Press Release By The Director-General (NAFDAC) Professor Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye On

The Illicit Use Of Herbal Intoxicant Popularly Called ‘Kurkura’ Gargle, Herbal Aphrodisiac,
And Alcoholic Bitters In The Country

August 19, 2022,

Protocols:

It is my pleasure to welcome you all to this Press briefing on the activities of NAFDAC.

As you are all aware, NAFDAC was established by Act Cap N1 Laws of the Federation of
Nigeria 2004 to regulate and control the manufacture, importation, exportation, advertisement,
distribution, sale and use of food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devises, bottled water, detergent and
chemicals (referred to as regulated products).

Recently the Agency has received series of report on the use of an herbal preparation popularly
known as ‘Kurkura’ particularly in the South West and Northern axis of the country. The Agency
swung into action and carried out intelligence and enforcement action. We have commenced a
nationwide crackdown of all illegal manufacturers and distributors of these Herbal Preparations
with a view to bringing perpetrators to book and minimize the usage of the substance. Findings
from various operations carried out revealed a dangerous trend in the use of such substances
laced with high concentration of tobacco and sometimes cannabis by our populace cutting across
all genders and age groups particularly Artisans, Drivers, okada riders etc. The ‘Kurkura’ herbal
preparations discovered in circulations included:

 Five minutes power herbs medicine

 Haonu laha herbal mixture

 Gamzaki tradomedical herbal ventures

 Barakallahu multipurpose herbal mixture

 Sabon karfi herbal mixture

Among the above, only Haonu Laha Herbal Mixture is registered, nonetheless laced with
unapproved substances that are injurious to the body.

Among many others. Kurkura is an illicit product illegally consumed for the sole aim of getting
intoxicated. The substance when abused can be harmful to the body organs such as the brain,
kidney and liver. The damage to the Kidney and Liver cannot be overemphasized. This substance
can cause irrational thinking, altered state of mind, which if taken by a driver can lead to Road
Traffic Accident with the attendant fatality consequences, or can lead to criminal behaviours
such as rape, kidnapping and murder.

HERBAL APHRODISIAC (MAN POWER)

Another herbal preparation that is of concern is aphrodisiac and we have discovered the lacing of
it with cannabis.

In our recent operation, we impounded the following dangerous herbal aphrodisiac at some
Islamic Herbal Medicines shops in Zaria, Kaduna State:

 Gagare Man Power

 Minister For Man Power

 Almenjou For Lazy Men in Bed

 Nisan Zango Karfin Maza

 Shagalin Ka Man Power

 Dakan Jia Man Power enhancement

 Wuff Male Sexual Performance

 Afafata For Sexual Drive etc.

So far one of the illegal factories involved in the production of such unauthorized products has
been shut down and the owner arrested. Worthy of note is the discovery of the usage of Hyergra
200(Sildenafil Citrate tablet), Amafranil tablets (Clomipramine tablet 25mg) and Cannon Extra
(Paracetamol 500mg+Caffeine 30mg) in the production room. The owner admitted that he
dissolves the Hyergra 200, Cannon Extra and the Amafranil in a drum and mixes the content
with boiled Kanafari, Garlic, Dundu, Marke, Hankufa, Sweetner and Sodium Benzoate to make
up the Man Power preparation. Yet the label on the preparation read 100%Herbal.

The effect of such preparation on person with heart challenges can only be imagined. The makers
of these products were arrested and later granted bail. Investigation is ongoing.
ALCOHOLIC BITTERS

An alcoholic bitters product that is of grave concern is Japata Alcoholic bitters which was duly
registered by NAFDAC but laced with marijuana or cannabis compared to the registered product
that had only ethanol. Through intelligence, NAFDAC was able to shut down the company. This
product when tested in the laboratory, caused the death of the mice within five minutes. The
alcoholic content was doubled compared with the registered product. The retained samples, kept
at the point of registration, did not cause any injury to the animals.

The product laced with cannabis was said to cause altered state of mind and psychological
problems to the user. The owner of the company is on the run and the matter has been shared
with NDLEA.

We shall continue with the raid on other illegal production outlet and the perpetrators will be
dealt with in line with the extant laws and regulations.

This drives home the fact that eradication of fake and counterfeit drugs, adulterated and
unwholesome processed foods and other regulated products is a holistic battle which should
involve every well -meaning Nigerian.

I want to assure Nigerians that NAFDAC is doing everything to ensure that only safe medicine
and wholesome food of the right quality are sold to our citizenry. I would also like to use this
opportunity to solicit for the support of health practitioners, community leaders, religious
leaders, the press and all stakeholders to continue to educate their wards and family members to
desist from patronizing quacks and hawkers of medicines on the street. Let me also use the
medium to thank the gentlemen and ladies of the press and civil societies for their support to
NAFDAC in this regard.

We further advise consumers of NAFDAC regulated products to be watchful of drug, food and
other regulated products they purchase and should not hesitate to report any suspicious activities
within their environment to the nearest NAFDAC office.

Finally, I thank everyone that has partnered with NAFDAC.

Thank you.

NAFDAC………Safeguarding the Health of the Nation!!!

Director General

Phytochemical analysis
The phytochemical evaluation of aqueous, methanol, ethanol, ethyl acetate or chloroform extracts of
Nicotiana tabacum L. leaves was performed to identify the plant chemicals of alkaloids, tannins,
flavonoids and saponins.

Test for alkaloids (Dragendorff’s, Mayer’s and Wagner’s Tests): 3 ml filtrate of the extract was loaded
equally into three test tubes. Each test tube was treated with few drops of Drafendorff’s, Mayer’s or
Wagner’s reagents. Orange red precipitate (Dragendorff) indicates the presence of alkaloids; creamy
white precipitate (Mayer) points out the presence of alkaloids; and reddish brown precipitate (Wagner)
demonstrates the presence of alkaloids (Humayun et al., 2012).

Test for tannins (ferric chloride test): 10 ml filtrate of the extract was transferred into the test tube and
added with 2 or 3 drops of 0.1% of FeCl3. The brownish green or blue-black coloration interprets the
presence of tannins (Karthishwaran et al., 2010).

Test for flavonoids (ammonium test): 10 ml filtrate of the extract was taken into the test tube and added
with 1 ml of 1%-ammonium solution. The mixture was shaken vigorously. The formation of yellow
color observed in the ammonia layer demonstrates the presence of flavonoids (Sheel et al., 2014).

Test for saponins (froth test): 10 ml of distilled water were added to 200 mg of the extract and filtered
into the test tube. The mixture was shaken for 10 min until the formation of stable persistent froth.
Formation of stable five-minute-persistent froth indicates the presence of saponins (Djaafar & Ridha,
2014).