Benfotiamine "little better than snake oil"

A popular vitamin supplement is being advertised with claims that are demonstrably untrue, as revealed by research published in the open access, pier-reviewed journal BMC Pharmacology.

The product, benfotiamine is a synthetic derivative of thiamine (vitamin B1). It is marketed heavily as a dietary supplement using a selection of unsubstantiated, "not-quite-medical" claims that tend to characterize this field. A large part of this campaign has been built around the belief that benfotiamine is lipid-soluble and, therefore, more physiologically active. Scientific research led by Lucien Bettendorff of the Center for Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology at the University of Liege in Belgium has entirely disproved these claims.

A severe deficiency of thiamine is known to cause weight loss, emotional disturbances, impaired sensory perception, weakness and pain in the limbs, and periods of irregular heart rate. Deficiencies can occur as a result of alcoholism or malnutrition. As thiamine itself is very poorly absorbed by the body, it must be taken in as various precursor forms. This research shows that benfotiamine may not be as effective in this regard as has been claimed, in particular concerning its ability to raise effective thiamine levels in the central nervous system.