Quanterra Supplement Line Extended With Three New Products

Warner-Lambert is doubling the size of its Quanterra dietary supplements line with three new products: Stomach Comfort, Sinus Defense and Sleep.

The supplement extensions are reaching store shelves now at mass outlets including Wal-Mart and Kmart. The three original Quanterra offerings are Mental Sharpness with ginkgo biloba, Emotional Balance with St. John's wort and Prostate with saw palmetto.

Two of the new products - Sinus Defense and Sleep - mark the first herbal combinations to be included in the Quanterra line.

Each Sinus Defense tablet contains 125 mg of Sinupret, a proprietary combination of five herbs: 9 mg gentian root and 29 mg each of elder flower, the aerial parts of European vervain, primrose flower and the aerial parts of sorrel. The Quanterra Web site mentions two clinical trials supporting the effectiveness of the combination.

Claims for the product listed on the Web site include: "Maintains healthy, clear sinus passages"; "Promotes and maintains sinus health"; and "Maintains healthy sinus functions, especially drainage and secretion." A 21-tablet box will retail for around $7.69; directions recommend taking one tablet three times daily and state Sinus Defense can be used for up to six continuous weeks.

Other marketed herbal supplements for sinus relief include USA Nutritionals Herbal Releaf Goldenseal and Nature's Life Sinus Ease. FDA has sent numerous "courtesy" letters to companies for making claims related to allergy, sinus, or cold/flu symptoms, which the agency deems to be drug claims. One such letter was sent to Weider Nutrition May 27 for its Sinus Free Two Phase System (¹ ).

In bringing the product to market, Warner-Lambert has opted not to introduce either an echinacea or a zinc supplement. The company does use echinacea in some of the lozenges in its Celestial Seasonings Herbal Comfort line, however, while zinc appears in W-L's Halls Zinc Defense cough drops.

Quanterra Stomach Comfort will be available in a 28-capsule size and will retail at an average price of $7.67. Each capsule contains 250 mg Zintona dried ginger root powder and directions recommend taking two capsules a half-hour prior to traveling or eating and state consumers may take two capsules every four hours while traveling.

As with Sinupret, Warner-Lambert refers to clinical trials supporting Zintona's efficacy; three such trials are listed on the Internet. Claims for the product include: "Maintains a calm stomach, especially during travel."

The last of the new supplements, Quanterra Sleep, comes in a 56-count box and provides 150 mg valerian and 75 mg lemon balm extract per tablet. Consumers are advised to take two to three tablets a half-hour to an hour before bedtime; the average retail price is $12.99.

The product carries the claims "Promotes normal onset of sleep" and "Promotes a restful night's sleep." Two clinical trials are mentioned on the Web site, which also notes "unlike most other valerian products on the market, Quanterra Sleep is odor controlled."

Warnings also alert consumers not to "drive or operate heavy equipment while taking this product." Two other warnings, made for both Stomach Comfort and Sinus Defense, read: "Keep this and all dietary supplements out of the reach of children" and "As with any supplement, contact your doctor if you are taking prescription medicine, or are pregnant or nursing a baby."

The new products are the first extensions to the Quanterra line since W-L began shipping Emotional Balance in January (² (Also see "Quanterra Emotional Balance" - Pink Sheet, 22 Mar, 1999.)). Additional extensions appear to be planned, as the firm's Web site claims: "More dietary supplements to come! Look for additional dietary supplements from Quanterra soon!"

Besides possibly adding echinacea or zinc supplements to the line, W-L could introduce either a ginseng or a garlic product, both of which are notably absent from Quanterra's offerings. Whitehall-Robins and Bayer each have items containing the ingredients in their respective lines, Centrum Herbals and One-A-Day.

Whitehall's six-product line of supplements has been relatively idle, however, with no extensions occurring since its launch last November; the company said it has no plans for the line in the near future.

Bayer recently extended its One-A-Day line by introducing Joint Health and Bedtime & Rest in July (³ (Also see "Bayer One-A-Day" - Pink Sheet, 14 Jun, 1999.)). A 15-second TV spot for Joint Health that began airing Sept. 8 features spokeswoman Annie Potts at a bowling alley and refers to the product as a "unique blend designed to help you maintain flexibility."