Evaluation of Mineral Contents of Multi-Vitamin and Minerals Currently Sold in South Korea

Dietary supplements are popular worldwide and their use has been increasing. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the mineral contents of multi-vitamins and minerals (MVMs) in most commonly sold among dietary supplements. Ninety popular MVM supplements sold in South Korea were surveyed regarding their characteristics and ingredients including minerals listed on the labels through off-line and on-line search. Daily mineral contents of the MVM supplements were compared with Korean Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) by target populations. The average price of 90 MVM supplements was $41.3 per bottle, with a price of $0.9 per day and the average number of minerals contained per supplement was 4.7. A total 14 minerals were found in the MVM supplements including calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, and magnesium. Nine minerals (e.g. calcium, magnesium, and iron) were included in more than 30% of the MVM supplements examined. When daily mineral dose of MVMs was compared to DRIs, calcium was the lowest (34.0% of recommended intake [RI]) and chromium was the highest (218.7% of adequate intake [AI]), and zinc, copper, selenium, and chromium were also higher than their RI or AI levels. The daily mineral contents of the 90 MVM supplements were below the tolerable upper-intake level, but some minerals were higher than RI or AI with high variance among products. Therefore, there is a great need to educate the public for the adequate selection and use of MVM supplements based on the contents of MVM supplements and individual's mineral intake derived from the diet.