Berocca
Encyclopedia
Berocca is a tablet
containing a combination of B group vitamins and Vitamin C. Berocca is available in the United States
, Argentina
, Colombia
, Ecuador
, Finland
, Uruguay
, Peru
, the European Union
, Norway
, Russia
, Switzerland
, Ukraine
, Vietnam
, Hong Kong
, Indonesia
, Malaysia, Singapore
, Philippines
, South Africa
, Taiwan
, Thailand
, Australia
, Mexico
, South Korea
and New Zealand
.
Berocca was originally manufactured by Roche Pharmaceuticals
, but is now manufactured by Bayer
after Bayer's global acquisition of Roche Consumer Health in January 2005.
Citric acid
, sodium hydrogen carbonate, vitamin C
, magnesium sulphate, mannitol, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate,flavouring, colours (beetroot red, beta carotene), sodium carbonate, niacin
(Nicotinamide), sweeteners (aspartame
, acesulfame K), sodium chloride, zinc citrate, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, thiamin, vitamin B12
, vitamin B6
, anti-foaming agent (polysorbate 60), folacin (folic acid
), biotin
. Contains a source of phenylalanine
.
In some countries the formulation may be different - for example in Spain the product sold as Berocca contains:
s. Similarly, it is said to relieve hangovers. If Berocca is taken in effervescent form, there will be a rehydrating effect because of the water consumed. When dissolved in water, it can be easier on the stomach than other vitamins such as those in tablet form.
Each Berocca tablet contains 40 mg (0.04g) of sodium. 271 mg of sodium in the tablets sold in Australia and NewZealand.
Berocca causes urine
to turn deep yellow in colour - this is due to the excess vitamin B2 being passed via urine.
A current marketing campaign in Australia for Berocca Performance with the slogan "Release the inner geek" targets high school students studying for exams.
In South Africa a "Beready Besharp Berocca" campaign was launched.
Long-running Outdoor (poster) campaigns in the United Kingdom
with the slogan "Stay sharp".
In 2008 a television
advert was launched featuring people dancing using treadmills
similar to OK Go's
music video for the 2006
song "Here It Goes Again
". The music is "Living on the Ceiling
" by the British
synthpop
band Blancmange
, taken from their 1982
album Happy Families
.
More recently, as of September 2010, a new advertising campaign featuring lumberjack
s dancing on water
has been launched.
Berocca also advertised to bloggers in the United Kingdom.
In March 2011 the Health Department of Australia moved to withdraw the advertising of Berocca for its unsubstantiated claims of providing invigoration. This came in the wake of the same department issuing Berocca with a Healthcare product award in November of the year before.
customers) for Best Energy supplement 2004-2009.
Tablet
A tablet is a pharmaceutical dosage form. It comprises a mixture of active substances and excipients, usually in powder form, pressed or compacted from a powder into a solid dose...
containing a combination of B group vitamins and Vitamin C. Berocca is available in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Malaysia, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Berocca was originally manufactured by Roche Pharmaceuticals
Hoffmann-La Roche
F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. is a Swiss global health-care company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, Roche Holding AG, has shares listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange....
, but is now manufactured by Bayer
Bayer
Bayer AG is a chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in Barmen , Germany in 1863. It is headquartered in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and well known for its original brand of aspirin.-History:...
after Bayer's global acquisition of Roche Consumer Health in January 2005.
Varieties
Berocca Performance is a formulation of B group vitamins, Vitamin C plus added magnesium, calcium and zinc. It comes in three flavours, Original, Orange, and Tropical.Ingredients
Ingredients in Berocca Original:Citric acid
Citric acid
Citric acid is a weak organic acid. It is a natural preservative/conservative and is also used to add an acidic, or sour, taste to foods and soft drinks...
, sodium hydrogen carbonate, vitamin C
Vitamin C
Vitamin C or L-ascorbic acid or L-ascorbate is an essential nutrient for humans and certain other animal species. In living organisms ascorbate acts as an antioxidant by protecting the body against oxidative stress...
