I think it is the real thing... however, I am sure that if one were to eat whole high quality organic grain, bran, outer hulls, and everything it would be unnecessary like all other supplements.
That is what gets me miffed the most... manufacturers take out all the "good" stuff and make a killing selling the same food a dozen times through the strip mined food itself and then the various supplements they have refined out of it.
That, and for the most part, it needs to be eaten/taken together to realize the full benefit of the parts... try to figure that one out :-\