"Korea Made It"... 'Lemon Injection' Trending in the UK Thanks to TikTok Boom, Doctors Express 'Concerns'

TikTok Viral Marketing Gains Rapid Attention
Manufacturer is Korean SME Seed Medicos

The "Lemon Bottle Injection," which is said to have fat-dissolving effects, is gaining popularity on TikTok in the UK. However, British doctors are expressing concerns that its long-term safety and efficacy have not been confirmed.

According to The Guardian on the 23rd (local time), a product called "Lemon Bottle" has been trending on TikTok over the past six months through viral marketing. Videos tagged with the hashtag '#LemonBottle' have accumulated a total of 81.5 million views. This hashtag, which was barely seen until last year, surged rapidly in a short period and surpassed searches for "liposuction" in September this year.

Videos uploaded with #LemonBottle on TikTok
[Photo by TikTok]

One video shows a yellow solution being injected into the fatty part of bacon, and a few minutes later, the fat appears to dissolve.

Experts have mixed opinions. Dr. Sophie Shorter, director of the British Association of Aesthetic Medicine, said, "The industry claims this product is the 'fastest and most powerful' fat dissolver, but there is no clinical evidence to support this." Dr. Yanis Alexandrides, a physician, also expressed a negative stance, stating, "There are no scientific papers supporting the efficacy and safety of this product when searched."

The UK medical registration organization "Save Face" reported that 90 complaints related to this product have been received this year, including claims of ineffectiveness, uneven results, bruising, and infections. There was also one complaint about tissue necrosis.

On the other hand, Dr. Vahe Karimi?n, a surgeon running a clinic in Chelsea, west London, said that patients regularly request the Lemon Bottle injection and that he has performed the procedure on 200 patients who reported satisfaction.

The Guardian reported that the manufacturer of this "Lemon Bottle" product is "Seed Medicos," located in Seoul, South Korea, and claims that the main ingredients are natural substances such as bromelain, riboflavin, and lecithin. The newspaper added that the full list of ingredients was not available online, and although they requested additional details, no response was received.

In fact, when searching for the company online, "Seed Medicos" appears as a member company on "Trade On," a platform operated by the Seoul Business Agency to support small and medium-sized enterprises' exports.

However, the manufacturer's website displays a message saying the page cannot be found after a few seconds of entry, and the text and images disappear.