Office of Dietary Supplements

The Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) was created in 1994, as authorized by the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-417). It is located within the Office of Disease Prevention, Office of the Director, within the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The responsibilities of ODS are to explore the role of dietary supplements to improve healthcare, to promote scientific research on the benefits of supplements, to coordinate research within NIH regarding supplements, to collect and compile the results of scientific research concerning supplements, and to act as an adviser on issues concerning supplements.

ODS provides research funding largely through collaboration with NIH Institutes and Centers, because the ODS itself does not have granting authority. Program areas within ODS include evidence-based reviews of the efficacy and safety of supplements, dietary research on botanicals, training and career development for scientists interested in studying supplements, development of databases of dietary supplement ingredients, development of analytical methods and reference materials, and creation of educational and informational materials for the general public, including the Dietary Supplement Fact Sheets which are available for download from the ODS Web site.

ODS has developed several bibliographical tools to facilitate dissemination of information about supplements. The Computer Access to Research on Dietary Supplements (CARDS) database, available through the ODS Web site, contains information about federally funded research concerning dietary supplements. The International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements (IBIDS), also available through the ODS Web site, contains bibliographic citations and abstracts from published international and scientific research concerning supplements. ODS is currently developing a database that will provide the composition of dietary supplements, as derived from analytical chemical data; this information will be combined with information from food composition databases to estimate nutrient intakes from foods and dietary supplements.

ODS has published an Annual Bibliography of Significant Advances in Dietary Supplement Research each year since 1999 (the most recent available year is 2005). These publications, which are available for download from the ODS Web site, include abstracts [Page 558]of 25 scientific research papers selected as outstanding by a team of internationally recognized scientists, and citations of articles which appeared in previous annual bibliographies. ODS also maintains a listserv and publishes an electronic newsletter, ODS Update, which includes information about ODS activities and other projects and initiatives related to supplements.

The goals and initiatives of the ODS for the years 2004–09 are published in the document Promoting Quality Science in Dietary Supplement Research, Education and Communication, available for download from the ODS Web site. Goals cited in this document include evaluation of the role supplements play in disease prevention, fostering research evaluating the role of supplements in optimal performance, supporting research in the biochemical and cellular effects of supplements, promotion of the development of improved methodologies for studying supplements, and expanding educational and outreach activities to the general public, healthcare providers, and scientists.