ConsumerLab Finds No Adulteration in Sex Health Products

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.ConsumerLab.com reported none of the 11 sexual enhancement supplements it tested were spiked" with sildenafil citrate, the active ingredient in Viagra, or related analogues. Adulteration in the sexual supplement category has received increased attention from FDA and industry. In December 2010, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, M.D., sent a letter to the trade noting these products are of great interest to the agency; and recently, the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) launched a new website that partly focuses on safety in the sexual health market.

Additionally, the testing agency found all 11 tablets were able to properly break apart. However, ConsumerLab found seven of the products failed its tests for other reasons. Four products contained less of a key ingredient than claimed on the label, one product was contaminated with an unacceptable level of lead and two products lacked FDA-required information on their labeling.

ConsumerLabs tests focused on products made with yohimbe and/or epimedium (horny goat weed"), two popular ingredients found in natural remedies for sexual dysfunction. Some products also contained and were tested for L-arginine, an amino acid involved in blood.

Supplements covered in the Product Review of Sexual Enhancement Supplements are BodyTech LongJax MHT with Arginine, Dymatize Nutrition Excite, ExtenZe, Magna-RX+, Maximum International Horny Goat Weed, Natrol L-Arginine  Erectile Function formula, NOW Horny Goat Weed Extract, Planetary Herbals Full Spectrum Horny Goat Weed, SciFit Massive Yohimbe Bark, Swanson Superior Herbs Yohimbe, and Ultimate Nutrition Platinum Series Yohimbe Bark Extract. The report includes findings for all ten products selected by ConsumerLab.com and one product that passed the same testing through ConsumerLab.coms Voluntary Certification Program.

Some estimate say more than 40 percent of American women suffer from a loss libido, difficulty reaching orgasm, or other sexual troubles. Meanwhile, more than 30 percent of all men have trouble achieving or keeping an erection, a condition known as erectile dysfunction.

ConsumerLab also said herbal remedies for sexual enhancement have little sound clinical evidence , and without well-designed clinical studies, it's hard to know the appropriate doses or potential safety concerns. The reports offers a review of the sexual health science behind L-arginine, yohimbe, ginseng,  maca, epimedium, Butea superba , oligomeric proanthocyanidins and vitamin C.