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SAMe (S-adenosyl-methionine) Supplements Review

How Products Were Evaluated

Written by Mark Anderson, Ph.D. — Medically reviewed and edited by Tod Cooperman, M.D.

How Products were Selected:
Selected products represent those commonly sold and/or available nationally in the U.S. ConsumerLab.com purchased products on the open market through retail stores, online retailers, or direct sales companies. Products were not accepted directly from manufacturers.

Testing Methods:

Products were tested for the following:

S-adenosyl-methionine (SAMe) by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).
Disintegration of enteric coated, time-release and sustained release tablet, caplet and softgel formulations utilizing USP (United States Pharmacopeia) <2040> methodology for delayed-release (enteric coated) tablets.

Disintegration was performed by ConsumerLab.com, while other tests were performed by one or more independent, outside laboratories. Any product that did not initially pass (as defined below) was sent to another independent laboratory to repeat testing for criterion on which it did not pass.

ConsumerLab.com may modify or use other appropriate test methods if necessary to test special product formulations.

The identities of the products were not disclosed to the laboratories performing the testing.

Passing Score:*

To be "Approved" by Consumerlab.com, a product must meet the following requirements:

Contain 100% of its claimed amount of SAMe and no more than 125% of that amount.
Clearly and accurately state the amount of "free" SAMe (i.e., not including stabilizing compounds) on the label.
Meet recommended USP <2040> parameters for disintegration of delayed-release (enteric coated) tablets including caplet and softgel formulations.
Be in compliance with FDA labeling requirements.

A "Pass" was based on meeting the above criteria in either the first or second rounds of testing.

* Passing scores allow for specific margins of technical error associated with each analysis. ConsumerLab.com reserves the right to disqualify a product at any time from passing its testing if it considers such product to display unacceptable variation, present a safety risk or to provide misleading or inaccurate information in its labeling.

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