Here’s some news that apparently comes as a surprise to many consumers: it is not a good idea to buy pills marketed as “natural” aphrodisiacs or “herbal Viagra.” While the famed erectile dysfunction treatment won’t be available as a generic medication for a few years yet in the United States, that doesn’t stop companies from making analogues to it and selling it as “natural” supplements.

For example, the package for yet another “Black Ant” product advertises what it does in language that sort of resembles English:

[M]ale hormone active (sic), albumen assimilation and stimulating marrow making blood function effects (sic) can accelerate blood corpuscle growth and producing sperm (sic). It can effectively activate adrenal gland PDA sound ause (sic) factor, dilute and supplement sperms (sic), reach several ejaculation and many times orgasm (sic)

If a substance has been approved as a new drug, whether it was an over-the-counter or prescription drug, it has to be marketed as a drug. The FDA caught up with one company peddling such “supplements” and sent them a warning letter, which should serve as a warning to us all not to use an herbal supplement to do a drug’s job.

The same company also sells numerous similar products, which lab analysis by the FDA found to contain sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra. Sildenafil has possible side effects and interacts with other drugs in ways that the company doesn’t warn against on the package.

R Thomas Marketing, LLC 7/31/15 [FDA]

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