Female Viagra found in two ‘herbal’ over-the-counter pills

  • Zrect For Women and LabidaMAX are marketed as herbal supplements to give women a natural libido boost
  • But the FDA has found both contain traces of flibanserin, or female Viagra
  • The chemical is tightly-controled, and only permitted for use in the pill Addyi 
  • A study found 1 in 3 women suffer side effects of nausea and fatigue 

By

Mia De Graaf For Dailymail.com


Published:
17:49 EDT, 19 April 2017

|
Updated:
17:49 EDT, 19 April 2017

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The FDA has recalled two over-the-counter supplements after discovering they contain the tightly-controlled chemical used in prescription-only female Viagra.

Zrect For Women and LabidaMAX are marketed as herbal supplements to give women a natural libido boost. 

However, according to an agency filing on Wednesday, both have been found to contain flibanserin, a chemical that was only recently approved.

The only FDA-approved medicine that contains flibanserin is Addyi, widely dubbed ‘the female Viagra’.

Zrect For Women and LabidaMAX are marketed as herbal supplements to give women a natural libido boost. But an investigation has shown they contain female Viagra (file image)

Zrect For Women and LabidaMAX are marketed as herbal supplements to give women a natural libido boost. But an investigation has shown they contain female Viagra (file image)

Zrect For Women and LabidaMAX are marketed as herbal supplements to give women a natural libido boost. But an investigation has shown they contain female Viagra (file image)

Addyi is sold as a treatment for hypoactive sexual desire disorder, which is thought to affect 10 to 40 percent of women, following two previous rejections.

Given the effects – and the side effects – it is only available on prescription, and patients are handed a lengthy list of warnings.

A study by the Erasmus University School of Medicine in the Netherlands found one in three women who took the drug experienced side effects including nausea and fatigue.

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According to the FDA’s report on Wednesday, no patients have reported side effects from taking Zrect and LabidaMAX. 

Nonetheless, manufacturers Organic Herbal Supply, Inc. has agreed to voluntarily recall the products, alongside a further nine which were found to contain Tadalafil, the active ingredient in Viagra.

The recall is the latest chink in the armor of the once-glimmering supplements industry.

There is a growing discussion over the regulation of ‘herbal’ supplements, and the unchecked use of controlled chemicals. 

Organic Herbal Supply Inc.’s website claims: ‘We offer the finest Male and Female Enhancement Products on the market.’

The firm did not respond to DailyMail.com’s request for a comment.  

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