Sources

Evidence databases

Public and subscription databases for finding and verifying biomedical evidence relevant to parapharmacy products. Useful for systematic literature work and for cross-checking claims that appear in product marketing.

Systematic reviews and synthesis

• Cochrane Library — Cochrane Reviews are systematic reviews of healthcare interventions, prepared and updated by Cochrane review groups. The plain-language summaries are an accessible starting point. Several Cochrane reviews cover topics relevant to parapharmacy (oral rehydration, wound dressings, certain vitamin and mineral supplementation).
• TRIP database — a clinical search engine designed to find high-quality evidence quickly. Useful for triaging a topic before deeper work in PubMed or Cochrane.

Primary literature

• PubMed / MEDLINE — the US National Library of Medicine's free citation database for biomedical literature. The main public-access route to MEDLINE.
• EMBASE — Elsevier's biomedical and pharmacological literature database, with strong European-journal coverage; subscription only.
• Europe PMC — open access to a large body of biomedical literature including PubMed and PubMed Central holdings; useful when full text is otherwise paywalled.

Clinical-trial registers

• ClinicalTrials.gov — US-hosted register, the largest global registry by volume, including many EU and international trials.
• EU Clinical Trials Information System (CTIS) — the EU portal for clinical trials of medicinal products, replacing the prior EudraCT/EU Clinical Trials Register for new applications under Regulation (EU) No 536/2014.
• WHO ICTRP — International Clinical Trials Registry Platform; meta-search across national and regional registries.

Specialised databases relevant to parapharmacy

• CosIng — for cosmetic ingredient reference. Not an evidence database in the clinical sense, but the operational reference for what an INCI name means and how the substance sits in the Annex regime.
• EU Register of nutrition and health claims — the EU-level authoritative source for what health claims may be used on foods and food supplements.
• EMA medicines database — for European Public Assessment Reports (EPARs) on centrally authorised medicinal products. National medicines authorities maintain equivalent databases for nationally authorised products.

Practical use notes

For an unfamiliar claim about a parapharmacy product, the most efficient workflow is usually: start with a Cochrane Review if one exists; if not, search PubMed with explicit MeSH terms; check whether registered trials exist on ClinicalTrials.gov or CTIS to see whether evidence is in development. For ingredient-specific safety questions, the SCCS opinion (for cosmetics), EFSA opinion (for food substances) or EPAR (for medicines) is the authoritative reference and is typically more useful than primary trials alone.

This site does not provide medical advice. The evidence databases above support research and verification; they do not substitute for the advice of a pharmacist or a physician on questions of individual health or product use.

Last reviewed: May 2026.