Don't mess with Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Mehmet Oz. That was the message last week when the two TV gurus filed suit against 50 businesses over allegations the companies used their personae without permission to endorse products.

Can Oprah and Oz do what the FTC cannot? For years now the FTC warned consumers about false and outrageous claims from health and weight loss products. Now the talk-show team is taking a shot at the problem by taking legal action against a host of companies in the dietary supplement, wrinkle-cream and tooth-whitening sectors who used the dynamic duo's images and names to endorse their products.

Functional Ingredients obtained the court records and found the list of companies cited in the suit and found combination of online nutraceutical and MLM companies, many that tout açai for weight loss, cancer prevention and other medical miracles. Given the high visibility of the plaintiffs, the suit may also bring to light false health claims concerns and other consumer fraud issues for online dietary supplement sales and marketing.

"These defendants are willfully capitalising on plaintiffs' valuable reputation and intellectual property rights to lure consumers into ordering their infringing products on the false premise that they have been tested or recommended by Ms. Winfrey and/or Dr. Oz when they have not," state the court documents.

The legal action from the Oprah and Oz duo is in line with a recent decision by the FTC to fine tune rulings surrounding product endorsements. Research by the FTC showed that more than half of consumers believe that they will achieve similar results as those touted in product endorsements.