, magnesium sulphate, mannitol, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate,flavouring, colours (beetroot red, beta carotene), sodium carbonate, niacin
Niacin
"Niacin" redirects here. For the neo-fusion band, see Niacin .Niacin is an organic compound with the formula and, depending on the definition used, one of the forty to eighty essential human nutrients.Niacin is one of five vitamins associated with a pandemic deficiency disease: niacin deficiency...
(Nicotinamide), sweeteners (aspartame
Aspartame
Aspartame is an artificial, non-saccharide sweetener used as a sugar substitute in some foods and beverages. In the European Union, it is codified as E951. Aspartame is a methyl ester of the aspartic acid/phenylalanine dipeptide. It was first sold under the brand name NutraSweet; since 2009 it...
, acesulfame K), sodium chloride, zinc citrate, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, thiamin, vitamin B12
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12, vitamin B12 or vitamin B-12, also called cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin with a key role in the normal functioning of the brain and nervous system, and for the formation of blood. It is one of the eight B vitamins...
, vitamin B6
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin and is part of the vitamin B complex group. Several forms of the vitamin are known, but pyridoxal phosphate is the active form and is a cofactor in many reactions of amino acid metabolism, including transamination, deamination, and decarboxylation...
, anti-foaming agent (polysorbate 60), folacin (folic acid
Folic acid
Folic acid and folate , as well as pteroyl-L-glutamic acid, pteroyl-L-glutamate, and pteroylmonoglutamic acid are forms of the water-soluble vitamin B9...
), biotin
Biotin
Biotin, also known as Vitamin H or Coenzyme R, is a water-soluble B-complex vitamin discovered by Bateman in 1916. It is composed of a ureido ring fused with a tetrahydrothiophene ring. A valeric acid substituent is attached to one of the carbon atoms of the tetrahydrothiophene ring...
. Contains a source of phenylalanine
Phenylalanine
Phenylalanine is an α-amino acid with the formula C6H5CH2CHCOOH. This essential amino acid is classified as nonpolar because of the hydrophobic nature of the benzyl side chain. L-Phenylalanine is an electrically neutral amino acid, one of the twenty common amino acids used to biochemically form...
.
Active ingredients
| Performance | Vitamin Vitamin A vitamin is an organic compound required as a nutrient in tiny amounts by an organism. In other words, an organic chemical compound is called a vitamin when it cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities by an organism, and must be obtained from the diet. Thus, the term is conditional both on... |
|
|---|---|---|
| 15 mg | B1 | Thiamine hydrochloride |
| 15 mg | B2 | Riboflavin Riboflavin Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2 or additive E101, is an easily absorbed micronutrient with a key role in maintaining health in humans and animals. It is the central component of the cofactors FAD and FMN, and is therefore required by all flavoproteins. As such, vitamin B2 is required for a... |
| 50 mg | B3 | Nicotinamide Nicotinamide Nicotinamide, also known as niacinamide and nicotinic acid amide, is the amide of nicotinic acid . Nicotinamide is a water-soluble vitamin and is part of the vitamin B group... |
| 23 mg | B5 | Pantothenic acid Pantothenic acid Pantothenic acid, also called pantothenate or vitamin B5 , is a water-soluble vitamin. For many animals, pantothenic acid is an essential nutrient. Animals require pantothenic acid to synthesize coenzyme-A , as well as to synthesize and metabolize proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.Pantothenic acid... |
| 10 mg | B6 | Pyridoxine hydrochloride |
| 10 mcg | B12 | Cyanocobalamin Cyanocobalamin Cyanocobalamin is an especially common vitamer of the vitamin B12 family. It is the most famous vitamer of the family, because it is, in chemical terms, the most air-stable... |
| 500 mg | C | Ascorbic acid Ascorbic acid Ascorbic acid is a naturally occurring organic compound with antioxidant properties. It is a white solid, but impure samples can appear yellowish. It dissolves well in water to give mildly acidic solutions. Ascorbic acid is one form of vitamin C. The name is derived from a- and scorbutus , the... |
