Iovate 'Muscle Building' Supplements Hit With Lawsuit

Who doesn’t want more muscle without the exercise? The rise of diet aids and muscle building products feeds into an age-old human dream. Iovate Health Sciences Inc. landed in trouble recently, however, over its dietary supplements’ claims to help build muscle size. A class action lawsuit that says the company’s claims are, frankly, false, has now been filed with a California federal court

The product’s claims are false and misleading.

Iovate’s claims are based around the principle that amino acid L-Arginine plays a crucial role in muscle building by increasing blood flow during exercise, and that this can be boosted by oral supplements. All well and good – except that relevant scientific studies have shown that Arginine supplements taken orally don’t dilate blood vessels, and so the effects would be negligible, says the complaint.

The complaint, filed by plaintiff Patrick Hesano, alleges that scientific studies suggest that unlike the naturally occurring form, the amino acid taken orally doesn’t metabolize into nitric oxide – a necessary step to boost blood flow to muscles. As such, the product’s claims are false and misleading, Hesano says.

The specific product in question, Iovate’s Six Star Pro Nutrition N.O. Fury capsules, relies upon orally digested L-Arginine. The complaint claims that several studies demonstrate that oral digestion only increases plasma arginine levels, however, and fails to change into nitric oxide. As it’s nitric oxide that aids vascular tone, and so muscle growth, the product may not be as effective as advertised. Hesano is seeking to represent a nationwide class of consumers who purchased Six Star capsules, dating back four years. The case is being brought for breach of express and implied warranties under California’s Unfair Competition Law, Legal Remedies Act and False Advertising Act.

The complaint also names distributor Iovate Health Sciences USA, and parent company Kerr Investment Holding Corp., which was formerly known as Iovate Health Sciences Group Inc.

The case is Hesano v. Iovate Health Sciences Inc., case number 3:13-cv-01960, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.