[NEWS]


SUPPLEMENT


SHUTDOWN RE-PRODUCED FROM THE WINTER 2013 EDITION OF THE


SPIRIT OF SPORT WITH PERMISSION FROM USADA The makers of a popular and controversial supplement were


recently forced by government order to cease operations. Alabama law enforcement officials raided the headquarters


of S.W.A.T.S (Sports with Alternative to Steroids) Fitness and Performance in September 2013, based on claims the company made about a number of products that were unsupported by scientific research. Some of these products were marketed as “dietary supplements.” One in particular, the “Ultimate Spray” was advertised as a


liposomal preparation of deer antler velvet intended for absorp- tion under the tongue (sublingual). Liposomes are similar to fat droplets that more effectively carry a drug through, in this case, the tissues under the tongue. Deer antler velvet is ground-up material obtained from antlers harvested before they harden. S.W.A.T.S further claimed that the active ingredient in the “Ulti- mate Spray” was insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), a substance banned both in- and out-of-competition on the WADA Prohib- ited List. S.W.A.T.S first came into the public eye thanks to a Febru-


ary 2013 Sports Illustrated story. In the article, the directors of S.W.A.T.S claimed that various high-profile professional and col- legiate athletes were using their products, which included “neg- atively-charged” water, “concussion caps”, and “holographic performance chips”. To stay up on the latest science, USADA has its own internal re-


search program and is also a partner in the Partnership for Clean Competition (PCC). The PCC was founded in 2008 by USADA along with the United States Olympic Committee, the National Football League, and Major League Baseball. A working group consisting of five international laboratories


developed a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectromet- ric assay for IGF-1. IGF-1 is comprised of a chain of 70 amino ac- ids in a specific sequence which, using mass spectrometry, can be determined.


14 >> WEIGHTLIFTING.TEAMUSA.ORG The Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory


(SMRTL) in Salt Lake City, which was part of the USADA/PCC IGF- 1 Working Group, tested the Ultimate Spray and found IGF-1 to have an amino acid sequence consistent of human or cow origin, but could not detect any IGF-1 with the sequence of amino acids from deer. The reason it is not possible to distinguish human from cow IGF-1 is that the sequence of amino acids is identi- cal. Interestingly, no IGF-1 was detected in a Chinese traditional medicine preparation of deer antler velvet, either. Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of


1994 (DSHEA), dietary supplements are defined as vitamins, minerals, amino acids, herbs, botanicals, and their extracts and concentrates. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken the position that dietary supplements are also intended to be ingested via the intestinal tract – thus placing sublingual sprays, crèmes, and other drug delivery systems in the category of “new drugs.” Since deer antlers do not fall within the above definition and a


sublingual spray qualifies the product as a “new drug”, S.W.A.T.S was presumably in violation of multiple FDA regulations, al- though the FDA never sent S.W.A.T.S a warning letter regard- ing their products. One of the frequently-discussed issues with DSHEA is the lack of funding for enforcement, particularly be- cause companies are not required to register their products with the FDA in advance of manufacturing. Due to this inconsistent enforcement, USADA frequently tests


supplements for prohibited substances. Ones that have been found to contain prohibited substances, even in trace amounts, are listed on the “USADA High Risk List” on the Supplement411. org website. The site also offers information pertaining to the industry and advice on making wise consumer decisions regard- ing dietary supplements. USADA also provides the FDA and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) with information regarding its supplement testing results and research.


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