| 100 mg | Calcium Calcium Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth-most-abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust... |
|
| 150 mcg | H | Biotin Biotin Biotin, also known as Vitamin H or Coenzyme R, is a water-soluble B-complex vitamin discovered by Bateman in 1916. It is composed of a ureido ring fused with a tetrahydrothiophene ring. A valeric acid substituent is attached to one of the carbon atoms of the tetrahydrothiophene ring... |
| 400 mcg | Folic acid Folic acid Folic acid and folate , as well as pteroyl-L-glutamic acid, pteroyl-L-glutamate, and pteroylmonoglutamic acid are forms of the water-soluble vitamin B9... |
|
| 100 mg | Magnesium Magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole... |
|
| 10 mg | Zinc Zinc Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2... |
|
In some countries the formulation may be different - for example in Spain the product sold as Berocca contains:
| Performance | Vitamin Vitamin A vitamin is an organic compound required as a nutrient in tiny amounts by an organism. In other words, an organic chemical compound is called a vitamin when it cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities by an organism, and must be obtained from the diet. Thus, the term is conditional both on... |
|
|---|---|---|
| 1.4 mg | B1 | Thiamine hydrochloride |
| 1.6 mg | B2 | Riboflavin Riboflavin Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2 or additive E101, is an easily absorbed micronutrient with a key role in maintaining health in humans and animals. It is the central component of the cofactors FAD and FMN, and is therefore required by all flavoproteins. As such, vitamin B2 is required for a... |
| 6 mg | B5 | Pantothenic acid Pantothenic acid Pantothenic acid, also called pantothenate or vitamin B5 , is a water-soluble vitamin. For many animals, pantothenic acid is an essential nutrient. Animals require pantothenic acid to synthesize coenzyme-A , as well as to synthesize and metabolize proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.Pantothenic acid... |
| 2 mg | B6 | Pyridoxine hydrochloride |
| 1 mcg | B12 | Cyanocobalamin Cyanocobalamin Cyanocobalamin is an especially common vitamer of the vitamin B12 family. It is the most famous vitamer of the family, because it is, in chemical terms, the most air-stable... |
| 18 mg | Niacin Niacin "Niacin" redirects here. For the neo-fusion band, see Niacin .Niacin is an organic compound with the formula and, depending on the definition used, one of the forty to eighty essential human nutrients.Niacin is one of five vitamins associated with a pandemic deficiency disease: niacin deficiency... |
|
| 60 mg | C | Ascorbic acid Ascorbic acid Ascorbic acid is a naturally occurring organic compound with antioxidant properties. It is a white solid, but impure samples can appear yellowish. It dissolves well in water to give mildly acidic solutions. Ascorbic acid is one form of vitamin C. The name is derived from a- and scorbutus , the... |
| 120 mg | Calcium Calcium Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth-most-abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust... |
|
| 150 mcg | H | Biotin Biotin Biotin, also known as Vitamin H or Coenzyme R, is a water-soluble B-complex vitamin discovered by Bateman in 1916. It is composed of a ureido ring fused with a tetrahydrothiophene ring. A valeric acid substituent is attached to one of the carbon atoms of the tetrahydrothiophene ring... |
| 200 mcg | Folic acid Folic acid Folic acid and folate , as well as pteroyl-L-glutamic acid, pteroyl-L-glutamate, and pteroylmonoglutamic acid are forms of the water-soluble vitamin B9... |
|
| 120 mg | Magnesium Magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole... |
|
| 9.5 mg | Zinc Zinc Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2... |
|
Uses
Berocca, taken before drinking alcohol, is said to prevent hangoverHangover
A hangover describes the sum of unpleasant physiological effects following heavy consumption of alcoholic beverages. The most commonly reported characteristics of a hangover include headache, nausea, sensitivity to light and noise, lethargy, dysphoria, diarrhea and thirst, typically after the...
s. Similarly, it is said to relieve hangovers. If Berocca is taken in effervescent form, there will be a rehydrating effect because of the water consumed. When dissolved in water, it can be easier on the stomach than other vitamins such as those in tablet form.
