Supplements & Compounded Preparations — Important Information

Last updated: September 2026

Please read this before ordering any supplement or compounded preparation from us. It matters more than the usual small print, because these products are regulated differently from the medicines you collect at a retail pharmacy.

Regulatory status

The health supplements and complementary medicines sold here are classified as Schedule 0 in terms of the Medicines and Related Substances Act 101 of 1965. Schedule 0 means they may be sold without a prescription.

It does not mean they have been assessed for whether they work.

These are unregistered medicines. They have not been evaluated by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) for their quality, safety or intended use.

To date SAHPRA has not registered any complementary medicine in South Africa, and the regulatory framework for this category remains incomplete. We say this plainly because you deserve to know what you are buying: a product whose ingredients and strengths we can vouch for through our supplying pharmacy, but whose clinical benefit has not been independently verified by the regulator.

Compounded preparations

Several products in our range are compounded — made up individually by a licensed compounding pharmacy rather than manufactured in registered commercial batches. Compounding is legal and long established, and it exists to meet needs that off-the-shelf products cannot: a strength that is not commercially available, a formulation without an ingredient you react to, a preparation made up for one person.

Because each batch is made to order, compounded preparations are not registered medicines and do not carry a package insert of the kind you would find with a commercially registered product.

These products do not treat disease

Nothing sold on this site is intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Where a product description mentions a body system or a function, it describes what the ingredient is understood to do in the body — not a promise of a clinical outcome.

If you have symptoms that concern you, please be seen. A supplement is not a substitute for a diagnosis, and delaying proper assessment while trying something off a shelf is how treatable problems become difficult ones.

Speak to us first if any of these apply to you

You are pregnant, breastfeeding, or trying to conceive
You take prescription medication of any kind — interactions between supplements and prescription medicines are real, and some are serious
You have liver or kidney disease, a bleeding disorder, or take a blood thinner
You have surgery or a procedure coming up — a number of supplements should be stopped one to two weeks beforehand
You are buying for a child
You already take another supplement, particularly a multivitamin — doses add up, and some vitamins accumulate in the body rather than being excreted

Supplements and blood tests

Some supplements interfere with laboratory results. High-dose biotin is the most important example: it can distort thyroid function tests and can make a cardiac troponin result appear falsely normal during a heart attack. Tell any doctor, laboratory or emergency department what you are taking, and stop biotin at least three days before a blood test.

What to expect

People respond differently. Most supplements need eight to twelve weeks before any change is fair to judge, and hair and nails take longer still. Nothing here works for everyone, and we would rather set that expectation now than have you disappointed later.

If something goes wrong

Stop the product and contact us. If you have a severe reaction — difficulty breathing, swelling of the face or throat, a widespread rash — treat it as an emergency and get to a doctor or hospital immediately.

We report adverse events to our supplying pharmacy and, where appropriate, to SAHPRA. Telling us matters even when it seems minor.

Ordering and delivery

Compounded preparations are made to order rather than picked off a shelf. Please allow 7 to 14 working days for delivery. We will let you know if anything is likely to take longer.

Information here is not a consultation

Product descriptions on this site are general information. They are not personal medical advice, and no doctor–patient relationship is created by reading them or by placing an order.

If you want a recommendation for your own situation, book a consultation. That is what it is for, and it is a better use of your money than guessing.