Class Action Lawsuit Targets Natrol Glucosamine Supplements

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

Class Action Lawsuit Targets Natrol Glucosamine Supplements

By Anne Bucher

On Wednesday, October 9, Natrol Inc. was targeted by a class action lawsuit accusing the supplement maker of falsely advertising that its line of glucosamine and chondroitin products promote joint health even though there is no scientific evidence to support those claims.

The two products being targeted in the proposed class action lawsuit are Natrol Glucosamine 1500mg Chondroitin 1200mg and Natrol Glucosamine Chondroitin MSM (known as “Natrol GC”).

Plaintiff Linda Dao filed the Natrol class action lawsuit, alleging that Natrol engaged in a nationwide advertising campaign that promoted its Natrol GC products as having “clinically tested ingredients to promote optimal joint flexibility, lubrication, mobility and comfort,” as well as having the ability to “help rebuild cartilage tissue.” However, Dao argues that these claims are false.

“These claimed health benefits are the only reason a consumer would purchase Natrol GC. Defendants’ advertising claims, however, are false, misleading and reasonably likely to deceive the public,” Dao says in the Natrol class action lawsuit.

According to the class action lawsuit, the available scientific evidence indicates that Natrol GC products are ineffective at improving joint health, provide no benefits related to pain reduction in human joints and do not protect cartilage from breakdown.

“Defendants do not have any competent, reliable, scientific evidence that substantiates their representations about the health benefits of consuming Natrol GC. In fact, numerous scientifically valid studies have been conducted on the ingredients, including the core or primary ingredients in Natrol GC, glucosamine hydrochloride and chondroitin sulfate, and they have universally demonstrated that those ingredients, either on their own or in combination, have absolutely no scientific value in the treatment of joint pain or discomfort,” the Natrol glucosamine class action lawsuit says.

Even though the ingredients have not been proven to be effective at treating joint pain, Dao says that Natrol continued to market the products with deceptive advertising and labeling.

“Defendants convey their uniform, deceptive message to consumers through a variety of media, including defendant Natrol’s website, online promotional materials, and, most importantly, at the point of purchase: on the front and back of the Natrol GC packaging/labeling where consumers cannot miss it. The only reason a consumer would purchase Natrol GC is to obtain the advertised joint-health benefits, which the Natrol GC products do not provide,” the class action lawsuit says.

Dao says she spent about $25 per bottle on a product that does not work. At the time of her purchase in March 2013, she read and relied on Natrol’s representations about the joint health benefits of the product. Despite taking the product regularly, she allegedly experienced no benefits.

Dao filed the Natrol glucosamine class action lawsuit on behalf of herself and other Class Members who were deceived into purchasing a product that cannot deliver the promised results. She claims that Natrol knew or should have known that glucosamine and chondroitin “have no medicinal value” and are ineffective at relieving joint pain or rebuilding cartilage. Dao says that, had she known the truth about Natrol’s representations, she never would have purchased the Natrol GC products.

Dao is represented by Todd D. Carpenter of Carpenter Law Group and James R. Patterson of Patterson Law Group.

The Natrol Glucosamine/Chondroitin Class Action Lawsuit is Linda Dao, et al. v. Natrol Inc., et al., Case No. 3:13-cv-02433, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

All class action and lawsuit news updates are listed in the Lawsuit News section of Top Class Actions