How do I search the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database?

Go to the Dietary Supplement Label Database (DSLD) run by the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, type a brand or product name in the search bar, and open the label record that comes up. You can also search by ingredient, then narrow the results by market status or date. The record shows what the label printed: ingredients, amounts per serving, serving size and any precaution statements. It is a free way to check a sales page against a label.

The sections below explain what the database holds, how its search works, what a label record contains, and where it falls short. One note on method: the DSLD website itself blocked our automated request, so we describe its functions from the NIH's published API documentation and from peer-reviewed papers about it. The live site may be laid out a little differently. This is general information, not medical advice.

What is the Dietary Supplement Label Database?

The DSLD was launched in 2008 by the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. A 2018 paper in The Journal of Nutrition describes it as a public database created to provide information on supplement composition for researchers and consumers, and said it then held more than 71,000 labels. A 2021 paper by NIH authors says it catalogs information printed on over 125,000 historical and current labels of products sold in the United States. A 2024 paper puts the figure at over 165,000.

The word "historical" matters. The database keeps labels for products that are no longer sold, which lets researchers track how formulas change over time. It also means one brand can appear several times with different versions of the same product.

How does the search work?

The NIH's API documentation, which runs on the same label data, lists the main ways to look something up:

• Browse by brand name. You can list brands by keyword or by starting letter, then list the products under a brand.
• Browse by product name. The same idea, by keyword or letter.
• Browse by ingredient. Ingredients are grouped, and the search can match a term against synonyms for each ingredient group.
• Full search with filters. A query is searched across all label fields. Quotation marks find exact multi-word matches, and a wildcard star returns a term-less search.

The full search can be sorted by best match, by date entered or by product name. It can be filtered by market status (on market, off market or both) and by date range. The 2021 paper adds that the redesigned site has a prominent search bar and counter, tailored filters, download options and pictorial views of the data.

A practical tip: put the product name in quotation marks first. If nothing appears, try the brand name alone, then an ingredient plus the brand. Names on sales pages are often slightly different from names on the printed label.

What is inside a label record?

The API's sample record shows the fields a label entry can hold. These include the full product name and brand, UPC code, serving sizes, servings per container, net contents, physical form such as tablet, target groups, and statements printed on the package. Statements include precautions, for example a warning to avoid the product with a certain allergy.

For each ingredient the record has a row with the name, the quantity per serving, the unit and the percent Daily Value where the label gives one. The record also lists events, such as the date it entered the database and the date it went off market.

That is exactly the information a sales page often leaves out. Our review method starts with the label for the same reason.

How can you use it to check a supplement offer?

Here are four jobs the DSLD is good for.

1. Compare the sales page with the printed label. If a page lists "13 ingredients" and the label lists a different number, that is worth knowing. In our Pulmo Balance review, the page heading promises 13 ingredients, names six and hides every dose.
2. Look up an amount the page does not state. The Nerve Soothe review records a sales page that names no milligram amounts at all, and the Nu Nerve review records eight ingredients with no amounts. A label record, if one exists, is where an amount would show up.
3. Compare the same ingredient across products. Search an ingredient and look at the amounts on different labels. For instance, the Nerve Armor review records alpha lipoic acid at 150 mg, a quarter of the 600 mg dose in the trial its own page cites. Seeing how other labels dose the same ingredient puts a number like that in context.
4. Check a precaution or allergen line. Statements are part of the record, so you can read the printed warning without buying the product.

The Nerve Fresh review is a useful contrast: its page prints an amount for each of five ingredients, so the label and page can be compared line by line. We did not check whether any of these five products has an entry in the DSLD, and some may not.

What are the limits of the database?

The DSLD is a record of what labels say. It is not a laboratory test and it does not confirm what is in the bottle. A 2024 paper by NIH and outside researchers is direct about this: label declarations in the DSLD do not always give quantitative information, so for some ingredients the data can be used only to screen for presence, not to estimate exposure.

Other limits to keep in mind:

• Missing products. A product that is not in the database is not necessarily fake. It may simply not have been entered.
• Proprietary blends. If a label lists only a blend total, the record can show only that total. It cannot reveal the amount of each ingredient inside.
• Old versions. Formulas change, so check the market status and the date on the record you open.
• Self-reported claims. The data are what the company printed. A label's own claim of "free of allergens" is not verified by the database.

Many formulas in our brain and memory category, for example, are sold as blends, and a label record cannot split a blend for you. Use the database to confirm what the label printed, then use independent sources such as MedlinePlus, NCCIH and PubMed to judge whether the doses match the research. If you want a quick refresher on how those sources fit together, the full list of reviews shows how we apply them to each offer. Keep a copy of the record you used, because labels can change.

A short checklist for a DSLD search

1. Search the exact product name in quotation marks, then the brand name alone.
2. Open the label and check the date and market status.
3. Write down the serving size, each ingredient and its amount.
4. Compare that list with the sales page, ingredient by ingredient.
5. Note any ingredient with no amount, and any blend with only a total.
6. If something does not match, ask the seller for a photo of the current bottle label.
7. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist before starting any supplement, especially if you take medication.

FAQ

Is the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database free?

Yes. It is a public resource of the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, and its API data is released under a CC0 public domain dedication.

Does the DSLD test supplements?

No. It records what is printed on labels. It does not analyze the contents of the product.

What if my supplement is not in the database?

That does not mean it is unsafe or fake. The product may not have been entered, or the name on the label may differ from the name on the sales page. Search the brand and ingredients too, and ask the seller for the label.

Can I search by ingredient in the DSLD?

Yes. The documentation lists browsing by ingredient group, and the full search looks across all label fields, so a query such as an ingredient name returns labels that mention it.