SILVER SPRING, Md., Oct. 14 (UPI) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued 20 warnings this year about the potential dangers of so-called “herbal Viagra” — which, the agency says, contains some prescription medications.
The focus on the supplement has come to light after former Los Angeles basketball star Lamar Odom was found unconscious at a Nevada brothel. Reports said he had taken a sexual enhancement supplement.
Odom remains hospitalized in Las Vegas and one source said his chances of survival are about 50-50, entertainment news outlet TMZ reported Wednesday.
The FDA issued numerous warnings in March and April of this year regarding various sexual enhancement supplements that are sold in stores and over the Internet.
In one from April 30, the agency said a product called “King of Romance” actually contained real prescription Viagra.
“FDA laboratory analysis confirmed that King of Romance contains sildenafil, the active ingredient in the FDA approved prescription drug Viagra,” the warning said. “This undeclared ingredient may interact with nitrates found in some prescription drugs such as nitroglycerin and may lower blood pressure to dangerous levels.”
In some cases, the FDA has noted, all the ingredients in the herbal products aren’t even labeled on the package — meaning users have no way of knowing what they are ingesting.
Various news outlets, such as the Los Angeles Times and NBC News, underscored the FDA warnings Wednesday in response to Odom’s ill health.
It remains unclear exactly what Odom may have ingested at Hof’s Love Brothel, which is located just outside Las Vegas.
Odom, who was drafted fourth overall in 1999 out of the University of Rhode Island, played for 14 years in the NBA for various teams — but is most remembered as part of the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers.
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