WASHINGTON - The government will crack down on the steroidlike supplement taken by Mark McGwire, telling companies Thursday to quit selling androstenedione unless they can prove it's not dangerous.
Commonly called andro, the product is a steroid precursor; the body uses it to make testosterone.
That means it poses the same health risks as directly using an anabolic steroid, the Food and Drug Administration says in warnings telling 23 manufacturers to cease production.
"Anyone who takes these products in sufficient quantities to build muscle or improve performance is putting himself or herself at risk for serious long-term and potentially irreversible health consequences," FDA commissioner Mark McClellan said.
The crackdown comes as the FDA is facing a legal challenge to its pending ban on another dietary supplement, ephedra. That herbal stimulant, widely used for weight loss, has been linked to 155 deaths, including Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler during spring training last year.
The maker of the Stacker 2 brand of ephedra supplements, NVE Pharmaceuticals, sued this week in federal court in New Jersey seeking to block the FDA's sales ban, which is set to begin April 12.
"We're confident that we do have a clear legal basis" for the ban, FDA spokesman Brad Stone said Thursday.
Anabolic steroids, which build muscle, are controlled substances. But andro, because it is a precursor and not the steroid itself, long has been marketed as a dietary supplement and been sold over the counter. U.S. law lets dietary supplements sell with little oversight to ensure they're safe.
But the FDA is citing a seldom-used provision of that law that defines as a dietary supplement natural ingredients that were on the market before 1994. The provision says manufacturers must prove that any new ingredients are safe before selling them as supplements.
Andro wasn't on the market in 1994.
REGGIE'S TWO CENTS: Reggie Jackson challenged baseball's home run totals and speculated that some players are taking steroids.
"Somebody definitely is guilty of taking steroids," the Hall of Fame slugger told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "You can't be breaking records hitting 200 home runs in three or four seasons. The greatest hitters in the history of the game didn't do that," said Jackson, who hit 563.
ANGELS: Third baseman Troy Glaus sprained his right ankle running to third base on Adam Kennedy's fourth-inning single. He walked off and is day to day.
ASTROS: Ex-Yankees Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens will not travel to Tampa today to face their former team. It is Houston's only game at Legends Field.
CUBS: Right-hander Mark Prior, recovering from an inflamed right Achilles' tendon, played catch for 10-12 minutes for the second straight day. Prior is scheduled to do the same today and might throw from the bullpen mound Saturday.
DODGERS: Left-hander Greg Miller, one of the team's top prospects, is scheduled for arthroscopic surgery March 19 to determine what is bothering his pitching shoulder. The procedure virtually guarantees Miller will open the season on the disabled list.
GIANTS: Leftfielder Barry Bonds received treatment for an inflamed joint in his lower back. Bonds was injured during batting practice Wednesday and is day to day.
MARLINS: A bone scan on third baseman Mike Lowell indicated the soreness in his throwing elbow is merely inflammation. The scan ruled out a stress fracture.
ORIOLES: Shortstop Miguel Tejada drove in three with a homer and a double before leaving with a strained leg muscle. He said he'll play Saturday against the Mets.
