You will lose weight, improve concentration, increase your endurance. Such slogans accompany supplements containing Acacia rigidula. However, scientists indicate that products containing it may be dangerous to health.
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A wonderful plant
Acacia rigidula is a plant belonging to the Leguminosae family that grows naturally in Texas and Mexico. Its extracts are used in dietary supplements for slimming and in preparations for athletes that promise to increase muscle strength. Acacia rigidula is supposed to affect metabolic rate, lower appetite, burn fat, improve exercise capacity and stimulate. However, there is no reliable information that would actually confirm such an effect of this plant on the body. As recent reports show, its use can even be dangerous to health, due to dishonest producers who add a dangerous ingredient to their supplements.
Dangerous BMPEA
Dr. Pieter Cohen of Harvard University points out in his research on ‘natural’ supplements containing Acacia rigidula that in half of them BMPEA was detected (beta-methylphenylethylamine) – amphetamine isomer. It is a compound that has not been fully studied. However, animal testing indicates its negative health effects, and no human trials have been carried out. Beta-methyl-phenylethylamine was synthesized in 1930 as a replacement for amphetamine that acts on the central nervous system. We know a lot about its impact on human health, because there are relevant studies, in the case of BMPEA, basically nothing is known, because no studies on humans have ever been conducted. Animal observations have shown that this substance causes spikes in blood pressure and stimulation of the heart rate in dogs and cats and penetrates easily into the brain.
Harvard study
The composition of the supplements was tested by liquid chromatography with a mass spectrometer (LC-MS). 21 products containing Acacia rigidula were tested. 52.4 percent of the supplements (11 out of 21) contained beta-methyl-phenylethylamine at doses up to 93.7 mg per day. Consumers of Acacia rigidula extracts may therefore be exposed to pharmaceutical doses of the amphetamine isomer. The research results were published in Drug Testing and Analysis.
Research author Dr Cohen comments:
The FDA should warn consumers about BMPEA and take decisive action to eliminate it from dietary supplements.
And adds:
Consumers must trust that the information on the label regarding the composition and nutritional value of the supplement is accurate and that the ingredients contained in it are safe. This study emphasizes that the FDA should use its authority to solve the problem of dishonest manufacturers who enrich their product with illegal or unapproved ingredients.
The FDA is silent
It turns out that in 2012, the FDA conducted its own tests on acacia supplements and also recorded the presence of BMPEA. as many as 42 percent of the surveyed products. At the same time they researched leaves of the Acacia rigidula plant itself, and they did not find this substance in its composition. This study was published in 2013 in Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis. However, the FDA has not yet taken any steps to remove the dangerous substance from preparations that are intended to improve health. On the other hand, actions are taken by European and Canadian agencies. Since last year (2014), a European regulation requires that products containing Acacia rigidula be authorized before they are placed on the market. A company that wants to sell preparations with this plant in Europe must demonstrate that their product does not present a risk to the consumer.
Considering the possible presence of a synthetic drug in a supplement that is supposed to help you lose weight, you should be careful in choosing the right product. Due to the fact that neither Acacia rigidula nor BMPEA extracts are well tested, it is better to avoid preparations containing this plant in the composition.
Main photo is from flickr.com
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