Ephedra, not likely to become ephemeral

Ma huang, better know as ephedra, is officially banned as a dietary supplement for weight loss and as a muscle builder, but does that mean its day is over? The ban came about because of the generally recognized link between ephedra and sudden death from stroke and heart attack due to rapid rise in blood pressure and increased heart rate. But ephedra is not disappearing from herbal medicine preparations, which the FDA said was beyond its ban because such medicines are not being marketed as dietary supplements. Fine herb chopping? Perhaps, but at least traditional medicine manufacturers are changing their formulation to include less potent forms and also to include other herbs that, in combination with ma huang, seem to offer protection. Many herbalists acknowledge that past ephedra supplements had contained too high concentrations of ephedra and were often combined with caffeine.

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