Burmese doctor quoted in fabricated interview endorsing heart supplement

"Why are the pharmacies silent about this product? If you use this natural supplement, it can cure diabetes," reads a Burmese-language Facebook post shared on March 23.

The post, which has more than 500 shares, links to a blog post which features the fabricated interview with Cynthia Maung.

Maung is a doctor from Myanmar who has received international acclaim for providing free healthcare to migrant workers on the Thailand-Myanmar border.

She opened the Mae Tao Clinic after fleeing Myanmar following the 1988 uprising against the military rule that ended in a bloody crackdown.

The blog post says in Burmese: "Cynthia Maung is a professor and cardiologist for a prestigious university in Myanmar. She is famous for treating her patients without any chemicals or chemical additives. Many of her patients include famous celebrities and foreigners."

It claims she endorsed the supplement Cardiovax for preventing conditions including heart disease and high blood pressure.

She is quoted as saying: "There is only one effective supplement for this medicine in Myanmar today. It's called Cardiovax."

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Screenshot of the fabricated blog post, taken on April 13, 2023

Cardiovax's manufacturer Vokin Biotech claims on its website that studies have shown the drug can "reduce inflammation and improve the health of blood vessels' inner (endothelial) linings". It does not give specifics of the studies.

The manufacturer lists lycopene -- an antioxidant that comes from red and pink foods like tomatoes and watermelon -- as an ingredient, saying the "powerful antioxidant" has many health benefits.

However, health experts said that "Cardiovax" was not beneficial to health.

Various Facebook posts shared the same blog post, including here, here and here, with some Facebook users expressing interest in taking the supplement.

"Thank you for sharing the cure to high blood pressure. What is the name of the medicine and where can I buy it?" read one comment.

Another person asked: "Can someone who has diabetes use it?"

AFP previously debunked similar posts promoting the supplement in 2022.

'No scientific evidence'

Dorairaj Prabhakaran, chair of the World Heart Federation's science committee, said there was "no evidence that Cardiovax is beneficial".

"Antioxidants when consumed as part of a healthy diet have shown to be useful, particularly in protecting against chronic diseases such as heart diseases, diabetes and some cancer," he told AFP.

"However, extracts of these as pills or supplements have not shown to be of benefit in large clinical trials."

He added that eating a healthy, balanced diet that included plenty of fresh and whole foods was key to preventing cardiovascular disease.

Jenna Sherman from Meedan's Digital Health Lab also said there was no scientific evidence that Cardiovax was beneficial for the heart or vascular system.

"There is no standardized process to know what the actual ingredients of Cardiovax are and if they’re standardized," she told AFP.

"Supplements go unregulated by many food and drug administrations, meaning there is no rigorous review of the ingredients or standardized approval process. As a result, supplements have the potential to not only be ineffective but also be unsafe."

She added that lycopene has been shown to help improve heart health but is thought to be most effective when eaten in foods rather than as a supplement -- and that there was a risk of consuming too much.

The US Food and Drug Administration's list of approved drugs does not contain Cardiovax.

Fake interview

A spokesperson for Cynthia Maung's Mae Tao Clinic said she had not given the interview featured in the blog post or recommended Cardiovax.

"We at Mae Tao Clinic do not know this article and Dr Cynthia has not mentioned such a thing or had an interview," a representative for the clinic told AFP on March 31.

Furthermore, the photo in the blog post was taken from an interview that Maung gave in 2017 to Voice of America (VOA), in which she discussed the opening of a new clinic on the Thailand-Myanmar border.

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Screenshots comparison of the photo from the false blog (left) and the VOA interview (right)

Maung was previously targeted by a false claim that she was invited to represent Myanmar at an ASEAN summit after junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was banned from the talks.