Supplement Spotlight – Halostachine

Due to the lack of regulation in the supplement market, the safety of these products needs to be considered. Supplement manufacturers often use omissions or alternative names to lure buyers in and create the illusion of a clean substance. These tricks make supplements a higher risk for athletes. 

Check out our resource on Sport Supplements & Supps In Sport – Athlete Advice for more information.

WHAT IS HALOSTACHINE? 

Halostachine, scientifically known as N-methylphenylethanolamine, is often referred to as a natural substance. It is a derivative of phenethylamine, first isolated from the shrub Halostachys belangeriana which is found across Eurasia. 

Halostachine is an ingredient often found in supplements and has been likened to ephedrine, a similarly prohibited substance that is medically used to treat low blood pressure. It is promoted in dietary supplements for its stimulant effect.

Halostachine is listed on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List as an S6 Stimulant that is prohibited in-competition due to its performanceenhancing effects and danger to athlete health. 

Australian athletes need to be aware that while this ingredient is often used in supplements, Halostachine has not undergone any clinical trials in humans and is not indicated for any medical uses.

WHAT DOES IT DO?

Structure: Halostachine is classified as a phenethylamine derivative as it contains phenethylamine as its backbone. 

Based on this structure, it is expected to have an impact on the central nervous system, therefore acting as a stimulant.

Marketing: Halostachine is marketed as a fat burner, which improves endurance and promotes rapid recovery post workout. Clinical data on the efficacy and safety in humans of Halostachine or plants and supplements containing Halostachine does not exist.

WHAT ARE THE HEALTH RISKS?

Generally, phenethylamines are known to cause appetite loss, increased heart rate (tachycardia), high blood pressure (hypertension) and respiratory problems.

EXERCISE CAUTION WITH SUPPLEMENT USE

As Halostachine is on the Prohibited List, athletes must take care with supplement use to make sure they don’t accidentally consume this ingredient.

As with any supplement, it can be difficult to tell exactly what some ingredients are and how much of each ingredient is in a product.

A US study published mid last year in JAMA Network Open, produced data on 57 dietary supplements marketed to increase energy or build muscle to determine if they contained five popular botanical ingredients promoted as having stimulant or anabolic effects. Halostachine was one of the five ingredients.

Of the 57 products analysed, seven listed Halostachine as an ingredient.

The research also found that 23 of the 57 products did not contain the listed ingredients in detectable amounts. Additionally, products that did include the ingredient had quantities ranging from 0.02% to 334% of what the label indicated. This means that people are likely to get a highly variable dose of the ingredients between different products. This could have significant health effects if they get an unexpected high dose when their body is used to being under-dosed.

Supplement manufacturing processes can lead to their contents varying from batch to batch. SIA’s advice is that no supplement is 100% safe to use.

Under the WADA principle of strict liability, athletes are responsible for any substance found in their body.

In Australia, supplements are the largest cause of inadvertent doping cases. 

If athletes still choose to use supplements it is recommended they use the SIA app’s ‘Supplement Checker’. This tool is designed to help athletes find products with a lower risk of testing positive.  The Checker lists supplements available on Australian shelves which have been batch tested and certified by a third-party program that tests for banned substances in sport, these independent companies are Informed Sport and HASTA. The batch-tested supplements on the checker have the lowest risk of containing prohibited substances, however there is never a guarantee.