public traded as nasdaq mtexam industry wellness personal care multi level marketing founded coppell texas us november 1993 1993 11 founder samuel l. caster headquarters coppell texas us key people alfredo bala ceo revenue us 173.447 million 2013 1 operating income us 980 thousand 2013 1 net income us 1.433 million 2013 1 total assets us 47.560 million 2013 1 total equity us 47.560 million 2013 1 number of employees 310 dec 2013 1 website www.mannatech.com mannatech incorporated is a multinational multi level marketing firm engaged in research development and distribution of glyconutrients the company s name for blends of plant sourced saccharides . 2 mannatech was founded in november 1993 by samuel l. caster and is headquartered in coppell texas . 3 it operates in 24 countries including the united states canada australia countries in asia africa and within the eu . 4 a the company s stock is traded on the nasdaq exchange under the symbol mtex . mannatech employs 310 people and sells its products through approximately 229 000 active independent sales associates . 1 in 2006 forbes magazine named mannatech the no. 5 company on its annual list of the 200 best small companies 5 and in 2007 mannatech was ranked 12th in businessweek magazine s 2007 list of america s top 100 hot growth small companies . 6 the scientific validity of mannatech s key product ambrotose has been called into question by several researchers 7 8 9 10 11 and the company was the focus of a 2005 class action lawsuit settled in 2008 for alleged violations of the securities exchange act 12 and a 2007 investigation settled in 2009 by the texas attorney general for alleged violations of that state s deceptive trade practices act . 13 contents 1 products 2 scientific evaluation 2.1 independent commentary 2.2 company funded studies 3 public scrutiny 3.1 securities exchange act class action lawsuit 3.2 texas attorney general civil complaint 3.3 abc investigation 3.4 company losses 3.5 illegal marketing by u.k. physician 3.6 ben carson 3.7 rafael cruz 4 sam caster 4.1 prior to mannatech 4.2 mannatech s inception 4.3 consultant to mannatech 5 mannarelief ministries 6 see also 7 citations and footnotes 8 external links products edit as of july 2016 the company offered 28 nutritional supplement products two topical products nine skin care products and eleven weight management physical fitness products . mannatech is most widely known for ambrotose its glyconutritional dietary supplement which is a patented blend of plant sourced saccharides used in its line of ambrotose products . glyconutritionals were formulated to support cellular communication by positively impacting human glycoforms a claim that has generated controversy among some members of the scientific community . 7 in an sec filing the company stated that its products are formulated with predominately sic naturally occurring plant derived carbohydrate based ingredients that are designed to use nutrients working through normal physiology to help achieve and maintain optimal health and wellness rather than developing synthetic carbohydrate based products as other companies are doing . 14 scientific evaluation edit independent commentary edit the opinion of independent glycobiologists is that the body can not digest ambrotose as it lacks the enzymes needed . 7 prominent glycobiologist ronald schnaar told 20 20 in a june 1 2007 interview all of the sugar building blocks that we need in our body are made from the most common foods we eat . 8 15 hudson freeze a leading glycobiologist said this about glyconutrients there are authentic scientific studies that have looked at people drinking these kinds of materials and it doesn t really do anything except increase flatulence . 8 16 freeze is a member of the editorial board of glycobiology and schnaar serves as editor in chief . 17 schnaar and freeze published a critique of mannatech s products in glycobiology in 2008 describing the lack of published clinical benefits of the partially purified polydisperse plant polysaccharides found in ambrotose complex . 9 an article in glycobiology described the potential for the public to be misled about the science of glycobiology by the nebulous glyconutrient term . 10 the author expressed concern that the public could be susceptible to the scientific sounding label of glyconutrient which may generate a feeling of security and credibility ... despite the lack of acceptance among many glycobiologists of the term . in november 2007 science published an article in its news focus section detailing the scientific controversy surrounding mannatech . 11 it included criticisms and comments from glycobiologists including ajit varki raymond dwek freeze and schnaar . according to the memorial sloan kettering cancer center mannatech and its founder have been charged by the texas attorney general for deceptive trade practices that exaggerated the products health benefits . 18 ambrotose has been promoted aggressively to cancer patients on the basis that it can help cellular health and boost the immune system but that strong scientific evidence to support these claims is lacking . 18 company funded studies edit mannatech has sponsored pre clinical and clinical research on their products . 19 the company states that these studies indicate that the products can be broken down into smaller absorbable fragments by gi tract bacteria 20 and can modify human serum glycosylation profiles . 21 additional studies sponsored by the company have indicated that the products also exert positive prebiotic effects 22 and induce positive effects on human brain wave activity cognition 23 mood and memory . 24 25 marzorati and possemiers employed human gastrointestinal tract simulations and microbiological analysis to show that ambrotose complex and advanced ambrotose powder exerted positive prebiotic effects . both products exhibited selective fermentability throughout the entire colon with a positive and selective bifidus factor . they also demonstrated the possibility of enhancing species belonging to bacteroidetes a phylum recently associated with body weight management . 