The effect of an herbal dietary supplement containing ephedrine and caffeine on oxygen consumption in humans
F L Greenway1, W J Raum, J P DeLany
1Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70808, USA. greenwfl@pbrc.edu
Objective:
To determine if an herbal dietary supplement for weight loss increases metabolism.
Design:
Measurement of peak oxygen consumption in response to the supplement followed by a double-blind placebo-controlled crossover measurement of oxygen consumption in response to the supplement.
Setting:
The study was conducted in an academic research clinic.
Subjects:
Ten obese females (aged 41 +/- 4 years [body mass index (BMI)] 33.3 +/- 2.6 kg/m2) participated in the peak oxygen consumption test; six of these females participated in the crossover trial.
Interventions And Outcome Measures:
Peak oxygen consumption was measured for 45 minutes after taking two herbal dietary supplement capsules orally, each containing the equivalent of 10 mg of caffeine and 5 mg of ephedrine. The crossover trial measured oxygen consumption for 45 minutes after taking two herbal dietary supplement capsules or two placebo capsules orally.
Results:
The herbal dietary supplement increased peak oxygen consumption 0.178 +/- 0.03 (SEM) kcal/min (8.01 +/- 1.35 kcal/min expressed over 45 minutes) above baseline (p < 0.0001), and 2.0 +/- 0.56 kcal/min over 45 minutes compared to placebo (p < 0.006).
Conclusions:
The herbal dietary supplement increased oxygen consumption when taken according to the package directions. The significance of this rise for weight loss requires further research.
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