Ephedra in the News

The Mississauga-based firm launched proceedings under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) this January and proposed negotiating a global settlement with the many Hydroxycut users still suing the firm.

Mr. Gardiner and his company argue to this day that ephedra, also known as Ma Huang, does not trigger serious side effects.

In fact, there is still some debate about the extent of its dangers. A U.S. ban on ephedra imposed in 2004 was limited by a Utah judge last year to higher doses of the substance. A major review of studies on ephedra and ephedrine, its synthetic equivalent, concluded in 2003 that the substance had a modest weight-loss effect and clearly increases the risk of vomiting, nausea, anxiety and heart palpitations.

But, said the report commissioned by the U.S. government, there is no definitive proof that it causes more severe reactions like heart attacks and strokes.

"MuscleTech is confident that the evidence in these cases will establish that its products were researched and tested by leading academics and professional researchers and that all of its products are safe and effective when used in accordance with directions," said Thomas Ringe, a lawyer for the company.

It was not long after Mr. Gardiner's start-up in 1995, however, that ephedra started coming under suspicion.

The FDA first proposed banning the herb in 1997, the year MuscleTech was incorporated. Then a 1999 New England Journal of Medicine article that examined adverse reaction reports submitted to the American agency concluded ephedra supplements may pose a serious health risk -- from high blood pressure to stroke -- for some users.

The 8,000 unsealed pages showed that, as the lawsuits started to mount and doubts were seeded about ephedra-based supplements, MuscleTech began commissioning its own studies, citing them in ads as clinical proof the supplement worked and was safe.

But the actual results were mixed. Some showed moderate weight-loss benefits from Hydroxycut, though in at least one case there was an increase in fat and a cut in muscle mass.

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