Adulterated health product Super Gemuk banned in Brunei

Brunei's Ministry of Health has banned a traditional health product Super Gemuk which is adulterated with undeclared potent western medicine that can cause serious side-effects on human health, the ministry said on its official website on Tuesday.

The ministry said the affected health product is Super Gemuk containing tablets that are adulterated with Dexamethasone Unsupervised long-term consumption of potent corticosteroids such as Dexamethasone that can cause rise of blood glucose levels leading to diabetes, high blood pressure, cataracts, muscular and bone disorders, and an increased risk of infections.

It can also lead to Cushing's Syndrome which is characterized by a round face or "moon face" and upper body obesity with thin limbs. Consumers who have taken high doses of steroids over a prolonged period of time may suffer from withdrawal symptoms which include fatigue, muscle and joint pain, fever, low blood sugar, low blood pressure and dehydration.

The Ministry of Health said it has not issued any approval for the importation for the sale of these products. Following these findings, the products are not allowed to be imported and sold in Brunei.

Super Gemuk was banned as a result of the laboratory tests carried out by the Drug Quality Control Section of the Pharmaceutical Services, the Ministry of Health said.