Abstract
The adulteration of herbal/dietary supplements with erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs and their analogues is reported worldwide and is an increasing problem. The sale of so-called 100%, ’all-natural’ products has become a highly profitable business for online pharmacies, however these products can pose a serious threat to consumers owing to the undisclosed presence of approved/prescription drugs or the unknown safety and toxicity profile of unapproved ED drugs. The Drug QC Laboratory, Qatar, has been involved in the testing of adulterated and counterfeit products for a number of years. A simple and rapid UPLC-MS/MS procedure for the analysis of 42 synthetic ED compounds in herbal supplements is presented. A spectral library for the compounds and their analogues was generated from reference standards for automated routine analysis. Full scan MS analysis was performed simultaneously in both positive and in high energy negative ESI modes; In addition a MS/MS method was developed for confirmation and quantification of compounds. The method was applied to 87 suspected dietary products which were received to our laboratory. Twenty three were found to be adulterated: 11 with sildenafil, four with thiodimethylsildenafil/thiosildenafil, two with dapoxetine and five contained a combination of verdenafil, tadalafil, aminotadalafil, hydroxthiohomo sildenafil. One sample contained unknown analogue named as propoxyphenyl thiohomosildenafil. Developed method is a novel screening method that is suitable for both the detection of known and unknown ED drugs and their analogues. This is the first description of a single analytical method with this capability.
Highlights
The adulteration of herbal/dietary supplements with erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs and their analogues is reported worldwide and is an increasing problem[1]
The developed method was applied to 43 suspected samples, 18 of which were found to be adulterated with ED analogues
Two samples that screened positive for thiodimethylsildenafil gave matches for thiohomosildenafil, chromatographic separation permitted clear differentiation between these two isobaric substances
Summary
The adulteration of herbal/dietary supplements with erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs and their analogues is reported worldwide and is an increasing problem[1]. The sale of so-called 100%, ‘allnatural’ products has become a highly profitable business for online pharmacies, these products can pose a serious threat to consumers owing to the undisclosed presence of approved/. Prescription drugs or the unknown safety and toxicity profile of unapproved ED drugs. The Drug QC Laboratory, Qatar, has been involved in the testing of adulterated and counterfeit products for a number of years. Each year brings countless new warnings and alerts over the adulteration of products which are illegally advertised for the enhancement of male sexual performance. The identification of ED drugs and their analogues in these products is of great interest
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Journal of Emergency Medicine, Trauma and Acute Care
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
