Raspberry Ketone by AFI America's Finest

INSUFFICIENT RELIABLE EVIDENCE to RATE

• Alopecia areata. It is unclear if raspberry ketone is beneficial for alopecia areata. Details: Preliminary clinical research shows that applying a raspberry ketone 0.01% solution to the scalp once daily for 5 months increases hair growth in 50% of patients with androgenic alopecia or alopecia areata when compared with baseline (17955). The validity of this finding is limited by the lack of a comparator group.
• Androgenic alopecia. It is unclear if raspberry ketone is beneficial for androgenic alopecia. Details: Preliminary clinical research shows that applying a raspberry ketone 0.01% solution to the scalp once daily for 5 months increases hair growth in 50% of patients with androgenic alopecia or alopecia areata when compared with baseline (17955). The validity of this finding is limited by the lack of a comparator group.
• Obesity. Raspberry ketone has only been evaluated in combination with other ingredients; its effect when used alone is unclear. Details: One small, uncontrolled clinical trial in healthy adults suggests that taking raspberry ketone 200 mg with vitamin C 1200 mg daily for four weeks reduces body weight and body fat mass (19065). Another clinical study in overweight adults shows that taking a specific product (Prograde Metabolism, Ultimate Wellness Systems) containing 1000 mg of a proprietary blend of raspberry ketone, capsicum extract, caffeine, garlic root, ginger root, bitter orange, L-theanine, and black pepper twice daily for 8 weeks, in conjunction with dieting, reduces body weight, fat mass, and waist and hip circumference when compared with dieting alone (40802). More evidence is needed to rate raspberry ketone for these uses.

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LIKELY SAFE ...when used orally in food amounts. Raspberry ketone has Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status for use as a food additive (102356,102358). There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of raspberry ketone when used in medicinal amounts. However, raspberry ketone is structurally similar to synephrine, a known stimulant agent. Orally, cases of heart palpitations, tachycardia, elevated blood pressure, coronary vasospasm, sweating, feelings of shakiness, and diarrhea are reported after taking raspberry ketone (17961,112386,112400). In one case report, pulseless electrical activity arrest followed by resistant polymorphic ventricular tachycardia occurred in a patient taking raspberry ketone (112386).

PREGNANCY AND LACTATION:
There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of raspberry ketone; avoid using.

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STIMULANT DRUGS Interaction Rating = Moderate Be cautious with this combination. Severity = Moderate •  Occurrence = Possible •  Level of Evidence = D Theoretically, raspberry ketone might increase the risk of adverse cardiovascular effects with stimulant drugs.  Details Structurally, raspberry ketone resembles synephrine, a known stimulant agent. Heart palpitations, elevated blood pressure, coronary vasospasm, pulseless electrical activity arrest, and resistant polymorphic ventricular tachycardia have been reported in patients taking raspberry ketone (17961,112386,112400).

WARFARIN (Coumadin) Interaction Rating = Moderate Be cautious with this combination. Severity = High •  Occurrence = Possible •  Level of Evidence = D Theoretically, raspberry ketone might increase warfarin dose requirements.  Details In one case report, a patient taking warfarin 55 mg per week had a decrease in INR over a period of one month while taking raspberry ketone 250 mg daily. A warfarin dose increase to 70 mg per week was necessary to maintain a therapeutic INR while taking raspberry ketone (17962). The mechanism for this potential interaction is not known.

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General ...Orally, a thorough evaluation of safety outcomes for raspberry ketone has not been conducted. Structurally, raspberry ketone resembles synephrine, a known stimulant agent.

Cardiovascular ...Structurally, raspberry ketone resembles synephrine, a known stimulant agent. Although not well studied in humans, stimulant-related side effects are possible. Orally, cases of heart palpitations, tachycardia, elevated blood pressure, coronary vasospasm are reported after taking raspberry ketone (17961,112386,112400). In one case report, pulseless electrical activity arrest followed by resistant polymorphic ventricular tachycardia occurred in a patient taking raspberry ketone. The arrhythmia resolved after numerous defibrillation shocks and placement of a temporary transvenous pacemaker with overdrive pacing (112386). In another case report, 5 episodes of ST elevation occurred over 2 days following ingestion of raspberry ketone (112400).

Neurologic/CNS ...Structurally, raspberry ketone resembles synephrine, a known stimulant agent. Although not well studied in humans, stimulant-related side effects are possible. Two case reports describe symptoms of sweating, diarrhea, and feelings of shakiness after oral use of raspberry ketone (17961,112400).

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