Ephedrine Weight Loss Products Warning

Ephedrine-containing products typically are marketed and labeled for weight loss, energy, "pep," performance improvement, or body building or as an alternate for illicit drugs such as MDMA. They are usually labeled as "natural" or "herbal" and make use of common names for herbs as the foundation of active ingredients (ma huang, Chinese ephedra, and Sida cordifolia - another plant source with small amounts of ephedrine alkaloids).

An extra 400 reports of unpleasant events involved OTC drug products containing ephedrine that were labeled as obliged for use as bronchodilators but marketed in a way to imply their efficiency for weight loss and as stimulants.

Since September 1995, the Texas Poison Control Network has collected about 300 reports of undesirable events in persons consuming products containing ephedrine. These reports are being examined by TDH.

The reports of adverse events received by TDH highlight that use of dietary supplements containing ephedrine and connected alkaloids can be associated with a range of adverse health incidents. Even though a cause-and-effect relation cannot be always recognized, no other cause was found to make clear their medical conditions, all of which are compatible with documented consequences of ephedrine use. Ephedrine and related alkaloids are structurally comparable to the amphetamines and, by stimulating adrenergic receptors, can augment arterial blood pressure through both peripheral vasoconstriction and cardiac stimulation.

Undesirable effects from ephedrine can be unpredictable, and does not all the time depend on the dose consumed. Serious effects of ephedrine and related alkaloids, such as acute cardiovascular and central nervous system stimulant effects, can happen in at risk persons with use of low dosages.

Other adverse effects connected with the use of ephedrine may be: palpitations, tachycardia, hypertension, coronary spasm, paranoid psychoses, convulsions, respiratory depression, coma, and death. Mainly when used in combinations with phenylpropanolamine (PPA) and caffeine, ephedrine has been linked with stroke secondary to intracranial hemorrhage, seizures, mania, and psychosis. Mixtures of ephedrine and caffeine have been documented to have side effects considerably greater than those from the consumption of either compound alone or of a placebo.

In the United States, ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and PPA have been marketed widely for some OTC uses. For instance, preparations containing ephedrine are marketed for oral use as a short-term, OTC bronchodilator for persons with soft asthma. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed to eliminate oral ephedrine drug products from the OTC market based on their use in the manufacture of illicit drugs and on their use wrongly and abuse as stimulants and for weight loss.

Pseudoephedrine, an ephedrine alkaloid enclosed in many OTC decongestant, cold, and allergy products, is linked with fewer cardiovascular and central nervous system stimulant outcomes than ephedrine. PPA, one more ephedrine alkaloid, also is contained in OTC decongestant, cold, and allergy preparations and is promoted for use in the United States as a weight-control agent.