Officials at iForce Nutrition didn't respond to interview requests. Dexaprine has been the subject of safety warnings from Dutch health officials. Wheat said the chemical signatures published in the FDA's research paper indicate to him that six or seven of the nine flagged supplements are likely made by his company.Īnother company, iForce Nutrition, lists Acacia rigidula as an ingredient in its Dexaprine XR weight loss supplement. Wheat said he believes his company is the largest supplier of Acacia rigidula in the country, supplying the ingredient or making supplements for other companies. Several Hi-Tech supplements list both DMAA and Acacia rigidula among their ingredients. The FDA's scientists, in their journal article, noted that the Texas A&M study provided little information about how those earlier tests were done. "They're just absolutely wrong," Wheat said of the FDA scientists' statement that the compound is "non-natural." Wheat points to a 1998 journal article by Texas A&M scientists about compounds found in the plant as proof that the substance is naturally occurring. Wheat said the FDA has never mentioned any concerns about Acacia rigidula and had not heard of the agency's study until contacted by USA TODAY. Wheat said he's used Acacia rigidula in supplements for several years without receiving any reports of safety problems. He was released from the sentence in 2011. Wheat was sentenced to 50 months in federal prison in 2009 for conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, and introduction of unapproved new and adulterated drugs into interstate commerce, prison records show. The Federal Trade Commission is seeking to send Hi-Tech's president, Jared Wheat, back to prison for contempt of court, alleging breaches of sanctions stemming from a false advertising claims prosecution in 2004, court records show. The FDA announced Monday it seized $2 million in supplements last week from Hi-Tech that contained the controversial stimulant ingredient DMAA. The company has had repeated run-ins over the years with federal regulators over ingredients and marketing practices, records show. "The laws are incredibly weak," Cohen said, "but the FDA is not moving as fast as it could to remove hazardous products."Īcacia rigidula is listed as an ingredient in several weight loss and energy supplements made by Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals of Norcross, Ga., including Fastin-XR, Stimerex and Lipodrene Hardcore, according to a USA TODAY review of dietary supplement labels compiled in a National Institutes of Health database. The Acacia rigidula supplements tested were marketed for such things as weight loss, energy boosting and mood stabilizing, their paper said. The compound appears to have never been tested for safety on humans, they said.įDA officials would not comment on their study or release the names of the supplements tested or the nine found to contain the compound, beta-methylphenethylamine. The FDA scientists reported they couldn't find the substance in verified samples of the plant. Food and Drug Administration scientists found nine products that contain the compound, according to their findings published in the Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis.Īll 21 of the supplements list an ingredient called Acacia rigidula, which is a bushy plant found in Texas and Mexico. Tests of 21 supposedly all-natural supplements by U.S. For the second time in recent weeks, scientists have found a "non-natural" amphetamine-like compound in dietary supplements – yet federal regulators have issued no warnings to consumers about the ingredient.
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