Ephedra (medicine)
[1][a] Several additional species belonging to the genus Ephedra have traditionally been used for a variety of medicinal purposes, and are a possible candidate for the soma plant of Indo-Iranian religion.
[6][7][8][9] In response to accumulating evidence of adverse effects and deaths related to ephedra, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the sale of supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids in 2004.
Of the six ephedrine-type ingredients found in ephedra (at concentrations of 0.02-3.4%), the most common are ephedrine and pseudoephedrine,[13] which are the sources of its stimulant and thermogenic effects.
[21] Metabolife, makers of the best-selling brand of ephedra supplement, had received over 14,000 complaints of adverse events associated with its product.
[27][28] Co-founder of Metabolife, Michael Ellis, was sentenced in 2008 to six months in federal prison for his failure to report adverse effects from his company's products to the FDA.
[29] Senators Orrin Hatch (R. Utah) and Tom Harkin (D. Iowa), authors of the Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act, questioned the scientific basis for the FDA's proposed labeling changes and suggested that the number of problems reported were insufficient to warrant regulatory action.
At the time, Senator Hatch's son was working for a firm hired to lobby Congress and the FDA on behalf of ephedra manufacturers.
[31] Business Week reported that efforts to regulate ephedra and other potentially harmful supplements had been "beaten down by deep-pocketed industry lobbying.
[6] Subsequently, in response to pressure from the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen,[32] Metabolife was compelled by the Department of Justice in 2002 to turn over reports of over 15,000 ephedra-related adverse events, ranging from insomnia to death, which the company had previously withheld from the FDA.
[27][34] Use of ephedra was considered to have possibly contributed to the death of Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman Korey Stringer from heatstroke in 2001.
[35] Steve Bechler, a pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles, died of complications from heatstroke following a spring training workout on February 17, 2003.
According to Bruce Silverglade, legal director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, "All of a sudden [after Bechler's death] Congress dropped objections to an ephedra ban and started demanding that the FDA act.
[37] Almost simultaneously, a study in Annals of Internal Medicine found that ephedrine alkaloids were 100 to 700 times more likely to cause a significant adverse reaction than other commonly used supplements such as kava or Ginkgo biloba.
Nutraceutical Corporation stated that while they did not intend to restart marketing ephedra, they were concerned about the scope of the FDA's regulatory action.
[42] The Japanese motorcycle racer Noriyuki Haga tested positive for ephedrine in 2000, being disqualified from two races and banned from two more as a result.
[43] NFL punter Todd Sauerbrun of the Denver Broncos was suspended for the first month of the 2006 season after testing positive for ephedrine.
[41] Throughout the many hymns, prayers, and philosophy found in the Vedas (written around 1500 BC), a mysterious plant is mentioned often and with great reverence.
This plant alternates from a holy substance to an actual personified god and is considered a teacher, doctor, medicine, a bringer of insight, and a vector of inspiration.
[44] It is unknown why, but eventually in both the Vedic and Zoroastrian cultures a substitute substance was used in these religious ceremonies and over time the definitive identity of Soma-Haoma has been lost.
