Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to boron and maintenance of bone (ID 218, 219) and maintenance of joints (ID 219, 220) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006
Jean-Louis Bresson, Albert Flynn, Marina Heinonen, Karin Hulshof, Hannu Korhonen, Pagona Lagiou, Martinus Løvik, Rosangela Marchelli, Ambroise Martin, Bevan Moseley, Hildegard Przyrembel, Seppo Salminen, Sean (J.J.) Strain, Stephan Strobel, Inge Tetens, Henk van den Berg, Hendrik van Loveren and Hans Verhagen
Contact
nda@efsa.europa.eu
No abstract available
Following a request from the European Commission, the Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies was asked to provide a scientific opinion on a list of health claims pursuant to Article 13 of Regulation 1924/2006. This opinion addresses the scientific substantiation of health claims in relation to boron and the following claimed effects: maintenance of bone and maintenance of joints. The scientific substantiation is based on the information provided by the Member States in the consolidated list of Article 13 health claims and references that EFSA has received from Member States or directly from stakeholders.
The food constituent that is the subject of the health claims is boron, which occurs in foods as borate and boric acid and is measurable in foods by established methods. The Panel considers that boron is sufficiently characterised.
Maintenance of bone
The claimed effects are “bone health” and “bone metabolism” “involved in bone metabolism”. The Panel assumes that the target group is the general population. In the context of the proposed wordings, the Panel notes that these claimed effects relate to the maintenance of normal bone. The Panel considers that the maintenance of normal bone is beneficial to human health.
In weighing the evidence, the Panel took into account that, although some animal studies report adverse effects of dietary deprivation of boron on calcium balance, bone calcification and bone strength that can be corrected by increasing boron intake, no consistent effect of boron intake on meaningful markers of bone health has been observed in humans.
The Panel concludes that a cause and effect relationship has not been established between the consumption of boron and the maintenance of normal bone.
Maintenance of joints
The claimed effect is “joint health”. The Panel assumes that the target group is the general population. The Panel considers that the maintenance of normal joints is beneficial to human health.
In weighing the evidence, the Panel took into account that the evidence provided does not establish that patients with osteoarthritis are representative of the general population with regard to the status of joint tissues, or that results obtained in studies on subjects with osteoarthritis can be extrapolated to the maintenance or improvement of the structure or function of joints in the general population.
The Panel concludes that a cause and effect relationship has not been established between the consumption of boron and the maintenance of normal joints.
Boron, bone, joints, health claims
