Advanced enrichment and detection technologies for illicit additives in weight-loss dietary supplements

The adulteration of weight-loss dietary supplements with illegal additives poses significant risks to public health, it is necessary to develop sensitive and reliable analytical methods for their monitoring. A scoping review was conducted using PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science databases (between 2012 and 2025). This review summarizes the public health risks posed by illegal additives in weight-loss dietary supplements and evaluates advanced analytical solutions. It introduces in detail the typical enrichment techniques, such as solid-phase extraction (SPE), molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE), dispersive solid-phase extraction (d-SPE), magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) and solid-phase microextraction (SPME), which use porous materials to efficiently enrich targets from complex matrices. Correspondingly, we compare the principles, advantages (e.g., high sensitivity of chromatography-mass spectrometry, rapid screening capability of immunoassays, and portability of electrochemical sensors) and limitations (e.g., interference, cost and portability) of major detection technologies. Future development should focus on intelligent platform, multi-technology integration and artificial intelligence to improve monitoring and safeguard public health. Notably, the advantageous features of the enrichment and detection techniques summarized in this review also provide significant guidance for research and applications in related fields such as chemistry, food and pharmacy.