Dosage and considerations
Recommended daily dose: From age 12 to adult - one tablet daily.Each Berocca tablet contains 40 mg (0.04g) of sodium. 271 mg of sodium in the tablets sold in Australia and NewZealand.
Berocca causes urine
Urine
Urine is a typically sterile liquid by-product of the body that is secreted by the kidneys through a process called urination and excreted through the urethra. Cellular metabolism generates numerous by-products, many rich in nitrogen, that require elimination from the bloodstream...
to turn deep yellow in colour - this is due to the excess vitamin B2 being passed via urine.
Advertisements
Berocca ran a series of television commercials in Australia and New Zealand throughout the 1980s and 1990s, using the slogan "B-B-B-Berocca gives you back your B-B-Bounce".A current marketing campaign in Australia for Berocca Performance with the slogan "Release the inner geek" targets high school students studying for exams.
In South Africa a "Beready Besharp Berocca" campaign was launched.
Long-running Outdoor (poster) campaigns in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
with the slogan "Stay sharp".
In 2008 a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
advert was launched featuring people dancing using treadmills
Treadmill
A treadmill is an exercise machine for running or walking while staying in one place. The word treadmill traditionally refers to a type of mill which was operated by a person or animal treading steps of a wheel to grind grain...
similar to OK Go's
OK Go
OK Go is a rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois, USA, now residing in Los Angeles, California, USA. The band is composed of Damian Kulash , Tim Nordwind , Dan Konopka and Andy Ross , who joined them in 2005, replacing Andy Duncan...
music video for the 2006
2006 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2006.-January:*January 10 – Eric Burdon releases his album Soul of a Man and begins touring with a new band....
song "Here It Goes Again
Here It Goes Again
"Here It Goes Again" is an alternative rock/power pop song by OK Go, and is the third released single from the album Oh No. It also appears on the compilation album Now 23. It remains the band's only single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, where it entered the Top 40 at #38, mostly due to the...
". The music is "Living on the Ceiling
Living on the Ceiling
Living on the Ceiling is a song by Blancmange which appeared as the fifth track on their 1982 album Happy Families. It was released in 1982 as the third single from the album. It was a surprise hit for the band, reaching #7 on the UK charts and #5 on the Australian Singles Chart .Blancmange...
" by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
band Blancmange
Blancmange (band)
Blancmange are a British synthpop band who came to prominence with a string of hits in the early to mid 1980s.-Biography:Blancmange was formed in Harrow, Middlesex in 1979 by singer Neil Arthur and instrumentalists Stephen Luscombe and Laurence Stevens...
, taken from their 1982
1982 in music
This is a list of notable events in music from 1982. 1982 was a big year in music with Madonna making her debut as well as the year that Michael Jackson released Thriller which became the world's best selling album and it still holds that title today....
album Happy Families
Happy Families (album)
Happy Families is the debut album by Blancmange.-Side one:# "I Can't Explain" – 4:00# "Feel Me" – 5:07# "I've Seen the Word" – 3:00# "Wasted" – 4:17# "Living on the Ceiling" – 4:11-Side two:# "Waves" – 4:07# "Kind" – 3:56...
.
More recently, as of September 2010, a new advertising campaign featuring lumberjack
Lumberjack
A lumberjack is a worker in the logging industry who performs the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to a bygone era when hand tools were used in harvesting trees principally from virgin forest...
s dancing on water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
has been launched.
Berocca also advertised to bloggers in the United Kingdom.
In March 2011 the Health Department of Australia moved to withdraw the advertising of Berocca for its unsubstantiated claims of providing invigoration. This came in the wake of the same department issuing Berocca with a Healthcare product award in November of the year before.
Awards
Boots Vitamin Award Winner (as voted by BootsBoots UK
Boots UK Limited , is a leading pharmacy chain in the United Kingdom, with outlets in most high streets throughout the country...
customers) for Best Energy supplement 2004-2009.