What role did ‘herbal Viagra’ play in Odom’s collapse?

As family and friends arrive at Lamar Odom’s bedside, attention is turning to the substances he allegedly tookbeforehe lost consciousness, according to a Washington Post report, which added that Odom had taken cocaine and 10 tabs of“sexual performance enhancersupplements” in the days before his hospitalization.

“He was taking herbal Viagra, and he was taking a lot of it,”brothel owner Dennis Hof told NBC.

“It’s called ‘Reload,’” Hofwas quoted, naming the particular brand of sexual performance enhancing pills Odom purchased from the brothel.

“It’s an herbal supplement that gives you energy,” Hof said in the Post. “It’s an over-the-counter, speedy kind of product … not a pharmaceutical, not a prescription drug,” Hof added.

Reload itself can be dangerous, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Post claimed, stating that two years ago, the FDA warned that Reload “contains [a] hidden drug ingredient” that couldlead to dangerous reactions.

“FDA laboratory analysis confirmed that ‘Reload’ contains sildenafil, the active ingredient in the FDA-approved prescription drug Viagra, used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED),” according to the 2013 warning referenced by the Post. “This undeclared ingredient may interact with nitrates found in some prescription drugs such as nitroglycerin and may lower blood pressure to dangerous levels.

Consumers should stop using this product immediately and throw it away,” the FDA bluntly warned.

The FDAhas issued 20 warningsthis year concerning “tainted” Internet sexual enhancementsupplementswith names like “Weekend Warrior” and “King of Romance,” according to the Los Angeles Times.

Authorities have taken a blood sample from Odom to find out the exact cause of his collapse,but the results could take several weeks,Nye County Sheriff’s Detective Michael Eisenloffel said at a news conferencecovered by ABC on Wednesday.