Nobel Laureate Failed to Tell of Herbalife Deal

Louis Ignarro, who won a Nobel Prize in medicine in 1998, endorsed a supplement sold by Century City-based Herbalife International Inc. in exchange for royalties and then touted the ingredients in a scientific journal without revealing his stake.

Ignarro’s firm has received at least $1 million from sales of Herbalife’s Niteworks since June 2003, a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Dec. 2 by Herbalife’s parent says. Ignarro, 63, has claimed that Niteworks protects against heart disease, stroke and Alzheimer’s.

His June 8 article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences detailed positive effects on the hearts of mice fed vitamins C and E, and arginine, which produces nitric oxide. All of those are in Niteworks.

Ignarro didn’t disclose his Herbalife tie to the journal, its managing editor said. Ignarro didn’t return calls for comment.