DrugBuyers.Com: Viagra and Cialis found in OTC 'herbal enhancers'

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/8638224.htm (registration required)

Posted on Tue, May. 11, 2004

SEX PILLS' `SECRET' ADDITIVE

PRESCRIPTION CHEMICALS FOUND IN HERBAL OPTIONS

By Barbara Feder Ostrov

Mercury News

An ``herbal Viagra'' pill known as Super-X claims to make men more virile, putting ``all other sexual stimulants to shame.'' That may be because it contains the real stuff, researchers reported Monday.

Canadian researchers found that Super-X contained the key ingredient in Viagra. A similar herbal supplement called Stamina-Rx contained the active drug in Cialis, another erectile dysfunction drug that, like Viagra, is available only by prescription.

Herbal Viagra supplements are marketed as safe and natural, but tainted products could be fatal if combined with certain medications. Those include nitrate drugs used to control chest pain (angina), amyl nitrate, a sexual stimulant, or nitroglycerin, which doctors often give to heart attack patients, said the study's lead author, Dr. Neil Fleshner, a urologic oncologist at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto.

He worries that patients won't tell their doctors -- or an emergency room physician -- that they are taking the herbal supplements, thinking they are safer than prescription medications.

``The lesson is that you shouldn't take anything unless you know what it is,'' he said. ``If, for some reason, you can't take Viagra or similar products, I would not look to these supplements as a safe alternative.''

Fleshner and his colleagues chemically analyzed seven herbal supplements widely available over the Internet and found tablets of Super-X contained an average of 30 milligrams of sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra. That's more than the 25-milligram Viagra dose most doctors start their patients on.

Stamina-Rx contained more than half of a typical dose of tadalafil, the active ingredient in Cialis.

The study, partly funded by the Canadian Prostate Cancer Research Initiative, was presented at the American Urological Association conference in San Francisco.

Fleshner said he did not know how the pharmaceutical ingredients found their way into Super-X.

Supplements are poorly regulated in the United States. They may be sold without approval if they do not make specific health claims, such as lowering blood pressure. The Food and Drug Administration cracks down on supplements only after they have been shown to be harmful.

In 2003, the FDA warned Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals, the Georgia distributor of Stamina-Rx to stop marketing the drug. But on Monday, it appeared to be available for sale on several Web sites.

Stamina-Rx purportedly contains yohimbe, an herb that can increase blood flow to the penis, and epimedium. No one answered calls to the company Monday.

Super-X, distributed through Chi's Enterprise, an Anaheim-based company, claims it contains ginseng and tongkat ali, a traditional southeast Asian aphrodisiac.

``No, no, no, no,'' said Cheryl Chi, when asked whether Super-X contained sildenafil. She said she was married to the company's owner, listed in records as Tsu-Tsair Chi.

It was not clear Monday whether Chi's Enterprise manufactures Super-X.. But when Chi was asked who manufactured the product, she said, ``I have to keep that a secret.''

Contact Barbara Feder Ostrov at or (408) 920-5064.