NAPLEX Dietary Supplements and Natural Products Questions with
Correct Answers (Grade A+)
Question 1: complementary medicine
Answer: used in addition to conventional medicine
Question 2: alternative medicine
Answer: used instead of conventional medicine
Question 3: Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994
Answer: DSHEA - manufacturer must ensure safety before marketing and cannot claim to
treat/cure/mitigate a condition
Question 4: When can a dietary supplement be removed from the market?
Answer: FDA must prove that it is unsafe
Question 5: Where are adverse events to dietary supplements reported?
Answer: FDA's Safety Reporting Panel
Question 6: Supplement Facts
Answer: similar to Nutrition Facts - on the back of every dietary supplement
Question 7: What can dietary supplements claim for marketing purposes?
Answer: only relationship to normal health/body structure/function - ex. Calcium builds strong bones; also
need a disclaimer saying FDA has not evaluated these claims
Question 8: Who creates standards for dietary supplements?
Answer: USP
Question 9: How is folic acid measured in dietary supplements?
Answer: 600mcg DFE = 360mcg folic acid
Question 10: Why should St. John's Wort be avoided?
Answer: induces 3A4, 2C19, 2C9, 1A2, p-gp; is serotonergic, causes photosensitivity, and lowers the
seizure threshold
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, Question 11: What natural supplements cause bleeding?
Answer: garlic, ginger, ginkgo, ginseng, glucosamine, vitamin E, dong quai, willow bark, fish oils
Question 12: What natural products cause hepatotoxicity?
Answer: black cohosh, kava, chaparral, comfrey, green tea extract
Question 13: What natural products cause cardiotoxicity?
Answer: ephedra (bitter orange), DMAA (amphetamine derivative), glycyrrhizin (licorice), yohimbe
Question 14: What are the ADE of caffeine?
Answer: HTN and tachycardia
Question 15: medical foods
Answer: not drugs or supplements, taken enterally, under provider supervision, used to treat a known
medical condition - usually not covered by insurance; ex. L-methylfolate for depression
Question 16: Medical foods must be recognized as -
Answer: Generally Recognized As Safe per FDA
Question 17: When is vitamin supplementation not needed?
Answer: usually - if patients are consuming a balanced diet
Question 18: Most adults and children are deficient in ___ and ___.
Answer: vitamin D and calcium
Question 19: When is folate deficiency most common?
Answer: women of child-bearing age
Question 20: When is thiamine deficiency most common?
Answer: alcoholism and malabsorptive conditions
Question 21: Wernicke's encephalopathy
Answer: confusion, ataxia, tremor, vision changes - due to thiamine deficiency, reversible
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Correct Answers (Grade A+)
Question 1: complementary medicine
Answer: used in addition to conventional medicine
Question 2: alternative medicine
Answer: used instead of conventional medicine
Question 3: Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994
Answer: DSHEA - manufacturer must ensure safety before marketing and cannot claim to
treat/cure/mitigate a condition
Question 4: When can a dietary supplement be removed from the market?
Answer: FDA must prove that it is unsafe
Question 5: Where are adverse events to dietary supplements reported?
Answer: FDA's Safety Reporting Panel
Question 6: Supplement Facts
Answer: similar to Nutrition Facts - on the back of every dietary supplement
Question 7: What can dietary supplements claim for marketing purposes?
Answer: only relationship to normal health/body structure/function - ex. Calcium builds strong bones; also
need a disclaimer saying FDA has not evaluated these claims
Question 8: Who creates standards for dietary supplements?
Answer: USP
Question 9: How is folic acid measured in dietary supplements?
Answer: 600mcg DFE = 360mcg folic acid
Question 10: Why should St. John's Wort be avoided?
Answer: induces 3A4, 2C19, 2C9, 1A2, p-gp; is serotonergic, causes photosensitivity, and lowers the
seizure threshold
Page 1
, Question 11: What natural supplements cause bleeding?
Answer: garlic, ginger, ginkgo, ginseng, glucosamine, vitamin E, dong quai, willow bark, fish oils
Question 12: What natural products cause hepatotoxicity?
Answer: black cohosh, kava, chaparral, comfrey, green tea extract
Question 13: What natural products cause cardiotoxicity?
Answer: ephedra (bitter orange), DMAA (amphetamine derivative), glycyrrhizin (licorice), yohimbe
Question 14: What are the ADE of caffeine?
Answer: HTN and tachycardia
Question 15: medical foods
Answer: not drugs or supplements, taken enterally, under provider supervision, used to treat a known
medical condition - usually not covered by insurance; ex. L-methylfolate for depression
Question 16: Medical foods must be recognized as -
Answer: Generally Recognized As Safe per FDA
Question 17: When is vitamin supplementation not needed?
Answer: usually - if patients are consuming a balanced diet
Question 18: Most adults and children are deficient in ___ and ___.
Answer: vitamin D and calcium
Question 19: When is folate deficiency most common?
Answer: women of child-bearing age
Question 20: When is thiamine deficiency most common?
Answer: alcoholism and malabsorptive conditions
Question 21: Wernicke's encephalopathy
Answer: confusion, ataxia, tremor, vision changes - due to thiamine deficiency, reversible
Page 2
