Ministry of Health bans four herbal medicines in Oman

The Ministry of Health has announced a ban on the trade of certain herbal medicine products from the market, that contain chemicals which could lead to a heart attack or even death.

The four medicine products are: Shark Extract Tablets, Vimax Capsules, Kamagra Oral Jelly and Dragon's Delay Spray.
 

"Laboratory tests on these substances have been proven to contain chemicals within their composition without being mentioned in the drug formulation or in the leaflet attached to the product. This constitutes commercial fraud, especially as manufacturers clearly state that these products are natural herbal products. The chemical added in three of these products is sildenafil," Dr. Mohammed Al Rubaie, General Director of Pharmacy and Drug Control, Ministry of Health said.

"This is considered to be one of the most dangerous types of fraud in medicine, because of the mentioned number of adverse effects in addition to acute drug interaction with other drugs used in the treatment of some heart diseases such as angina. If the substance is taken by heart patients who use other drugs such as those containing nitrates, a severe drop in blood pressure may occur in the patient, and that can lead to a heart attack and thus lead to death," Dr. Mohammed added.

In order to inform citizens and residents of the Sultanate and warn them of the danger of using unsafe and unreliable medicines, the Ministry of Health has allocated a page on its website to publish information on any herbal medicines or health products that are prohibited from circulating in the Sultanate along with pictures, that is constantly updated.