Liver specialist and Clinician-scientist Dr. Cyriac Abby Philips, popularly known online as “The Liver Doctor”, has raised concerns over Boroline for marketing itself as an Ayurvedic product. Boroline consists of Boric acid as its key ingredient and this chemical is not used in Ayurvedic medicine.
The ointment which is readily available over the counter, is a celebrated household name, specifically among Bengalis. It is widely used for chapped lips, skin infections, cuts and burns.
Dr Philips took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “Did you know that the 'Ayurvedic' Boroline contains boric acid, zinc oxide and lanolin (extracted from sheep's wool containing refined versions of animal skin grease and animal sweat salt) and has NOTHING to do with Ayurveda?”
Did you know that the "Ayurvedic" Boroline contains boric acid, zinc oxide and lanolin (extracted from sheep's wool containing refined versions of animal skin grease and animal sweat salt) and has NOTHING to do with Ayurveda? https://t.co/cFQkkCn7Bp
— TheLiverDoc (@theliverdr) October 13, 2024
In a different tweet, Liver Doc expressed that the company has listed “tankan amla (boric acid)” as one of the key ingredients of the cream, but amla is Indian gooseberry and ‘tankan amla’ means powdered gooseberry. It has nothing to do with boric acid.
He tweeted, “This is called mislabeling which is very common on Ayurvedic over-the-counter supplements sold globally. Mislabelling is consumer fraud and also one of the major reasons for severe adverse effects seen in consumers of these herbal mumbo-jumbo," he said. "Someone must actually look at these ingredients, test them for the labeled components and look at how much the company was lying to their loyal customers for more than 80 years.”
However, later on, a Twitter user pointed out that the mention of “amla” in the ingredients list of Boroline can be translated to “acid” and not Indian gooseberry, to which Dr. Philips agreed, but he further added, “It is still not Ayurvedic, even if you did consider it boric acid. Boric acid was not used in Ayurvedic medicine.”
Boroline has been doing rounds in the market from 1929, marketing itself as “natural and ayurvedic”. The Liver Doc, who is famous for banishing misleading information related to alternative medicine, which also includes ayurvedic medicines. He often discourses his research works and findings, and how these misleading labels can have an affect on consumers.
Dr. Philips further highlighted that the use of misleading labels on over the counter Ayurvedic products is a type of consumer Farid. The misinformation provided about the ingredients could lead to adverse effects among the consumers. De. Philips questions the authenticity of the company in adhering to Ayurvedic principles.
The scrutiny mirrors the latest round of discussions going on regarding the classification of products like Boroplus Antiseptic Cream and others under drugs or cosmetics. This was highlighted by a Telangana High Court ruling.
Dr. Philips continues to extend his research into alternative medicines and challenge false claims made by such products. He has always been championing transparency in labeling.
