Ephedra study
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Advance copy released in April by the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy contains "serious and damaging inaccuracies" about herbal products and should be pulled from publication in the journal's May 15 issue, Washington, D.C.-based law firm Hyman, Phelps & McNamara says in a letter to AJHSP. The legal counsel to AHPA's Ephedra Committee says the study by Arkansas researcher Bill Gurley, PhD, misrepresents the safety of ephedra products, improperly lumps illegal street drugs with supplements, misrepresents the presence of norpseudoephedrine in supplements and incorrectly asserts ephedra products are related to amphetamine. AJHSP said the study underwent standard peer review and was posted on the journal's Web site prior to hard copy publication in the interests of public safety; the journal has no plans to halt print distribution. In general, the study found ephedra alkaloid content differed markedly from supplement label claims (1"The Tan Sheet" April 24, p. 16)