Say aaah! The latest vitamin fad comes in a spray can

Pills are so last week; the fast track to health is through your cheek, writes Leigh-Anne Hunter

Spfff. That's the sound of the latest health trend - oral vitamin sprays. BetterYou, a UK company that makes them, claims this method delivers nutrients "at least 50% faster than tablets or capsules". Spraying into the mouth gives vitamins an express ticket into the bloodstream, "rather than relying on ... the digestive system where much of our tablets are simply not absorbed".

The way we consume medicine is changing - aside from oral sprays, there are transdermal sprays, vitamin body soaks, vaccine patches ...

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Convenience is a key selling point. Don't have time for a vitamin B12 injection? No worries. Just four spritzes of this mouth spray will deliver a daily dose of 100mcg. And it has a tasty apricot flavour.

While Professor Viness Pillay, head of pharmaceutics at the University of the Witwatersrand, says mass-market products such as vitamin mouth sprays still require "solid clinical validation", it is true, in general, that the mucosal membrane absorbs drugs faster and more effectively than the gut. This knowledge could have massive implications in another area - the treatment of serious diseases, where, says Pillay, "current forms of treatment are not optimal".

It is something he and his team at the Wits Advanced Drug Delivery Platform, a specialised unit in the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, have been studying in great detail.

WaferMat is one product that Pillay's unit has developed and patented. "It's an ultra-fast dissolving wafer technology, which doesn't require water to administer," he says. Placed on the inside of the patient's cheek, it is absorbed via the buccal mucosa. "The product uses nanotechnology to facilitate rapid drug absorption and prevent swallowing of the drug by forming a hydrogel film on the cheek before it is swallowed," says Pillay.

His unit is currently exploring WaferMat for use in paediatric antibiotic regimens. Many could benefit from this kind of technology - from children with HIV, to cancer patients who require rapid treatment, and patients who have difficulty swallowing, Pillay says.

The future of medicine could see a range of "oral mucosal" products being formulated.

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Consumers should, however, exercise caution, says Pillay. "What we need are more and larger clinical trials under conditions set out by drug regulatory authorities."

He says terminology is often confusing. 

"For example, 'scientifically proven' does not necessarily mean that the product is clinically proven. It means it's proven in the lab, in vitro. It doesn't mean that it's proven in vivo - in humans."

Making medication - even vitamins - easier and more convenient to consume may pose a health hazard, says Pillay.

"In general, the rate of absorption of bioactive substances is faster through the mucosal membrane. Rapid absorption of certain vitamins, for example, could pose a health threat to certain patients. Vitamins and minerals such as your B-complex, copper, manganese, ginseng, are stimulatory."

If absorption is too rapid, anxiety can occur, in the form of heart palpitations and panic attacks.

"It is important for people to have a proper diagnosis ... before they buy a product. If someone has a significant vitamin deficiency, a more aggressive form of therapy may be required. With oral spray formulations, people have this notion that, 'Well, I'm only spraying it on my cheek, so it's safe.' It's not a simple case. The mouth is a complex area."