Increasing concern about the safety of ephedra - the popular weight loss supplement also known as ma huang - has prompted the creation of a number of alternative products which manufacturers claim can produce the same effects without the potential risks.
The latest such product to be launched is Appestat, created by Garden State Nutritionals (GSN), and the company claims that unlike many of the other ephedra alternatives, its product has been clinically proven to work.
Ephedra has long been used as a weight loss agent, and research has shown it to be effective, especially when combined with caffeine. But more recently it has been the focus of investigations in several countries where it has been linked to an increase in the risk of heart attack or stroke.
GSN said that it had investigated the way ephedra worked to reduce weight, and discovered that it and most anti-obesity drugs shared a common trait - a biogenic amine which helps reduce weight by prompting the body to burn off fat at the same time as reducing the appetite.
The aim was therefore to finding a safe and effective alternative to ephedra without the synthetic amines used in many anti-obesity drugs, which GSN claimed were powerful stimulants and not safe to use over the long term.
With this in mind, it created Appestat, a co-extraction of three food ingredients naturally rich in biogenic amines which do not have the same powerful stimulant effects as their synthetic counterparts.
It cited a placebo controlled, double blind pilot study, conducted by the independent research facility Marshall-Blum which found that Appestat acted like ephedra in suppressing appetite and promoting a feeling of satiety, thereby reducing appetite. It claimed that many of the other natural alternatives to ephedra did not share both these key attributes, although most either cut fat or reduce appetite.
The company has now combined Appestat with a number of other natural fat burners and mood enhancers to create a range of weight loss products which it claims are as effective as ephedra but without the potential dangers.
These 'dangers' are not accepted by everyone, with a number of trade associations in the US claiming that independent trials of the product have shown it to be entirely safe. Many of the companies which currently produce ephedra-based products have also carried out their own research to show the safety of the product.
These claims have not been enough to convince the authorities in a number of countries, such as France and Canada, where ephedra is currently banned. The US Food and Drug Administration has also called for further testing of the herbal product, and although the product will remain on sale in the US, the authorities have urged manufacturers to point out the potential risks on the product label.