the herb present. Only nine of the seventeen valerian products passed ConsumerLab.com's testing. Four products completely lacked the marker compounds that identify the presence of Valeriana officinalis and four others had roughly half of the expected levels. Results were confirmed in a second independent laboratory per ConsumerLab.com's protocols. The complete list of valerian products that passed the review are now available to ConsumerLab.com's online subscribers at Consumerlab.com
