The hangover pill, real promise or “cynical marketing”?

A hangover pill? This is the promise of the Swedish laboratory De Faire, which launched Myrkl (pronounced “miracle” in English) in early July, a food supplement that supposedly reduces the effects of alcohol. First marketed in the UK, it is now available in France through online sales and in some pharmacies.

“The new dietary supplement designed to quickly attack alcohol in the intestine before it reaches the liver, allowing you to have a few drinks at night without feeling the ill effects the next day, while burning calories,” boasts the laboratory’s press release.

Probiotics, cysteine ​​and vitamin B12

Clearly, according to its promoters, Myrkl would break down up to 70% of the alcohol consumed in sixty minutes. What’s in there? Probiotics (bacteria of the bacillus genus), cysteine ​​(an amino acid) but also vitamin B12. Its dosage: two capsules to be taken between two and twelve hours before alcohol consumption.

To prove their claims, the lab conducted a study. “One week of supplementation with AB001 (the active ingredient in Myrkl, editor’s note) resulted in significantly reduced absorption of alcohol in the body,” she says. In addition to reducing alcohol in the blood by 70%, it would reduce “alcohol calories by 70%”, enthuses Frédéric Fernandez, spokesperson for the brand, for BFMTV.com.

The latter evokes other “properties” of this “exceptional” product taken over time, such as weight loss and reduction of type 2 diabetes. “Studies are ongoing but have not yet been published,” says Frédéric Fernandez. “It is a product that has a lot of potential, the beneficial effects on health are considerable.”

A study of 14 people.

If “it is not impossible” that bacteria are capable of degrading alcohol in the laboratory, “no study has yet shown it,” Patrick Dallemand, professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Caen-Normandy, tells BFMTV.com. Not even the Swedish De Faire, he insists.

“In theory, it is possible that the bacteria speed up the transformation of alcohol into water and carbon dioxide,” he says. “But we have yet to test it. However, the laboratory study does not allow us to say whether this supplement works or not.”

This scientist thus judges the study as “not very rigorous”, in particular because the creator of this food supplement is one of the co-authors, but above all because the tested cohort is small, which is recognized by Frédéric Fernandez, representative of the laboratory. . If the test was carried out on 24 people, in reality, for ten of them, the amount of alcohol consumed was not detectable in the blood.

“The study was therefore carried out on 14 people,” comments Patrick Dallemand. “We can’t make it say much, except that we should do another study, more rigorous, on a larger scale, and with complete independence.

The lab acknowledges another “limit” to its study: “The amount of alcohol (ingested, editor’s note) did not influence cognitive function” of the participants, the study writes. In detail: they ingested 0.3g of alcohol per kilo. For someone who weighs 50 kilos, this represents the equivalent of a glass of wine.

“They did not administer enough alcohol to be able to observe cognitive effects, in particular on concentration”, observes Patrick Dallemand, who recalls that alcohol is absorbed directly into the bloodstream through the mouth, esophagus and stomach, while Myrkl acts on the intestines.

Despite this, the laboratory states that “taking AB001 can help prevent damage to the liver and other organs associated with regular alcohol consumption” and “reduce the negative medical and economic impact of alcohol consumption on the individual and on the society”.

To defend himself, Frédéric Fernandez, spokesman for De Faire, assures that the laboratory had difficulty finding a scientific institute that would agree to increase the dose of alcohol. “We would have loved to quadruple them, but they wouldn’t let us,” he says.

Pending a larger clinical trial, announced for the first half of 2023, Frédéric Fernandez highlights a customer satisfaction survey with a positive rate of 75%.

An exploding market

De Faire’s ambition with this pill, which the spokesman presents as a “pioneer” and “revolutionary” product: to conquer the market on the same model as the Red Bull energy drink in the late 1990s. The brand, which claims to sell of 100,000 boxes through the Channel, thus pointing to its worldwide distribution in the coming weeks: Germany, Australia, China, Japan and even the United States.

It must be said that its marketing comes at a time when the market for food supplements is booming. It experienced a record growth of 6% in France in 2021, assures the National Union of Food Supplements, reach 2,300 million euros in turnover. The consumption of this type of product also seems well established: one in two French people has already taken it, according to an Opinionway survey.

But fraud is common. In 2017, investigations of 95 small market operator websites revealed 76% of violations, including unauthorized health claims and prohibited therapeutic claims. indicates the Repression of Fraud (DGCCRF).

Contacted by BFMTV.com, the DGCCRF did not respond to our questions about Myrkl. but she remembers on your site that the labeling of food supplements must not mislead the consumer.

“Furthermore, their presentation and the advertising made of them must not attribute these products properties for the prevention, treatment or cure of a human disease, nor evoke these properties”, it specifies.

As for Myrkl, the box simply states that it is a “scientifically proven” dietary supplement. On the manufacturer’s website, it is also stated that the product is a “pre-drink supplement”, a food supplement that is taken before the consumption of alcoholic beverages. He adds: “Keep in mind that dietary supplements are absorbed differently from person to person and also depend on different external factors.”

A blank check for alcohol consumption?

Chemist Patrick Dallemand wonders about the true intentions of this supplement. “The laboratory prides itself on reducing the alcohol in exhaled air by 30%, one wonders if the goal is not to be able to inflate the balloon without exceeding the limit.”

Dan Véléa shares the same concerns. This psychiatrist-addict fears on BFMTV.com that this type of product promotes excessive alcohol consumption and is concerned about the message it conveys:

“This risks encouraging risky behavior while trying to limit the damage.”

Frédéric Fernandez, representative of the laboratory, replies that Myrkl is not intended for alcoholics, nor for those who consume alcohol in excess. The official target: occasional and moderate drinkers who want to be in good shape the next day. As working people, young parents “or older people whose metabolism is less efficient.”

“Cynical Marketing”

The fact is that Dan Véléa will not praise this supplement. “Although it would lower blood alcohol by 70%, alcohol has psychic effects, disinhibits, slows down reflexes,” lists this addict. He fears that some will allow themselves, for example, to drive, considering that their blood alcohol level has dropped by 70%.

Frédéric Fernandez, spokesman for the brand, is aware of these concerns and insists on a public health message. “No matter how much alcohol you drink, you shouldn’t drive after drinking. Alcohol is toxic from the first drop.” His nightmare, he assures: that Myrkl sells himself in nightclubs.

“In addition, we regularly turn down requests to sponsor student parties,” he says. “Myrkl shouldn’t be an excuse to drink and drive or to drink ten glasses instead of three.”

Be that as it may, William Lowenstein, drug addict and president of SOS Addictions, denounces “dangerous marketing” for BFMTV.com: “It’s just cynical marketing. The toxic effects of alcohol, in particular carcinogenic, will not be diminished in any way. .”