The dietary supplement DMAA (1,3-dimethylamine or “geranium extract”) has been linked to serious, life-threatening side effects.
Do I Have a DMAA Lawsuit? Collen A. Clark is a true advocate for his clients and is passionate about helping Texans that have been injured or wronged. If you or a loved one has been injured after taking DMAA, you should contact our lawyers immediately. You may be entitled to compensation by filing a lawsuit in Texas.
Defense Dept. Names 39 Supplements Laced with DMAA
October 14, 2015 — The Defense Department’s Human Performance Resource Center (HPRC) has compiled a list (PDF) of 39 pre-workout supplements that may contain DMAA, a hazardous and illegal stimulant drug:
- 1,3 D Bomb (Total Body Nutrition USA)
- 1,3 Dimethylamylamine (various distributors & suppliers)
- Atomizer (Aviva Nutrition/Active Sports Distribution)
- Black Widow (Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals LLC)
- Blood Rush Pump (Muscle Gauge Nutrition)
- Decimate (Cygen Laboratories)
- DMAA Powder (various)
- EPH 100 (Delta Health Products)
- EPH-25 New Formula (Accelerated Sport Neutraceuticals (ASN)
- Fastin-XR (Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals LLC)
- FlashOver (Omega Sports)
- Fruta Planta USA (American Generic Labs (AGL)
- Geranamine powder and capsules (Fusion Supplements)
- Get Ripped (Accelerated Sport Nutraceuticals (ASN)
- HydroxyElite (Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals LLC)
- HyperLean FX7 (Nova Body Science)
- Ignite Energy Boost (Accelerated Sport Nutraceuticals (ASN)
- Jack’d Upd (Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals LLC)
- Lipodrene Hardcore (Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals LLC)
- Lipodrene Xtreme (Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals LLC)
- Mesomorph (APS / Advance Performance Supplements)
- NOX Pump (Dorian Yates Nutrition)
- Old Jack (Gen One)
- OxyphenXR (Beta Labs, LTD)
- Phenadrine (APS / Advance Performance Supplements)
- Rocket Fuel Capsules (Fusion Supplements)
- RoxyLean ECA (BPI Sports)
- Seirogan Toi A (Taiko Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.)
- Stimerex Hardcore (Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals LLC)
- Stimerex-ES Ephedra Extract (Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals LLC)
- Stimerex-ES Ephedra Free (Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals LLC)
- StimulantX (Anabolic Xtreme)
- Suppress NT (Nutrition Alliance International (NSI)
- Tiger Claw DMAA (Kempo Nutrition)
- White Lightning (APS / Advance Performance Supplements)
- Yellow Scorpion (Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals LLC)
- Yellow Thunder (APS / Advance Performance Supplements)
- Zenalean Pro (Accelerated Sport Neutraceuticals (ASN)
UPDATE: RegeneSlim Diet Pills Recalled After FDA Finds DMAA
August 11, 2014 — RegeneSlim diet pills have been recalled after FDA lab tests detected DMAA. Click here to read more.
August 5, 2014 — The journal Gastroenterology has published a case report of a 35 year-old woman who developed liver failure and needed a transplant after taking Saba Appetite Control and Energy (ACE), a weight-loss supplement that contains DMAA and Green Tea Extract. Click here to read more.
OxyElite Pro Linked to Liver Damage Epidemic in Hawaii
October 8, 2013 – OxyElite Pro will be removed from store shelves nationwide. USPLabs has agreed to stop selling the product until the CDC completes their investigation. Click here to read more.
October 8, 2013 – The FDA has issued a Drug Safety Communication to warn about the outbreak of non-viral hepatitis — 24 out of 29 people report using OxyElite Pro. Click here to read more.
October 3, 2013 — The Hawaii Department of Health has reported a cluster of at least 30 liver injuries have been associated with OxyElite Pro. At least one person has had a liver transplant, and many more are on a waiting list or are being evaluated for a transplant. Click here to read more.
July 16, 2013 –– Prosecutors from the Justice Department, on behalf of the FDA, have requested permission to seize 3,200 cases of DMAA products (Jack3D and OxyElite Pro) from warehouses owned by GNC in Pennsylvania and South Carolina. Click here to read more.
July 2, 2013 — The FDA has announced that USPLabs has voluntarily destroyed about $8 million worth Jack3D and OxyElite Pro stored at a facility in Dallas, Texas. Click here to read more.
