MUMBAI: A company based in Uttar Pradesh has allegedly been found illegally supplying two ayurvedic medicines containing a drug commonly used in Viagra, according to the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The Aurangabad division of the FDA seized stocks worth Rs 16,000 during a raid on a supplier recently, a senior official of the FDA said.
The stock had come from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh and had been supplied by a company named Naman India, SS Kale, joint commissioner of Aurangabad division of the FDA, told PTI.
Tests revealed that each ayurvedic capsule contained 49.5 mg of Viagra, he said.
Among the consignment was an ayurvedic cream which had a significant amount of lignocaine hydrochloride, though only the herbal components were mentioned in the packing material, Kale added.
Viagra, used for erectile dysfunction, is supposed to be taken strictly under medical supervision.
However, in case of its use without any medical prescription, the drug can have serious side effects, according to experts.
The FDA officials are investigating the case.
"We will lodge an FIR against Naman India, based at Moradabad in UP, who had been circulating objectionable advertising and selling these drugs in the name of herbal medicine to consumers in Aurangabad and Nagpur in Maharashtra," Kale said.
"We have already issued circulars to other cities across Maharashtra to search and seize these drugs.
Since this drug originated from Uttar Pradesh, we fear that it may have been distributed in other states too," the official added.
The seized container of both the ayurvedic medicines didn't mention the allopathic components sildenafil and anaesthetic drug (lignocaine hydrochloride), giving rise to fear of serious health consequences in consumers.