Thursday's ruling sends the matter back to the FDA, which must now take another look at its evidence in banning all forms of ephedrine. It also forbids the FDA from taking enforcement action against Nutraceutical for any future sales of dietary supplements containing 10 milligrams or less of ephedrine alkaloids per dose.

Nutraceutical is interested in reintroducing its product, but Emord said doing so will take some time because the FDA ban has destroyed the once-booming ephedrine market, which had an estimated 12 million customers. The herb has been linked to some 155 deaths, including that of Baltimore Orioles pitching prospect Steve Bechler.

Federal lawmakers reacting to Thursday's ruling said it makes clear the need for effective regulation of dietary supplements.

"The history of ephedra regulation has been tortured, and I do not believe it is a good example of how the government should resolve dietary supplement safety," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who helped write the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act.

"No one — not the FDA, the supplement industry, nor the public — has been satisfied by how ephedra has been regulated. Millions of people have used the product with satisfaction, but there is no doubt the product has had some serious problems," he said.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., a frequent ephedra critic who worked for the ban, said the ruling underlined the need for "a mandatory and uniform system of reporting adverse health events that result from use of certain dietary supplements."

"It is clear that had such a system been in place today, the court would have had ample evidence of whether or not ephedra was dangerous," Durbin said.

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Contributing: Associated Press

E-mail: awelling@desnews.com