Mass spectrometry shows presence of DMAA in some Chinese geraniums

A controversial ingredient has been found in geraniums from select regions of China, but is not present in all of them, according to a major new US study.

The research was undertaken by researchers at the University of Memphis with funding provided by USPLabs. Published in the journal Analytical Chemistry Insights, the study provided an explanation as to why the chemical substance had been present in some geranium samples from China, but not from other territories.

DMAA (1,3-Dmiethylamylamine) which is also referred to as methyl hexaneamine, has been in the press since ten manufacturers were warned by the US Food and Drug Administration not to advertise the substance as natural in their supplements, when previous research has suggested the product only occurs synthetically.

A study by Chinese researchers in 1996 using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry techniques and published in the Journal of Guizhou Institute of Technology indicated that DMAA is actually a naturally occurring constituent of geranium oil.

The Memphis team's research backs this up, with Heather Fleming, Patricia Ranaivo and Paul Simone using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to measure DMAA in plants collected from China at three different times - June 2011, March 2012 and May 2012.

While the plants from two of the test sites - Kunming and Guiyang - did not contain any of the substance, those from Changzou contained significant amounts. They said the reason for the discrepancy is likely because the presence of DMAA has a geographic angle to it.

Spectroscopynow.com reports that they said: "This may not be a case of right or wrong. Until now, none of the samples analysed have been identical or reported as from the same region."

Commenting on the new research, Kerri Toloczko, spokesperson for USPLabs, which produces the Jack3d supplement containing DMAA, told Nutralingredients-USA: "This study represents another peer-reviewed analytical study confirming the presence of DMAA in geraniums."