On February 7, 2014, Health Canada warned that this product was found to be contaminated with 1,3-dimethylamylamine (DMAA), also known as methylhexanamine or geranium extract (19447). Advise patients not to take this product. There are serious safety concerns about DMAA. It is a stimulant that can potentially increase blood pressure and increase the risk of adverse cardiovascular events. DMAA-containing products have been linked to over 40 serious adverse event reports including adverse cardiovascular, metabolic, nervous system, and psychiatric events. Reports of death have also occurred (17660,17663,17904,17906,17907,17908,17958). In 2011, US Department of Defense (DoD) temporarily banned the sale of DMAA-containing supplements in military stores due to safety concerns. Sales of these products will be prohibited until the DoD investigates reports of potential serious adverse outcomes related to this product (17904,17909). On April 9, 2012, DMAA was also banned in New Zealand due to safety concerns (17960). Due to its stimulant effects, DMAA was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited substances list for 2010. It is listed using the name methylhexaneamine on the prohibited list (17600). Supplements that contain DMAA often list rose geranium oil, geranium oil, or geranium stems on the label. Some supplement manufacturers claim that this is because rose geranium oil contains a small amount of dimethylamylamine. However, this has not been verified by laboratory analysis. Some laboratories have not been able to detect dimethylamylamine in geranium oil. There is concern that some supplement manufacturers may be artificially spiking their supplements with this synthetic drug (17661,17662). In 2011, Health Canada determined that there is no credible evidence that DMAA is derived from the geranium plant. Therefore, DMAA is considered a drug and is not allowed in dietary supplements in Canada (17959). For more information about DMAA, see the complete scientific monograph.
