FALSE: Purtier and Purtier 6th edition food supplements repair cells

At a glance

• Claim: The Purtier and Purtier 6th edition food supplements repair cells and reverse the aging process.
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: These food supplements do not have any approved therapeutic claims. Stem cells need to be directly implanted to replace dead cells and will be only be destroyed by enzymes if taken orally.   
• Why we fact-checked this: Multiple social media posts selling this product are making claims on the possible benefits of this health supplement. There have been posts made in January 2021, though some go back as far as 2017.  

Complete details

Multiple posts have been circulating on social media about the supposed ability of Purtier and Purtier 6th edition food supplements to “repair cells” and “reverse the aging process.” Another post claims that it can help prevent or alleviate health conditions, such as cancer, high blood pressure, kidney disease, traumatic injuries, and even autism.

These posts often sell these products at a steep price of P135,000 (or $2,628; $1 = P51.38) for several bottles marketed as a packaged treatment. 

These claims are false.

The health supplement claims to utilize live stem cells from deer placenta in their pills. Singapore’s Health Services Agency reports that “stem cells consumed orally will be destroyed by the enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract” and that “[for] stem cells to regenerate healthy cells to replace diseased ones, they would need to be transplanted directly into patients.”     

There are currently two products registered with the Food and Drug Authority under the brand name “Purtier” and “Purtier 6th edition.” Both of these products by the FDA have been registered as “Food Supplement with NO APPROVED THERAPEUTIC CLAIMS.” 

As early as 1992, the Bureau of Food and Drugs, the forerunner of the FDA, made it a requirement to print on all labels of food supplements the “NO APPROVED THERAPEUTIC CLAIMS” caption. In 2015, this was amended to instead bear the Filipino version of the caption. However, none of these posts and promotional materials contain the disclaimer, a requirement of the Department of Health and FDA for “all food/dietary supplement owners, manufacturers, distributors, importers, exporters, advertisers, and or their agents.”  

In 2018, the FDA also released a public health warning about the false and misleading advertisements and promotion of Purtier Deer Placenta Plus Food Supplement. In it, the FDA did not mince words when reiterating that food supplements with no approved therapeutic claims “shall not, in any way, prevent and cure any disease conditions.” – Renzo Arceta/Rappler.com

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