Abstract
Background: With the removal of stimulant herb ephedra from the market, dietary supplement manufacturers are coming out with many ephedra-free products. Some of these products appear to simply replace ephedra with stimulants by another name. Objective: To determine the stimulant content of dietary supplements marketed as ephedra-free. Design: Survey of the ingredients of dietary supplements that are stated as "ephedra-free" in the label or promotional material. Results: Out of 36 products marketed as ephedra-free, 32 (89%) contained a methylxanthine such as caffeine or theobromine, 21 (58%) contained the stimulant synephrine, and 20 (56%) contained both a methylxanthine and synephrine. Limitations: The results of this evaluation pertain only to products discovered through Internet and database searching. Conclusions: Most dietary supplement makers have substituted stimulants by a different name for ephedra in their "ephedra-free" products. Patients need to be advised that ephedra-free products are not necessarily stimulant free and may present a significant risk. Copyright (c) by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 65-72 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of Herbal Pharmacotherapy |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2007 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Pharmacology
- Biochemistry
Cite this
Evaluation of the stimulant content of dietary supplements marketed as "Ephedra-Free". / Gregory, Philip J.
In: Journal of Herbal Pharmacotherapy, Vol. 7, No. 1, 2007, p. 65-72.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaluation of the stimulant content of dietary supplements marketed as "Ephedra-Free"
AU - Gregory, Philip J.
PY - 2007
Y1 - 2007
N2 - Background: With the removal of stimulant herb ephedra from the market, dietary supplement manufacturers are coming out with many ephedra-free products. Some of these products appear to simply replace ephedra with stimulants by another name. Objective: To determine the stimulant content of dietary supplements marketed as ephedra-free. Design: Survey of the ingredients of dietary supplements that are stated as "ephedra-free" in the label or promotional material. Results: Out of 36 products marketed as ephedra-free, 32 (89%) contained a methylxanthine such as caffeine or theobromine, 21 (58%) contained the stimulant synephrine, and 20 (56%) contained both a methylxanthine and synephrine. Limitations: The results of this evaluation pertain only to products discovered through Internet and database searching. Conclusions: Most dietary supplement makers have substituted stimulants by a different name for ephedra in their "ephedra-free" products. Patients need to be advised that ephedra-free products are not necessarily stimulant free and may present a significant risk. Copyright (c) by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
AB - Background: With the removal of stimulant herb ephedra from the market, dietary supplement manufacturers are coming out with many ephedra-free products. Some of these products appear to simply replace ephedra with stimulants by another name. Objective: To determine the stimulant content of dietary supplements marketed as ephedra-free. Design: Survey of the ingredients of dietary supplements that are stated as "ephedra-free" in the label or promotional material. Results: Out of 36 products marketed as ephedra-free, 32 (89%) contained a methylxanthine such as caffeine or theobromine, 21 (58%) contained the stimulant synephrine, and 20 (56%) contained both a methylxanthine and synephrine. Limitations: The results of this evaluation pertain only to products discovered through Internet and database searching. Conclusions: Most dietary supplement makers have substituted stimulants by a different name for ephedra in their "ephedra-free" products. Patients need to be advised that ephedra-free products are not necessarily stimulant free and may present a significant risk. Copyright (c) by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
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U2 - 10.1300/J157v07n01_06
DO - 10.1300/J157v07n01_06
M3 - Article
VL - 7
SP - 65
EP - 72
JO - Journal of Herbal Pharmacotherapy
JF - Journal of Herbal Pharmacotherapy
SN - 1522-8940
IS - 1
ER -