Purported Aphrodisiac Has Deadly Side Effects: CDC (11/25/95)

Atlanta (AP) - As he prepared for an amorous encounter, a 17-year-old boy ate a brown rocklike substance he thought would make him an ardent lover.

Instead, he ended up vomiting and his heart had drastically slowed, from 72 to just 48 beats per minute.

Though he survived, at least four men have died after eating the Chinese aphrodisiac, which contains dried toad secretions and is supposed to be applied to the genitals, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.

The substance is no longer legally available in this country, but a spokesman for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said consumers should hear the "cautionary tale" about the four men who died in New York between February 1993 and May of this year.

"If you don't know what you're taking, it can get you into trouble," said Herman Janiger of the FDA's New York district office.

The product was sold in New York City from 1993 through April under the names "Stone," "Love Stone," "Black Stone," and "Rock Hard," in containers without labels lising ingredients or directions for use, said Lina Balluz, a CDC environrnental health researcher.

Officials in Philadelphia, Miami, Tampa, Fla., North Carolina and Virginia have reported seizing it as well, the CDC said.

The FDA banned its importation in April, and domestic production would be difficult because it includes the dried skin secretions of a toad not found in the United States, Janiger said.

An analysis found that the aphrodisiac contained an ingredient similar to the prescription heart drug digoxin and bufadienolides, a steroid that disrupts the heart's rhythm.

The same steroid is found in a traditional Chinese medication called Chan Su and similar chemicals are present in teas made from poisonous oleander and purple foxglove.

There are no safe substances proven to have aphrodisiac effects, although the belief that something works can be powerful, Janiger said.

The best known aphrodisiac is Spanish fly, which consists of powdered dried beetles and causes blistering when applied to the genitals.