Controversy has surrounded the origins of one of the most prominent ingredients of the dietary supplement industry in recent months. Accordingly, researchers have failed to determine whether or not 1, 3 Dimethylamylamine (DMAA) is a natural derivative of geranium oil. However, the release of peer-reviewed paper may finally conclude that DMAA is synthetic production, as opposed to being a natural derivative of geranium oil. According to the report, “it is unlikely that the DMAA in supplements originates from natural sources such as geranium oils.”
Products containing DMAA have been marketed as a dietary supplements. When combined with caffeine and other ingredients, DMAA may be used as an over-the-counter thermogenic or general purpose stimulant intended to increase workout energy and efficiency. There are currently an abundance of DMAA products on store shelves. However, misconceptions regarding the origins and safety of DMAA have caused a great deal of controversy in the pharmaceutical industry.
In response to the growing concern regarding DMAA products, regulatory agencies around the world are currently in the middle of conducting intensive investigations in order to determine the origins of this ingredient. However, a recent study conducted by a group of scientists from the University of Texas, Arlington may provide enough evidence to suggest that DMAA is not a natural derivative of geranium oil.
The study, entitled, 1, 3 Dimethylamylamine (DMAA) in Supplements and Geranium Products: Natural or Synthetic?, examined a total of 13 dietary supplements purporting to contain DMAA and an additional eight commercially available geranium extracts. Dr. Daniel Armstrong, along with his research team used high performance chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry to examine each geranium extract. Accordingly, results yielded no samples that contained DMAA within 10 parts per billion.
For the supplements (which included USPLab’s Jack3d and Nutrex Research’s Hemo Rage), the enantiomeric and diastereomeric ratios of the two different known synthetic DMAA compounds, as well as the total concentrations of DMAA and its stereoisomeric ratios, were determined by chiral gas chromatography. According to researchers involved in the study, the stereoisomeric ratios of DMAA in the synthetic standards and in all the commercial supplements were “indistinguishable.”
Upon conclusion of the study, “It appears unlikely that the DMAA in supplements originates from natural sources such as geranium oils for three reasons: The DMAA extracted from these supplement products had diasteroemeric ratios that were indistinguishable from the synthetic DMAA standards; they are all racemic; and no DMAA was detected at a level of > 10 ppb in any of the 8 geranium oil samples.”
Ed Wyszumialageneral manager of dietary supplements programs at analytical testing from NSF International acknowledged that it was “good to see that the independent research that has been underway and now being published is confirming that DMAA is not a derivative for geraniums. No quality independent, credible data has shown DMAA is in geranium plants.”
Dr. Armstrong’s recent study may have an overwhelming impact on the future of several pending class action DMAA lawsuits that have been filed against manufacturers of these ambiguous products. Currently, DMAA is marketed as a dietary supplement. However, according to the FDA, synthetically produced DMAA is “not a dietary ingredient and is not, therefore, eligible to be used as an active ingredient in dietary supplements.” Furthermore, DMAA would be considered a synthetically manufactured drug in violation of federal law.
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