April 16, 2013 — New FDA warning for DMAA. Click here to read more.
March 13, 2013 — The first-ever DMAA lawsuit has been filed in San Diego on behalf of a 22 year-old soldier who died of a cardiac arrest during routine physical training after using the recommended dosage of Jack3D the morning before his training. Click here to read more.
January 31, 2013 — The DMAA supplement Jack3D has been linked to the death of a woman who died while running the London Marathon in April last year. Click here to read more.
January 23, 2013 — USPLabs has agreed to settle a DMAA class action lawsuit for $2 million. Click here to read more.
January 22, 2013 — Senator Jeffrey Klein of New York is calling for legislation that would ban DMAA products in the state. Click here to read more.
December 3, 2012 — Despite warnings, all 16 DMAA supplements mentioned in the FDA warning letters are still available online — including Jack3D and OxyElite Pro. Click here to read more.
September 13, 2012 — The FDA has sent a warning letter to manufacturers of “RegeneSlim,” a weight-loss supplement containing DMAA. Click here to read more.
September 7, 2012 — Health authorities in Spain and Netherlands have issued warnings about DMAA.
August 31, 2012 — U.K. health authorities have banned DMAA.
August 9, 2012 — Australia has banned DMAA due to serious concerns about the safety of the drug.
June 20, 2012 — Australian and New Zealand health authorities are warning consumers not to use DMAA, and anyone who owns these products should throw them away immediately. The agency is considering banning the products. So far, 11 different products have tested positive for DMAA, including Jack3d and OxyElite Pro.
August 2006 — The Washington Post reports that DMAA was first marketed as a supplement by Patrick Arnold, a chemist who served federal prison time for his role in the BALCO / Barry Bonds sports-doping scandal. Click here to read more.
FDA Sends Warning Letters to 10 DMAA Manufacturers
In April 2012, ten manufacturers of supplements containing DMAA have been sent a Warning Letter from the FDA. The agency has concluded that “synthetically-produced DMAA is not a ‘dietary ingredient’ and, therefore, is not eligible to be used as an active ingredient in a dietary supplement.”
The companies are being specifically cited for failing to provide the FDA with a New Dietary Ingredient (NDI) notification. By law, all supplements that contain ingredients introduced after 1994 must provide the FDA with an NDI with evidence of the safety of the ingredient.
Because manufacturers have never provided the FDA with this information, supplements containing DMAA are adulterated. Furthermore, the FDA warns that DMAA is known to cause blood vessel constriction, which can elevate blood pressure and increase the risk of deadly heart attacks.
DMAA Overview
DMAA is a stimulant drug that is sold as a “dietary supplement,” which means that it does not need to gain FDA approval or undergo safety testing before it is sold on the U.S. market. The most popular brand-name products containing DMAA are Jack3d and OxyElite Pro, which are advertised toward fitness enthusiasts looking for a pre-workout energy enhancer. It is also sold as a weight-loss drug. The compounds in DMAA are similar to amphetamines and ephedrine, but DMAA is weaker than these drugs.
Names for DMAA
- DMAA
- Geranamine, Geranium oil, extract, or any part of the geranium plant
- 1,3-Dimethylamylamine
- 1,3-dimethylpentylamine
- methylhexaneamine (MHA)
- methylhexanamine
- methylhexamine
- 4-methyl-2-hexanamine
- 2-amino-4-methylhexane
DMAA Supplements
- USPlabs Jack3d (Tropical Fruit and Lemon Lime)
- USPlabs Oxy Elite Pro
- BPI Sports RoxyLean ECA
- Nutrex Lipo 6 Black Caps (his and hers)
- Nutrex Lipo 6 Black Ultra Concentrated (his and hers)
- Nutrex Hemo Rage Black Powder (Punch and Berry)
- Isatori PWR
- Muscletech Neurocore
- Muscletech Hydroxyslim
- Fahrenheit Nutrition Lean EFX
- Muscle Warfare Napalm
- All American Efx K-Otic
- SNI Nitric Blast
- BIORhythm SSIN Juice
- Muscle Meds Code Red
- SEI MethylHex (4 and 2)
- Grenade (universal) Grenade
- M.A.P. (iovate) Arson
- Gaspari Nutrition Spirodex
DMAA linked to Deaths
The most severe side effect of using DMAA is death. Recently, DMAA was found in the bloodstream of two soldiers on an Army base in the American Southwest who died. One soldier who died was a 22 year-old who collapsed during a training run. The other soldier who died was 32 years old, and he collapsed during a physical fitness test. He was taken to a hospital, where he remained for a month before dying. The two soldiers were on the same base. In August 2013, the DOD concluded that DMAA did not play a role in the soldiers’ deaths, but it does have serious risks.
