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FDA Warns Users of Magic Power Coffee

By Dan Flynn and Suzanna Schreck

Magic Power Coffee, an instant coffee product marketed as a dietary supplement for sexual enhancement, contains an active drug ingredient that can dangerously lower blood pressure, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns.

Consumers who have Magic Power Coffee should stop using it immediately.

In a statement FDA said sexual enhancement products that claim to work as well as prescription products are likely to expose consumers to unpredictable risks and the potential for injury or even death.

Magic Power Coffee, FDA said, contains hydroxythiohomosildenafil. This is a chemical similar to sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra.

Hydroxythiohomosildenafil, like sildenafil, may interact with prescription drugs known as nitrates, including nitroglycerin, and cause dangerously low blood pressure. Consumers and health care professionals should be aware of this problem and the health hazard it presents.

When blood pressure drops suddenly, the brain is deprived of an adequate blood supply, which can lead to dizziness or lightheadedness.

"Because this product is an instant coffee labeled as an 'all natural dietary supplement,' consumers may assume it is harmless and poses no health risk," said Deborah M. Autor, director of FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Office of Compliance. "In fact, Magic Power Coffee can cause serious harm."

To date, the FDA is not aware of any adverse events associated with the use of this product.

The product is distributed on Internet sites and online auctions by multiple independent distributors participating in an online multi-level marketing scheme. It is sold in a 2-serving box and a 12-serving carton containing six 2-serving boxes.

During the past several years, the FDA has warned consumers about many products marketed as dietary supplements for sexual enhancement that contain undeclared active ingredients of FDA-approved drugs, analogs of approved drugs or other compounds that do not qualify as "dietary ingredients."

Full post as published by Food Safety News on June 21, 2010 (boomark / email).