big in vegas
MuscleChemistry Registered Member
- Craze, which won BodyBuilding.com’s New Supplement of the Year award in 2012, contains the substance called N,alpha-diethylphenylethylamine or N,a-DEPEA, according to new study
- N,a-DEPEA is illegal drug methamphetamine's chemical cousin
- Samples have between 20 to 35 milligrams of the drug in one serving size
- The label says it contains a different chemical, N,N-DEPEA, as an ingredient, but researchers did not find that substance in the supplement
An award-winning bodybuilder supplement has come under fire because it contains a chemical compound similar to the illegal drug methamphetamine.
Craze, which won BodyBuilding.com’s New Supplement of the Year award in 2012, contains the substance called N,alpha-diethylphenylethylamine or N,a-DEPEA.
The find, which was published on Monday in the peer-reviewed Drug Testing and Analysis Journal, shows that Craze samples from different suppliers have between 20 to 35 milligrams of the drug in one serving size.
According to the scientists, these dosages suggest it was ‘not a minor contaminant resulting from the manufacturing process’.
N,α-DEPEA has never been studied in humans, according to the study.
'Its stimulant, addictive and other adverse effects in humans are entirely unknown. Regulatory agencies should act expeditiously to warn consumers and remove N,α-DEPEA from all dietary supplements,' the study said.
Dr Pieter Cohen, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and lead author of the study, said the drug is a methamphetamine analog, or a ‘cousin’ to meth.
Scientists first discovered the new drug approximately three years ago in South Korea.
‘Criminal-chemists start with a known drug - in this case methamphetamine, then in their factor they start making little changes to it,’ Cohen told CNN.
‘Here, they pop a few extra carbon and hydrogen molecules onto it. But the main structure/backbone/skeleton of the drug remains the same.’
In July, USA Today published an investigative piece on supplement designer Matt Cahill, ‘a convicted felon who has a history of selling risky dietary supplements, including products with ingredients linked to severe liver injury and at least one death’, the newspaper said.
Driven Sports said on its website in response to the allegations that Craze was ‘a legal supplement that provides people with a tool to enhance their workouts, by combining natural extracts to increase their energy’.
‘Craze conforms to all U.S. federal regulatory requirements and is proven safe when used as directed... Driven Sports has commissioned extensive testing of Craze from a reputable, independent laboratory, which conclusively establishes that the product does not contain any illegal stimulants.’
Bodybuilding.com also posted a message on its website, saying they had ‘conducted product, blood and urine tests on Craze numerous times and all tested negative for amphetamines’.
One of the samples used in the recently published study on Craze products was sent to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last year, and the study authors' conclusions were sent to the FDA in May.
While the FDA is in charge of regulating dietary supplements, manufacturers and distributors are not required to get FDA approval before selling their products.
NSF International, a public health organisation involved in the study, also found N,a-DEPEA in a different manufacturer's supplement, Gaspari Nutrition's fat burning drug, Detonate.
Detonate has been removed from the company's website and from Bodybuilding.com's website, however it is still being sold on Amazon.
