Studies reveal that a compound similar to amphetamine, a potent stimulant for the central nervous system, can be found within some popular sports supplements and diet pills despite never undergoing human testing.
The substance, which is named BMPEA, a "designer stimulant" that can be found in certain products that are advertised to contain Acacia rigidula, a shrub native to the state of Texas. The study showed that BMPEA is only created synthetically, is not included in the labels of the products, and has unknown health risks.
The study, which was published in the Drug Testing and Analysis journal, reported that BMPEA was already discovered to be included in dietary supplements back in 2013, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) failed to provide a warning to consumers to order the substance's removal.
"The FDA should immediately warn consumers about BMPEA and take aggressive enforcement action to eliminate BMPEA in dietary supplements," stated the study, adding that physicians should continue to be vigilant in tracing BMPEA when receiving patient cases on toxicity obtained from weight loss and sports supplements.
Harvard Medical School assistant professor Pieter Cohen, one of the authors of the study, said that while BMPEA's health effects are not yet known, it could be dangerous, and the failure of the FDA to act regarding the substance is inexcusable.
While BMPEA was first synthesized during the 1930s as an amphetamine replacement, the substance has never been released as a pharmaceutical drug and its side effects on humans have never been tested.
According to Juli Putnam, a spokeswoman for the FDA, the review of the agency on BMPEA and the products that contain the substance does not show a specific concern for consumer safety. However, the FDA will think about implementing regulatory action in the interest of protecting consumers.
Vitacost.com Inc., one of the manufacturers found to have products that contain BMPEA, will pull out from the company's website all such products to conduct additional studies. The company's Aro Black Series Burn supplement was included in Cohen's study.
The new study marks another stage in the ongoing battle between supplement producers, researchers and regulators over the efficacy and safety of weight loss and sports supplements. According to the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, these consumer products do not need to undergo testing by the FDA before being released to the market.
The FDA can only act after discovering problems, which has resulted in a game of researchers finding products that may cause health issues, regulators enforcing actions and supplement producers adjusting their products to restart the process from the top.