22 a five week combined phase 1 and 2 open label forced titration dose response study of 21 healthy adults suggested that the ambrotose ao dietary supplement was safe and raised serum oxygen radical absorbance capacity orac by 36.6 % . in a subsequent 21 day randomized double blind placebo controlled crossover trial of 25 healthy adults ambrotose ao capsules increased two measures of antioxidant capacity in the blood orac and trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity teac . 26 two clinical trials one conducted in the u.s. and one in australia investigated the effect of ambrotose complex on brain function . stancil and hicks conducted a randomized double blind placebo controlled study of ambrotose in 62 healthy young adults and reported that a single one tablespoon serving of ambrotose complex significantly improved visual discrimination and working memory . 24 a trial in 109 healthy middle aged adults conducted by best a mannatech funded researcher and colleagues 27 showed that ambrotose complex powder 4 grams day for 12 weeks significantly improved memory and psychological well being . 25 public scrutiny edit securities exchange act class action lawsuit edit the company has been known for its literature websites and multi level marketing with claims of scientific links to cellular glycobiology long disputed by relevant individual nobel prize winners . 28 on march 1 2005 a jury trial was demanded 29 and on september 9 2005 a class action lawsuit was filed against mannatech for alleged violations of the securities exchange act . the plaintiff class accused mannatech of violating the act by issuing a series of material misrepresentations ; specifically failing to control its sales associates and allowing them to make false claims concerning the efficacy of mannatech products . this caused a misleading price inflation of the company s stock . 30 the plaintiffs consisted of the purchasers of mannatech stock during the period august 10 2004 through july 30 2007 . 12 on march 20 2008 mannatech settled the class action lawsuit by agreeing to pay 11.25 million to the plaintiff class . as part of the settlement mannatech admitted no wrongdoing . 31 texas attorney general civil complaint edit mannatech came under investigation by the texas attorney general on october 27 2006 for alleged violations of that state s deceptive trade practices act . 32 samuel l. caster mannatech s founder and chief executive officer at the time stated we walk the fine line of always stating our case appropriately and always training our people we re not into the treatment cure or mitigation of disease . we re into the improvement of quality of life . now who can benefit from good nutrition sick people well people everybody . everybody benefits from good nutrition . 32 on july 5 2007 texas attorney general greg abbott formally charged mannatech mannarelief sam caster and reginald mcdaniel the company s medical director with operating an illegal marketing scheme in violation of state law . 33 a press release stated today s enforcement action stems from a large scale investigation by state authorities who examined mannatech s dubious claims about the health benefits of its products . 13 in response to the civil complaint mannatech expanded its compliance department and began to provide periodic reports to the attorney general s office to ensure that the marketing efforts of its affiliate network adhere to appropriate guidelines . 34 mannatech settled the civil complaint on february 26 2009 by agreeing to pay 4 million in restitution to clients who purchased products and 2 million to the state to cover its costs in the case . in addition sam caster agreed to pay a 1 million civil penalty and steer clear of any type of leadership position or employment relationship with mannatech for five years . 35 36 when discussing the settlement at a news conference abbot stated bottom line this is a warning to the general public be wary of phony claims of magic cure all pills or false hope in a bottle . you could be duped into purchasing something that has no real effect and no real value . 37 mannatech did not admit wrongdoing ; settling was easier than debating abbott according to then ceo wayne badovinus . citation needed if they do it again we will ensure they get put out of business abbott said . 38 one year later mannatech co ceo robert sinnott reflected on the ramifications of the legal action saying the civil action related mainly to some actions by our salesforce . we were embarrassed and also financially impacted by the attorney general suit . we learned from that chapter and it is closed . we ve reached a settlement and we ve paid the fees associated with it . we ve done everything in our power to correct that and make sure we re in compliance in the future . 39 abc investigation edit a 20 20 undercover investigation that aired june 1 2007 on abc television showed mannatech s sales associates teaching sales recruits how to target mannatech products to patients with specific illnesses in a manner that purportedly does not violate u.s. federal law including u.s. food and drug administration regulations by avoiding direct claims that the products cure any particular diseases . 8 mannatech ceo sam caster was interviewed for the show and told 20 20 that mannatech makes no specific health claims about its products . i don t think dietary supplements treat cure mitigate anything . it is not meant to substitute a doctor s oversight but it plays an important role in the whole health equation . 8 company losses edit mannatech announced in august 2007 that company founder sam caster was stepping down as ceo of mannatech 40 to be replaced by wayne badovinus as the new chief executive . several corporate initiatives were undertaken but after 17 months on the job badovinus resigned in december 2009 . 41 another member of the board resigned shortly after . 42 mannatech s chief science officer robert sinnott and mannatech s chief financial officer steve fenstermacher were named co ceos . 43 fenstermacher later resigned . 44 publicity