10-hydroxy decenoic acid fever

Everybody in my town seems to be talking about it, 10-hydroxy decenoic acid…But what is it exactly? It seems to me that all retail pharmacy has been stormed by these groups of people to buy this specific ingredient. Right after I opened my pharmacy at 9.00 am on last Saturday, people already are waiting to get this specific product. I was caught by surprise how information can really spread throughout the town so fast.

My typical conversations:

Customer: Do you have this? .(Showing me that piece of paper written 10-hydroxy decenoic acid)

Me: Where do you get the name of this chemical product?

Customer: From the talk by a guy from Taiwan. He is a Traditional Chinese medicine doctor. So many people attended the talk. More than 1 thousand people has attended the talk.

Me: (Traditional Chinese Medicine Dr???, Then, why is he mentioning about some sort of chemical name??) Oh, 10-HDA is some sort of active ingredient that is available in royal jelly.

Customer: What is it used for? He says it is very good for the brain, cholesterol, blood pressure. By taking this, I even can stop taking other supplements and even medicine. He ask me to search for it in the pharmacy.

Me: What? No, Royal Jelly might lower cholesterol levels and seems to decrease some symptoms of PMS, (post menopausal symptoms) including irritability, weight increases and edema. But Royal Jelly is supplements and supplements will never replace medicine. Supplements suppose to help to strengthen the body, does not work alone if someone has the disease. Of course, if he wants to sell you his product, he can say anything. We don't even know who exactly he is. He is not a local person.

Customer: Don't you worry about that. He is not selling anything. He is just sharing with us some precious information on this 10-HDA which he himself has been consuming. Even doctors and you all pharmacists can't talk like him. He is the expert. His brother is a specialist in SJMC!

Pharma Logik have two products containing 10-HDA. 21st Century Royal Propollen and also Kordel’s Royal Jelly.

And the rest is history… All my products containing Royal Jelly sold out in that specific morning.

I personally do not believe that speaker is not selling anything. My theory is proven the next Monday as i heard from my customers that he is selling it, claiming his products is much superior comparing to ours.

Thinking back, the speaker spoke on Saturday and then ask the listener to get it from Pharmacy. With these sudden influx of customers wanting the same things, i am sure many pharmacy was caught by surprise. Demands is much higher than the stocks!!! And the pharmacy would not able to order it in time because it is SATURDAY!! Most pharmacies can only place an order on monday, and most of the time stocks will arrive in the evening. And the speaker starts selling it on Monday morning. Think again ...

My new stocks arrive on Monday evening, as i estimated. But until now i have not sell any single one of them. Luckily i did not order a lot to meet the demands.

But why is it so many people asking for it on Saturday and suddenly it has become so quiet on Monday and Tuesday? Is it has something to do with the action of my customers who brought our Royal Jelly to shows it to the speaker and the speaker has start to sells his products?
I don't know. What do you think?


In people with a history of atopy or asthma, royal jelly appears to cause a high rate of allergic symptoms including pruritus, urticaria, eczema, eyelid and facial edema, conjunctivitis, rhinorrhea, dyspnea, and asthma. In severe cases, royal jelly can cause status asthmaticus, anaphylaxis and death.


Please bear in mind Pharmacist has to follow certain Code and Conducts when we practice in community pharmacy. We do not simply quote anything which is not true and does not have clinical report to support its effectiveness.

Is the speaker bound to regulations like this? I don't think so. That is why you see Doctors and Pharmacists do not make unproven allegations about a product, where a lot of Professor and Phd holders taking this opportunity to claim otherwise.