Presence of p-synephrine in teas commercialized in Porto Alegre (RS/Brazil)

Citrus aurantium (bitter orange) is characterized by the presence of p-synephrine, an amine structurally and pharmacologically related to ephedrine. Besides the same adverse effects as ephedrine, nowadays it is believed that altered levels of p-synephrine can be associated to the occurrence of migraine and cluster headaches. Leaves and fruits of this species are highly commercialized in form of teas and herbal preparations, but without taking into account the risks associated with its use. This work describes a survey of teas and herbal preparations containing C. aurantium, commercialized in Porto Alegre (RS/Brazil), in order to verify the presence of p-synephrine. Comparing with the mean amount available in the supermarkets, around 20% of the teas and 10% of the herbal preparations declared the presence of C. aurantium in their labels. In a sampling of 15 teas and 2 herbal preparations selected for the analysis, the presence of p-synephrine was characterized in all samples, with levels between 0.0040 to 0.2308%, leading to a caution that even being natural products, they are not free of adverse effects.