Scientists say that the unapproved and potentially dangerous stimulant oxilofrine has been found in a number of widely available US weight loss and sports supplements.
Researchers from global public health organization NSF International, Harvard Medical School, the National Center for Natural Products Research (NCNPR) at the University of Mississippi and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands (RIVM) have found the unapproved pharmaceutical stimulant in 14 over-the-counter dietary supplement products.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took action on April 4, 2016 to remove oxilofrine from the marketplace, issuing warning letters to seven companies that list the compound on their product labels. According to the FDA, oxilofrine is an illegal dietary ingredient, which means products containing oxilofrine are considered misbranded under the law.
Oxilofrine has been studied in animals and humans and found to cause effects on the heart similar to ephedrine, a compound banned by US authorities in 2004 due to serious side effects.
The researchers say that by following instructions on the product label, consumers could ingest much more than prescription levels of oxilofrine – up to 250 mg of the compound in a day (the drug is approved in some countries for use during anesthesia. Several professional athletes also have been disqualified from sport due to testing positive for oxilofrine,[2] which is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
“Adolescents who use these products might be placing themselves at risk of serious harm. The larger-than-adult doses we found might overstimulate their smaller, growing bodies,” said Dr. Pieter Cohen, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School who has conducted extensive research on supplements. “In countries where oxilofrine is prescribed by doctors, the usual amount of the drug for adolescents is 24 mg or less. We found amounts in supplements of oxilofrine more than three times higher than the usual pediatric dose. Combined with physical activity and other stimulants commonly found in supplements, the consequences could be catastrophic.”