DMAA has also been implicated in the deaths of several people in New Zealand. After the party pill BZP was banned, DMAA filled the gap and rose quickly in popularity. Soon, many people were hospitalized for strokes, severe nausea, headaches. DMAA was found in the bloodstream of a New Zealand man who suffered a cerebral hemorrhage after ingesting DMAA-laced party pills.
Military Bans DMAA
In response to the deaths of the two soldiers and other reports of adverse events related to DMAA, the U.S. Department of Defense banned the sale of DMAA on bases as a precautionary measure. The drugs are still legal, and they have not been banned nationally. The Department has decided to ban the on-base sale of the drugs until it can review the safety information regarding potentially deadly side effects.
In addition to the two soldiers who died, the Army has collected other reports of unusual side effects in personnel taking the supplements. Liver failure, kidney failure, loss of consciousness, rapid heartbeat, and seizures have all been reported.
Is DMAA a Dietary Supplement?
Much of the controversy over DMAA stems from its current classification as a “dietary supplement.” The manufacturers claim that the active ingredient in DMAA is a natural substance, derived from an Asian geranium, and therefore it can be classified as a “dietary supplement,” along with vitamins and minerals. By selling their products as a dietary supplement, the manufacturers can avoid the expensive, time-consuming process of gaining drug approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dietary supplement manufacturers do not need to submit safety data to the FDA, they do not need to prove their products are effective, and they do not need to keep track of adverse events after the products go to market.
However, many critics say that DMAA is not a dietary supplement at all. Instead, they say, it is a synthetic drug with very dangerous side effects — including death.
The drug formula behind DMAA was developed in the 1940s by the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly. They developed it as a nasal decongestant, sold under the brand-name Forthane. The product never took off, and the company stopped selling the product within a few years. Medical literature from the 1950s found that, in animals, DMAA was a more potent stimulant drug than ephedrine.
However, a spokeswoman for USPlabs (the company behind OxyElite Pro and Jack3d) says that the stimulant effects of the products are similar to caffeine. The company claims that there is no evidence to suggest that the products are unsafe. Furthermore, the company claims that DMAA is a compound derived from a natural source — an Asian geranium.
In fact, the link between the geranium plant and DMAA is inconclusive. It is based on a technical report in a Chinese journal that is not peer-reviewed, published in 1996. The Chinese scientists examined the essential oil of a geranium plant in a machine that reportedly detected 40 compounds. The identity of 31 compounds was then determined with an automated system.
No scientists have since been able to reproduce the finding. The manufacturers of DMAA have never provided an independent scientist with the dried botanical specimens that supposedly are behind DMAA. In fact, there is no credible evidence linking DMAA to a natural source. There is, however, strong evidence linking it to a synthetic source, because it was first mass-produced by the drug company Eli Lilly.
The American Herbal Products Associations (AHPA) is an organization of herbal supplement manufacturers. In August 2011, officials at AHPA told their members that they would no longer be allowed to label DMAA as geranium extract, geranium oil, or any other derivative of the geranium plant.
DMAA Side Effects
- Headaches
- Tremors
- Light-headedness
- Depression
- Dehydration
- Heat stroke
- Cold sweats
- Increased blood pressure
- Liver failure
- Kidney failure
- Rhabdomyolysis
- Loss of consciousness
- Racing heartbeat
- Heart palpitations
- Heart Attack
- Cardiac arrest
- Stoke
- Lethal exhaustion
- Seizure
- Death
How do I contact a Lawyer for a DMAA Lawsuit?
For a free consultation, please contact Collen A. Clark at The Clark Firm, LLP immediately. You may be entitled to compensation by filing a DMAA lawsuit.
Collen’s amazing success in the courtroom and well known dedication to his clients has earned him the recognition of his peers as one of The Top Trial Lawyers in Texas.”
The Clark Firm has assembled a team of trial lawyers with more that 100 years experience, participation in over 600 jury trials and $60 million in verdicts and/or settlements. Please use the form below to contact a Texas DMAA lawyer for a free case review.