The Food and Drug Administration last week pulled from the market VITERA-XT, an ephedra-containing dietary supplement, which was was marketed as a treatment for serious diseases and conditions.
The complaint, filed by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas in U.S. District Court in Houston, charges that VITERA-XT, marketed by Houston-based Asia MedLabs, […]

“Ephedra-Free” weight loss products that contain Citrus aurantium (Seville Orange) extracts may also have the potential to cause adverse health effects, according to a new review published in the September issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine.
Researchers, from Georgetown University Medical Center, said they found little evidence that products containing Citrus aurantium are an effective […]

New Jersey Attorney General Peter C. Harvey last week filed a lawsuit against dietary supplements maker N.V.E. alleging the company advertised its ephedra-based supplements Stacker 2 as safe despite receiving hundreds of complaints from consumers who reported that they experienced significant adverse side effects from using the products.
The lawsuit names as defendants N.V.E and its […]

Robert A. Smith said he had a blood vessel burst in his brain, resulting in a stroke in May 2002, after taking an Herbalife product with ephedra, according to the lawsuit filed against Herbalife on his behalf in U.S District Court in Manhattan.
Smith is just one of the many individuals who are suing ephedra manufactures […]

A nationwide ban on the sale dietary supplements containing ephedra is effective immediately, the Food and Drug Administration said, following a failed attempt by two manufacturers to get a court order to stop the ban.
“We will take appropriate enforcement actions if needed to stop manufacturers from illegally selling and distributing dietary supplements containing ephedra […]

The Food and Drug Administration announced today that it was banning the manufacture and sale of ephedra, an herbal weight-loss supplement, because of its unreasonable risk of illness or injury.
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced at a news conference that the FDA has issued a consumer alert on the safety of dietary supplements containing ephedra […]

Many people who used ephedra within the recommended guidelines still reported health problems, the General Accounting Office said in a hearing on dietary supplements before the House Energy and Commerce oversight subcommittee.
Marcia Crosse, the GAO’s acting director of heath care-public health and science issues, said the health problems reported to Metabolite “are consistent with the […]

General Nutrition Centers, the largest U.S. specialty retailer of nutritional supplements, said it would discontinue the sale of all products that include ephedra, a weight-loss chemical that has been linked to serious side effects.
“We believe that ephedra-based products are safe when used as directed,” said GNC President and Chief Executive Michael Meyers. “Nonetheless, the […]

Cytodyne Technologies, maker of the dietary supplement Xenadrine, faces lawsuits from eight California counties and one city, who accuse the company of false and misleading advertising that does not mention possible health risks associated with ephedra. The counties are seeking restitution for California customers and civil penalities.
“There is a known association between ephedra products and […]

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Xenadrine RFA-1, a dietary supplement containing ephedrine, may have contributed to the death of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler, said Broward County Medical Examiner Joshua Perper. Bechler died of heatstroke on Monday after collapsing on the field Sunday during workout.
“I would like to hope this very unfortunate and tragic death would […]