(1/28/98)
TORONTO - Aphrodisiacs advertised as containing Canadian seal penises, an ingredient highly prized by Asians, are often fakes made from genitalia of animals such as dogs and cows, researchers said on Tuesday.
Researchers from McMaster University in Canada found that about half the aphrodisiacs they tested were fake and used genitalia from dogs, cats and cattle as well as the endangered Australian fur seal.
``They're selling penises under one name and in fact the source is something different,'' said Bradley White, a professor at McMaster in Hamilton, Ont.
His team used genetic analysis to test seal penis products bought undercover from Asian herbal medicine stores in Thailand, Hong Kong, China, the United States and Canada.
Asians have traditionally regarded seal penis as an aphrodisiac because of a belief in traditional Chinese medicine that it enhances male virility, although there has been little scientific research proving its effectiveness.
White and colleague David Lavigne first highlighted the problem in a December article in the journal Conservation Biology and on Monday released data from genetic testing that showed the extent to which other substances were substituted for seal penis in the products they bought.