ABSTRACT:
The prevalence of dietary supplement use has increased dramatically over the past 20 years, and they have become a matter of consumer interest. The aim of this research was to investigate the suitability of the dose content of B complex vitamins in two categories of supplements based on the published Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) values in five markets. The prices were also explored as product price is considered one of many factors for the consumer to decide buying these supplements. The content label of dietary supplements was used to record the dose value for all B complex vitamins which was subsequently used to calculate and compare the mean % RDI for all B complex vitamins in all products sold in the selected markets. The mean price for all supplements in each market was also calculated. There were a total of 153 supplements collected from the local markets of five countries, which include multivitamins and pure supplements, and contain B complex vitamins. The B12 vitamin has the highest %RDI value in most of the selected supplements sample. Exploring the prevalence of B complex vitamins in the supplements under investigation revealed that vitamin B6 was the most common with 96.7% followed by vitamin B12 with 93.5% of the total study sample. The mean prices of multivitamins were higher than the pure supplements in all five markets. In conclusion, this research can help consumers who usually buy these supplements to take an informed decision in relation to which supplements category is suitable in terms of therapeutic benefit and/or health support along with the value and affordability of such preparations.