NEW YORK, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Two sports supplements popular in the United States contain a chemical similar to methamphetamine, scientists in the United States and South Korea say.
The researchers say results of tests on the supplements raise health and regulatory concerns, USA Today reported Monday.
One supplement, a pre-workout powder called Craze, is marketed by Driven Sports of New York as containing only natural ingredients.
Another supplement, Detonate, is touted as an all-natural weight loss pill. It is sold by Gaspari Nutrition.
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The same amphetamine-like chemical, N,alpha-diethylphenylethylamine, is found in both products, researchers said. They said the compound is probably not as powerful as methamphetamine, which is highly addictive and illegal, but more powerful than ephedrine.
Driven Sports has repeatedly denied Craze contains any amphetamine-like ingredients.
"These are basically brand-new drugs that are being designed in clandestine laboratories where there's absolutely no guarantee of quality control," said Pieter Cohen, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and a co-author of an analysis of Craze samples.
Craze has not been studied in the human body, Cohen said, adding risks associated with using the supplements "are completely unknown."
The compound found in Craze is the same found a crystalline powder seized by narcotics officers in December 2011, say researchers from the National Forensic Service in South Korea and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands. The seized powder is suspected of being an illicit drug.
The compound was patented in 1988 by Knoll Pharmaceuticals, which claimed it enhances mental activities and increased tolerance to pain. It was never developed into a medicine.
