Fight Continues Over Ephedra Safety

A report issued Wednesday by a leading dietary supplement organization says dieters can take as much as 90 milligrams per day of the controversial herbal stimulant ephedra without significant adverse effects.

The report, funded by the Council for Responsible Nutrition, is the latest salvo in a long-running battle between supplement makers and the Food and Drug Administration over a popular and powerful weight loss aid that the FDA has linked to hundreds of cases of serious illness and at least 39 deaths.

The recommendation by Cantox Health Sciences International, an independent scientific consulting firm based near Toronto, is slightly less than the standard of 100 milligrams per day that is generally supported by the supplement industry but considerably greater than the 24 milligrams per day proposed by the FDA three years ago.

The 90-milligram recommendation matches that of an industry-sponsored study conducted by Columbia and Harvard universities. The council released both the Cantox report and some of the Columbia-Harvard results at a news conference.