The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7246 p566
26 April 2003

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Supplements promote weight loss

There is evidence that ephedrine and ephedra promote short-term weight loss in clinical trials, say researchers.

However, there are no data on long-term weight loss, and evidence to support the use of ephedra, also known as ma huang, to enhance athletic performance is insufficient. They add that there is a two- to three-fold increase in some adverse events when ephedrine or ephedra is used with caffeine (JAMA 2003;289:1537).