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Product Review: Melatonin Supplements Review
 


HOW PRODUCTS WERE EVALUATED:

How Products Were Selected:
Products selected represent those sold in the United States and Canada. ConsumerLab.com purchased products on the open market through retail stores, on-line retailers, catalogues, or multi-level marketing companies. Products were not accepted directly from manufacturers.

Testing Method:
Melatonin products were each tested for their claimed amount of melatonin and possible contamination with lead. Melatonin amounts were quantitated using a HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography) method. Analyses for lead were performed using ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectroscopy).

Disintegration of non-chewable, non-capsule, non-enteric coated and non-time release formulations was analyzed by ConsumerLab.com utilizing USP (United States Pharmacopeia) <2040> methodology.

Products failing to meet any Passing Score were re-tested in a second independent laboratory using similar methods and instrumentation.

ConsumerLab.com may modify or use other appropriate test methods if necessary to test special product formulations.

Passing Score: *
To pass testing, a product must meet the following criteria:

  1. Contain a minimum of 100% of its labeled amount of melatonin and not exceed 135% of this amount.
  2. Not exceed California Prop 65 levels for lead contamination in a recommended daily serving of a dietary supplement, i.e., contain less than 0.5 mcg of lead per daily serving with an additional allowance of 1.0 mcg for supplements containing 1,000 mg/day or more of elemental calcium and 0.5 mcg for supplements containing specific other minerals.** For supplements not marketed for use by children, ConsumerLab.com provides an additional allowance of 0.5 mcg if containing 250 to 499 mg/day of elemental calcium, or 1.0 mcg if containing 500 to 999 mg/day of elemental calcium, and an allowance of 0.5 mcg if containing one whole herb (not extract) ingredient or 1.0 mcg for two or more whole herb ingredients. If a maximum recommended daily serving is not defined, a daily serving size will be determined and applied by CL.
  3. Meet recommended USP parameters for disintegration for dietary supplements (excluding capsule, enteric coated, chewable and time-release products).
  4. Meet FDA labeling requirements.
A "Pass" was based on meeting the above criteria in either the first or second rounds of testing.

* Passing scores allow for specific margins of technical error associated with each analysis. ConsumerLab.com reserves the right to disqualify a product at any time from passing its testing if it considers such product to present a safety risk or to provide misleading or inaccurate information in its labeling.

** Based on State of California's Prop 65 lead limit. California requires supplements exceeding this limit to bear a warning label regarding lead.






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