In 1999, Airborne, a herbal supplement company started by a teacher in the US, began marketing a cold remedy, claiming its proprietary formula - said to include traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) ingredients - had immune-boosting qualities. Oprah Winfrey became a huge fan, touting the product's preventive magic on her television show in 2004. By 2007, Airborne was worth US$300 million.
The company linked its efficacy to a special formula resembling a popular TCM remedy, yin chiao, which includes a proprietary herbal blend of lonicera (honeysuckle flower), forsythia (St Jonh's wort), schizonepeta (hairy sage), ginger, Chinese vitex, isatis and echinacea. The formula also contains vitamins, electrolytes, amino acids and antioxidants.
But there had been no credible evidence of Airborne's efficacy, and an ABC News report disclosed that the company's clinical trials were carried out by two laypeople. In 2008, the US Federal Trade Commission fined Airborne US$30 million for deceptive advertising.
Bad press, however, hasn't affected Airborne's business. Last year it was the market leader in the US$250 million immune health sector in the US. In Hong Kong, health products chain Nature's Village sells five to six different types of Airborne supplements nearly every day. 'It's popular,' says Aman Dhillion, store manager for the Lyndhurst Terrace outlet. 'People come to our store looking for it.'
It seems, however, that yin chiao isn't quite the cold remedy you expect it to be.
According to Dr Liong Ching, an instructor at Chinese University's School of Chinese Medicine, 'cold syndrome' is associated with white secretions, a runny nose, chills, lethargy and a slow pulse, and that requires a completely different prescription.