Chinese drink found to contain Viagra element

Asian Economic News, Feb 12, 2001

NAGOYA, Feb. 9 Kyodo

(EDS: MORE DETAILS)

The Aichi prefectural government said Thursday it has found a soft drink imported from China contains an active ingredient of the anti-impotence drug Viagra and directed the importer in Nagoya to recall the product.

Prefectural government officials said they have detected the chemical sildenafil in the drink, which is sold as a refreshing beverage, and instructed the importer ASG in Nagoya's Meito Ward to stop importing and selling the product as it is suspected of violating the Pharmaceutical Business Law.

The company imported 47,000 20-milliliter bottles of the drink from China between February last year and January and has sold 43,000 bottles mostly in drugstores in Aichi and other prefectures, the officials said.

One tablet of Viagra contains up to 50 milligrams of sildenafil, while the Chinese drink has 64.3 mg, they said.

One bottle of the Chinese beverage, sold under the ''Durui'' brand, is priced at 3,000 yen.

Advertisements put up in Japanese weekly magazines tout ''Durui'' as an male anti-impotence beverage, saying it would ''restore the male's sex function,'' according to Aichi officials.

ASG said the drink was squeezed from Chinese fruits resembling grapes that could serve as drug component and it was not aware that it contains sildenafil.