Men who purchase herbal penis-enlargement products over the Internet may be getting more than they bargained for, according to a study commissioned by the Wall Street Journal and reported in the newspaper's August 13 edition. Instead of the promised extra "three inches," the Journal reported that users may be getting alarming amounts of Escherichia coli and other coliforms along with heavy metals and pesticides.

Flora Research conducted an independent laboratory analysis of a composite sample of 10 penis-enlargement tablets put out by Performance Marketing, a British Columbia-based company that named its Web site "America's Drugstore." The tablets contained Ginkgo and ginseng as advertised, but tests for the labeled saw palmetto were inconclusive. Per gram, the tablets contained 16,300 colony-forming units (CFUs) of E. coli and 48,800 CFUs of coliform bacteria, probably the result of fecal contamination of herbs from animals grazing near harvesting areas. These levels are above those set by ConsumerLab.com, an agency that rates nutritional supplements, the newspaper noted. The tablets also exceeded ConsumerLab.com's recommended upper limit for pesticides, and they contained lead, cadmium, yeast, and mold.

ConsumerLab.com President Tod Cooperman commented in the WSJ that "you'd probably be spending more time in the bathroom than the bedroom with this product."

As nutritional supplements, the tablets are not regulated by FDA. Canada, where the product is manufactured, has forced the Performance Marketing to remove all claims regarding erectile dysfunction from the company's Web site, but it states that the OptimRx penis enhancement pills will help men achieve their "full natural size" through increased penile blood flow, which "translates into potential gains of 20% to 30% for most men."

• Wall Street Journal article
• Performance Marketing Web site

• News article: FDA proposes quality standards for dietary supplements
• News article: Pressure mounts on dietary supplement industry
• Special Report: A Healthcare Professional's Guide to Evaluating Dietary Supplements

Contact the writer: Ann W. Latner (alatner@aphanet.org), Pharmacy Today

Posted August 14, 2003, 3:13 pm EDT