Some melatonin and CBD gummies may contain more dangerous levels of the drugs than indicated on the label, a study warns.
Laboratory tests of store-bought supplements found nine out of ten were mislabeled.
One melatonin supplement contained 347 percent more — 4.5 times — more of the hormone than advertised, while another contained no melatonin at all and was instead made from CBD.
Taking too much melatonin can cause vomiting, diarrhea and even seizures, especially in young children with low tolerance. CBD can interact with other medications a child is taking, and they can also become tolerant to them and have worse sleep problems if they stop taking them.
It comes after a report found that the number of children who overdosed on melatonin rose by 530 percent between 2012 and 2022.
Over-the-counter sleeping pills are worrying because parents can give them to children, said Dr. Cora Collette Breuner, professor of pediatrics at Seattle Children’s Hospital at the University of Washington, told CNN.
The dietary supplement industry is booming in the US, making $45.3 billion annually and counting.
It is not subject to the same regulations as pharmaceutical products, as the products are classified as “dietary supplements”.
Researchers at the University of Mississippi sent 25 products called melatonin gummies to a lab for testing.
The products are included in the National Institutes of Health database, the most comprehensive database of dietary supplements sold in America.
The co-author of the study, dr. Pieter Cohen, associate professor of medicine at the Cambridge Health Alliance in Somerville, Massachusetts, told CNN: “The regulatory framework for dietary supplements is broken.
“Manufacturers are not following the law and the FDA is not enforcing the law. This means we have a lot of poor quality products.”
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About 88 percent of the gummy bears tested were mislabeled. The rest had melatonin levels that were within 10 percent of the amount, the study found.
Five of the products indicated that CBD was an ingredient in the gummies, with amounts ranging from 10.6 mg to 31.3 mg per serving.
The actual amount of CBD was found to be between 104 percent and 118 percent of the amount advertised on the label.
The US Food and Drug Administration said on its website: “It is currently illegal to market CBD by adding it to food or labeling it as a dietary supplement.”
Over-the-counter sleeping pills are worrying because parents can give them to children, said Dr. Cora Collette Breuner, professor of pediatrics at Seattle Children’s Hospital at the University of Washington, told CNN.
She said: “There is no data to support the use of CBD in children. It is currently only recommended for very specific use in children over one year of age with intractable epilepsy.”
She added that she took gummy bears with her Extremely high levels of melatonin—much higher than the 0.5 to 1 milligram per night that has been shown to promote sleep in children—are dangerous.
Melatonin can cause restlessness, headaches, sleepiness and increased bedwetting in children.
Children can also react badly to the drug or have an allergic reactionsaid the National Institutes of Health.
There may be effects on hormonal development. The agency said, “Because melatonin is a hormone, it is possible that melatonin supplements may affect puberty, the menstrual cycle, and overproduction of the hormone prolactin.”
However, many of the products tested clearly advertised CBD on their packaging.
A Canadian study found similar results: 16 brands of melatonin actually contained a dose of melatonin between 17 percent and 478 percent of the advertised amount.
Melatonin is a hormone that is critical to the body’s sleep-wake cycle. The level rises in the evening when the sun goes down, indicating that it is time to sleep, and drops to almost zero during the day.
Supplements of the hormone have been available over the counter in the US since the mid-1990s and are available at most pharmacies and health food stores for about 12 cents per pill.
More than four million American adults now take the dietary supplements regularly; It is estimated to be five times as much as two decades ago.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
