RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has banned a life-threatening herbal product called Gluco Life as its side-effects include severe damage to the liver, kidneys and other vital human organs.
This Canadian-made herbal formulation for diabetes patients contains lead and arsine. It has been removed from the Saudi market following a warning issued by the Saudi Food & Drug Authority (SFDA) here on Saturday.
“The product, which goes by the brand name Gluco Life, has had a troubled history,” said a spokesman from the SFDA.
The spokesman said that the product was being withdrawn and that a warning has already been posted on the SFDA’s website. “The high level of lead and arsine used as ingredients in the product, which cause damage to human organs, is the sole reason for the ban and for the withdrawal from the local market,” he added.
The ban will also help to check the illegal trading of this “so-called highly-effective herbal product” for curing diabetes patients, whose number has been growing in Saudi Arabia.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Kingdom is one of 10 top countries that has the highest number of diabetics in the world. In fact, diabetes affects nearly 30 percent of the population in some way or the other.
Asked how this herbal product was allowed to be sold in the Kingdom when it was not registered or allowed by the Kingdom’s regulatory bodies, the SFDA spokesman said that several such products are being dumped in the local market by a few foreign companies.
“This trend of dumping is not only common in the pharmaceutical sector, rather a number of fake products are being exported to the Gulf markets,” he said. He added that the product has already been withdrawn.
“The product is a transparent capsule containing dusty colored powder,” said the SFDA warning.
Arab News visited seven pharmacies and supermarkets in Riyadh to see whether the capsules were available. Not even a single pack of Gluco Life was available on the shelves.
