The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expressing concern supplements containing vinpocetine, a supplement (e.g. Vinca minor extract, lesser periwinkle extract, common periwinkle extract) which is a derivative of the vinca alkaloid vincamine, an extract from the lesser periwinkle plant and which sellers claims will enhance memory, focus, or mental acuity, increase energy, and cause weight loss.

It doesn't do any of thoese things but the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) National Toxicology Program (NTP) has linked consumption of vinpocetine to miscarriage and harm fetal development. That alone is not conclusive, people who buy a lot of supplements may engage in numerous risky behaviors, it just means this supplement was reported by women who suffered reproductive effects. But scientists who have studied the effects of vinpocetine on pregnant animals also concluded that vinpocetine decreased fetal weight and increased the chances of a miscarriage. The blood levels of vinpocetine measured in the pregnant animals were similar to those reported in people after taking a single dose of vinpocetine, indicating that pregnant women may experience adverse effects from vinpocetine similar to those seen in the pregnant animals. 



FDA is advising pregnant women and women who could become pregnant not to buy or take supplements containing vinpocetine, but men shouldn't either. Most of the $35 billion supplement industry could halt and few would suffer any ill effects their doctors don't know about. Outside the U.S., many countries regulate vinpocetine as a prescription drug, but President Clinton's 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act exempted numerous potentially harmful compounds from real FDA oversight, as long as they stated FDA had not evaluated their claims.

For decades, FDA has wanted to regulate this supplement and in 2016 requested comment from stakeholders as part of an administrative proceeding to evaluate whether vinpocetine is legal for sale as a dietary supplement. 


You can't buy many light bulbs in California on Amazon, but you can buy birth defects.