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Ephedra in Dietary Supplements Causes Heart Attack and Stroke

**We're sorry, but we are no longer accepting ephedra claims.**

 [Introduction: Although our offices are located in Maryland (MD), Virginia (VA) and Washington, D.C. (DC), our drug and pharmaceutical practice is national in scope, and our lawyers are handling many drug cases around the country. Therefore, regardless of what state you're in, please complete our "Contact Us" form on the left side of this web page or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it so that we can have an attorney from our drug litigation department contact you.]

Dietary supplements containing a naturally occurring compound called ephedra have been found to pose a risk of serious injury and death, and Ashcraft & Gerel, LLP is now undertaking representation of victims of Herbalife and many other ephedra containing products. Although Ashcraft & Gerel’s offices are located in Maryland (MD), Virginia (VA) and Washington, D.C. (DC), our drug product liability litigation is national in scope, and, in association with attorneys in other states, we are involved in many cases around the country.

Ephedra is a substance that occurs botanically, meaning naturally in plants. The principal active ingredient is ephedrine, which is an amphetamine like chemical compound that can strongly stimulate the human nervous system and heart. Ephedrine alkaloids occur naturally in many plants, including the ephedra species (also traditionally known by its name as part of Chinese medicine -- ma huang or epitonin). Ephedra products such as Metabolife have, in recent years, been marketed as dietary supplements claiming to be capable of producing weight loss, energy increases, and enhanced athletic performance. The size of this dietary supplement industry and the amount of money consumers are spending to purchase what they know to be natural but wrongly assume to be safe, is attested to by the sheer number of such products. They include:

  • Ripped Fuel (TwinLab Laboratories)
  • Diet Fuel (Twin Laboratories)
  • GH Fuel (TwinLab Laboratories)
  • Clenbutrx (Vital Pharm, Inc)
  • BetaLean HP (EAS)
  • Diet Pep (Natural Balance, Inc)
  • Diurlean (ISS Research)
  • Dyma-Burn Xtreme (Dymatize Nutrition)
  • Extreme Ripped Force (American Bodybuilding)ThermiCare® (Met-Rx USA)
  • ETA Stack® (Nutra Sport)
  • Xenadrine RFA-1® (Cytodyne Technologies)
  • Metabolife 356® (Metabolife International)
  • Herba Fuel (TwinLab Laboratories)
  • MetaboLift (TwinLab Labortories)
  • Chinese Ma Huang (Gaia Herbs, Inc)
  • Lipokinetix (Syntrax Innovations, Inc)
  • Ultimate Orange (Next Nutrition, Inc)
  • UltraCuts (BioPlex)
  • Vasopro (Mega Pro International)
  • Adipokinex (Syntrax Innovations, Inc)
  • ThermoPlex (Bioplex)
  • Thermogenic Power (Nature's Herbs)
  • Chinese Ephedra (Frontiers, Inc.)
  • MetaCuts (Metaform)

As a result of strong evidence of serious dangers associated with their use, including the danger of heart attacks, strokes (caused by high blood pressure and resulting bleeding in the brain) and possible death, The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advised consumers to stop using dietary supplements containing ephedra. In order to protect consumers, the FDA published a final rule on April 12, 2004, banning the sale of dietary supplements that contain ephedrine alkaloids. Withdrawn from the market under this rule are all dietary supplements that contain a source of ephedrine alkaloids, such as ephedra, Ma Huang, Sida cordifolia, and pinellia. Not withdrawn are the traditional Chinese herbal remedies. The ban doesn't generally apply to such products as herbal teas, because they are regulated as conventional foods, rather than dietary supplements. Also not recalled or withdrawn under the ban are products regulated as drugs that contain chemically synthesized ephedrine, because they are not dietary supplements and are, therefore, not subject to recall or withdrawal from the market by the FDA rule. These would include drugs used for short term treatment of asthma, bronchitis, and allergic reactions.

After a thorough and cautious review of the evidence available about the risks and benefits of ephedra in dietary supplements, the FDA concluded that these dietary supplements containing ephedra present an unreasonable risk to consumers of serious illness or injury in the form of heart attacks and hemorrhagic strokes (caused by high blood pressure and resulting bleeding in the brain) and should therefore be withdrawn from the market. The data did not show significant evidence of ephedra's effectiveness, other than for short term weight loss, while at the same time confirming that ephedra raises blood pressure and stresses the heart. The increased risk of heart attack and stroke was found to outweigh any slight benefits of short term weight loss.

If you, a member of your family or a friend have been injured because of Metabolife or other ephedra containing products, there may be a valuable claim or law suit that can be filed and litigated to judgment or settled. Because so many of these products were sold for so long before being banned, it is important that individuals and family members of those who may have sustained serious injuries or death be told of the fact that such injuries and deaths have been associated with the use of dietary supplements containing ephedra. 

If you think you or a loved one may have suffered an injury or damages as a result of using a dietary supplement containing ephedra, you owe it to yourself to speak to an experienced drug or pharmaceutical attorney about the possibility of bringing a law suit to recover for your damages and injuries. The attorney will be able to ascertain if you have a claim for which suit can be filed and that can be brought to a successful settlement, verdict, award or other recovery, and the experienced lawyer will be able to advise you on any deadlines for bringing your legal claim for damages. Please contact the law firm of Ashcraft and Gerel, LLP to discuss your case with an experienced drug or pharmaceutical lawyer in our Drug Litigation Department.

Many attorneys and law firms are now, for the first time, becoming involved in the handling of drug claims, but Ashcraft & Gerel's lawyers are among the few lawyers in the country who have been actively prosecuting legal cases for drug related injury for many years, and our attorneys are well situated to see ephedra claims to successful verdicts or settlements. 

The lawyers at Ashcraft and Gerel, LLP have been leaders in the prosecution of cases involving medical product liability, including unsafe drugs and unsafe medical devices and implants. Our attorneys have sucessfully brought about judgments, verdicts, settlements, awards or other recoveries in claims on behalf of clients who have been injured by Fen-Phen, Rezulin, Propulsid, Phenylpropanolamine (PPA), Baycol, breast implants and AIDS tainted blood.

We have a toll free number to reach an attorney to answer your questions with regard to your specific case. That number is 1-800-829-7037. Please ask to speak to Robert Samet, and he will place you in touch with one of our drug litigation lawyers. If you would prefer, please feel free to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or complete the help inquiry form on this web site. Please be sure to include your name, address, telephone number (if you wish to be called), email address and the exact nature of your question, so that our lawyer can provide you with the specific information you seek.