Does Your Male Enhancement Supplement Contain Viagra?

Okay, by now most if not all of my readers have seen the Viva Viagra(R) commercials on TV.  Though Viagra(R) was initially studied for it’s potential interest in treating hypertension as well angina pectoris, during the initial trials on Viagra(R), it was discovered to have a marked effect on penile erections.  In fact, Viagra(R) became the first drug marketed for this condition and not surprisingly has been a blockbuster success in terms of product sales.

Recent news articles as well as recent study published in the Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis [2008] suggest that some unscrupulous dietary supplement companies that are marketing all-natural, dietary supplements for ‘male enhancement’ have illegally added structural analogues of Sildenafil [Viagra(R)] to their products.  Of note to consumers, these ingredients may interact with their other medication and dangerously lower their blood pressure.

Specifically, two different analogs of Sildafenil were found in herbal aphrodisiacs [Reepmeyer et al, 2008].  Further, a total of ten herbal supplements were found to contain 8-151mg of thiomethisosildenafil per capsule and an additional dietary supplement was found 35mg of thiosildenafil per capsule (Reepmeyer et al, 2008).

Summary:

• 11 dietary supplements were recently found to contain analogues of Sildenafil [Viagra(R)]
• FDA has already recalled at least 3 different dietary supplements for ED.
• These ingredients can interact with other medication to cause a dangerous drop in blood pressure.
• Check the FDA website for further information.

Reference:

1. Reepmeyer JC, d’Avignon DA. Structure elucidation of thioketone analogues of sildenafil detected as adulterants in herbal aphrodisiacs. J Pharm Biomed Anal. 2008 Oct 21.