University of Texas Arlington

Nutritional supplement synthetically made, not natural

A new study published in the journal Drug Testing and Analysis found that DMAA, a stimulant often found in many nutritional and sports supplements, does not originate from natural substances and is actually composed of synthetic compounds, Science Daily, Phys.org and several other websites reported. Researchers led by UT Arlington Chemistry and Biochemistry Professor Daniel Armstrong found that it is unlikely the DMAA in supplements comes from the geranium plant or its extracted oil, as companies have sometimes claimed. The safety and origin of DMAA in these supplements has been the subject of intense debate and has been recently linked to the death of two U.S. soldiers, causing the Army to pull the supplement from its commissaries.