On February 9, 2004, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a final rule prohibiting the sale of dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids or ephedra. It stated that such supplements present an unreasonable risk of illness or injury. FDA also reiterates its advice that consumers stop using ephedra products immediately.
Two thousand years ago ephedra (under the name Ma huang) was used in Chinese medicine to treat several disorders. Amongst other illnesses, asthma and bronchitis were treated with ephedra. Ephedra comes from a plant that has a few powerful active compounds, of which ephedrine is the most useful.
Ephedra is a shrub-like plant that is found in desert regions in central Asia and other parts of the world. The dried greens of the plant are used medicinally. Ephedra is a stimulant containing the herbal form of ephedrine, an FDA-regulated drug found in many over-the-counter asthma medications.
In the United States, ephedra and ephedrine are sold over-the-counter (OTC) in pharmacies and in health food stores under a variety of brand names. Currently, ephedrine is widely used as a weight loss drug, as an energy booster, and as an...
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