A common person who is desirous to know about the ephedrine contents as a basic product in a diet pill will see the supplement facts label. He will probably see the following notation:
Ephedra Extract (25 mg)
This will satisfy him that the product he is purchasing contains ephedrine. His satisfaction is only a result of his ignorance. Since the FDA has started regulating the quantity of ephedrine in the drugs, it has become a common way to mention this ingredient on the label. No clear claim about the quantity of ephedrine. As a matter of fact, such type of labeling provides strong grounds to assume that this ephedra diet product contains no ephedrine at all.
The fact is that ephedra is a scientific family name for about 40 different types of plants. They all produce a group called alkaloids. Majority of these produces very low levels of alkaloids and no ephedrine. All American species fall into this category.
How to Know Whether a Product Contains Ephedrine
The one way is to ascertain it from the quantity of alkaloid mentioned in milligrams in the label of the product.
It can also be estimated if you look for the correct species name. For example, Ephedra sinica which is a Chinese ephedra, commonly known as ma huang, contains ephedrine from 7,300 to more than 16,000 ppm. The Pakastani ephedra (Ephedra gerardiana) contains ephedrine above 7000, and Ephedra nevadensis, that is an American species, contains almost no ephedrine.
How Much Ephedrine Are You Getting?
The quality Ephedra Diet Pills mentions the quantity clearly on the label. Where it is not mentioned, it can be estimated from the natural concentration. Green tissue contains approximately 0.8 % alkaloids by weight. Ephedrine can be 90 % of this.
Weight Loss and Ephedra Diet
A weight loss can be triggered by using 72 mg or more of total ephedra alkaloids containing about 65 mg of ephedrine. The current rules and regulation restrict availability of such high dosages in the U.S. Weight loss products; therefore, add other ingredients that increase metabolism.
The most common used ingredient for this is caffeine. The green tea extract also provides additional benefit of a substance called EGCG. This is a highly affective antioxidant that is much better for weight reduction than caffeine.
What Suits You?
People have been using a wide variety of ephedra-based products for weight loss successfully. Some of which contain ephedrine while the others do not. This shows that no specific name can be recommended that suits everyone in the same way. The best choice is to experiment and find out yourself what is most suitable for you.