Safety and efficacy of citrus aurantium for weight loss.

Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, USA. bent@itsa.ucsf.edu

To examine the safety and efficacy of citrus aurantium, an herb now commonly used as a substitute for ephedra in dietary supplements marketed to promote weight loss, we conducted a systematic review. An extensive search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIOSIS, and the Cochrane Collaboration Database identified only 1 eligible randomized placebo controlled trial, which followed 20 patients for 6 weeks, demonstrated no statistically significant benefit for weight loss, and provided limited information about the safety of the herb.

PMID: 15541270 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]