Ephedra (sometimes known as Ma Huang) is a shrub-like plant found in desert regions in central Asia and other parts of the world. The dried stems of the plant are used medicinally. The alkaloid ephedrine is the medically active ingredient in ephedra.

Ephedrine is an amphetamine-like compound used for 2,000 years in Chinese herbal remedies to treat asthma and other maladies.

In the west, ephedrine and closely related pseudoephedrine have been used in a variety of over-the-counter asthma medications and weight-loss products. Pseudoephedrine is the key ingredient in such sinus and cold medications such as Afrin and Sudafed. But ephedrine and pseudoephedrine have also been linked over the past quarter century to hundreds of reports of adverse effects including hypertension (elevated blood pressure), palpitations (rapid heart rate), neurophathy (nerve damage), myopathy (muscle injury), psychosis, stroke, memory loss, heart rate irregularities, insomnia, nervousness, tremors, seizures, heart attacks, and death.

As far back as 1983, the FDA banned the combination of ephedrine and caffeine in over-the-counter products. Then in early 1990, the FDA began issuing warnings to consumers of diet products and supplements containing ephedrine or ephedra. In 2003, the agency advised consumers to stop using ephedra products and asked companies to stop selling them.

On February 6, 2004, the FDA published a regulation prohibiting the sale of weight loss supplements containing ephedrine. This prohibition took affect April 12, 2004.⁵¹

So, how is it weight-loss products featuring ephedra are being actively sold over the internet today?

Well, while many supplement makers either withdrew their ephedra weight-loss products or reformulated them to eliminate ephedra, Nutraceutical Corp. sued the FDA over the ban. In April 2005, a federal District Court judge in Utah ruled that Nutraceutical could sell products that contain 10 milligrams or less of ephedra.

While dietary supplement trade associations urged their members not to resume sale of products with ephedra (and Neutaceutical has not resumed sale of Soleray Ephedra), some other companies are again promoting weight-loss pills with ephedra.

Should you buy pills containing ephedra for aid in weight-loss? The FDA has not changed its position on the health risks of using these products, and U.S. Marshals continue enforcement of the FDA ban by periodically seizing ephedra supplements.

"We will do all we can to protect Americans from potentially dangerous dietary supplements," said FDA Commissioner Andrew Eschenbach.