What a clear, easy-to-follow page for submitting a manuscript: https://bmccomplementmedtherapies.biomedcentral.com/submission-guidelines ! Often I find myself having to hunt around for specific information.
This is an important finding. In the US, nutritional supplements are not regulated (although associated health claims are); were they, a warning might be required for bee pollen supplements.
It is not clear from the abstract why this article is being published in 2021, as it deals with the STROBE guidelines from 2004, and no mention of an update to the guidelines, although there is a link to an editorial from this issue about reporting guidelines.
This interesting abstract covers a commonly given supplement to treat atherosclerosis, but would be improved had the authors include a sentence or two of non-technical language explaining the potential benefits to human health.
Although this is a thorough, well-designed and well-written study (full text freely available), it seem that it would need to be paired with similar studies to determine whether the compounded supplement produces more efficacious outcomes when compared to any of its components individually.
I appreciate the clear and detailed statements regarding potential conflicts of interest that follow this abstract. This demonstrates a clear research ethic.
Funding