FDA warns consumers about body-building products that contain steroids, related substances

ROCKVILLE, Md. The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday issued a Public Health Advisory warning consumers to stop using body-building products that are represented as containing steroids or steroid-like substances and oftentimes misbranded as dietary supplements.

The agency also issued a Warning Letter to American Cellular Laboratories for marketing and distributing body-building products containing synthetic steroid substances. Although these products are marketed as dietary supplements, they are not dietary supplements, but instead are unapproved and misbranded drugs.

The PHA notifies consumers and health care professionals that the FDA has received reports of serious adverse events associated with the use of body-building products that claim to contain steroids or steroid-like substances. Those adverse events include cases of serious liver injury, stroke, kidney failure and pulmonary embolism (artery blockage in the lung). The PHA also advises consumers to stop taking body building products from any manufacturer that claim to contain steroid-like substances or to enhance or diminish androgen-, estrogen-, or progestin-like effects in the body.

The FDA has received five adverse event reports, including serious liver injury, in men taking products marketed as dietary supplements by American Cellular Laboratories, including TREN-Xtreme and MASS Xtreme. Acute liver injury is generally known to be a possible side effect of using products that contain anabolic steroids. Some of the cases resulted in hospitalization, but there were no reports of death or acute liver failure.

“Products marketed for body-building and claiming to contain steroids or steroid-like substances are illegal and potentially quite dangerous,” stated FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg. “The FDA is taking enforcement action today to protect the public.”

The products listed in the Warning Letter to American Cellular Laboratories,  include “TREN-Xtreme,” “MASS Xtreme,” “ESTRO Xtreme,” “AH-89-Xtreme,” “HMG Xtreme,” “MMA-3 Xtreme,” “VNS-9 Xtreme,” and “TT-40-Xtreme,” and are sold on the Internet and in some stores. These products, which claim to contain steroid-like ingredients but in fact contain synthetic steroid substances, are unapproved new drugs because they are not generally recognized as safe and effective.  In addition, the products are misbranded because the label is misleading and does not provide adequate directions for use.