Earlier, it was quacks who peddled these drugs and ensured that they did not get caught under the `Magic Remedies act', but bigger and respectable companies are stepping in to offer quality herbal stuff. The market which was initially pegged to be Rs 250 crore by the most conservative estimates is growing by 30 per cent annually.

The latest to join the fray is the Tamilnadu Medicinal Plant Farms and Herbal Medicine Corporation Ltd (Tampcol), a government of Tamil Nadu enterprise, which launched its brand called `Vigorous', closely resembling Viagra in name and implication, on December 9.

Even Tampcol is yet to recover from the shock of bringing the product out. For barely ten days after a nondescript launch on a rainy day, the product has received enquiries from the US, the UK,Japan, Malaysia and south-east Asian countries. Tampcol managing director RK Sharma said, "I expect Vigorous to sell more in the overseas markets than in India." The reason - Tampcol as a government enterprise is expected to be more authentic in saying whatever it has to say. Tampcol also has the dubious distinction of doing clinical trials on 500 people in the last six months and the drug is a proprietary formula brought out from its research and development facilities. Vigorous is priced at Rs 360 for a pack of 30 capsules.

Amrutanjan Ltd is also in the process of embarking on clinical trials for a new product. According to a company spokesperson, Amrutanjan is working on a plant having similar alkaloid properties as Viagra, which would be a complete cure for impotency, and at fairly short notice. (The company has already got one brand `Agni' which was earlier positioned as a revitaliser, but is now more forthcoming in its packaging to attract greater sales.)

"We have to be sure as to what we have totell the public about the new product," said marketing director Easwar Das. "We have our reputation to consider," he added. The new product is targeted to produce results like Viagra, if not in a few minutes, at least in a couple of days.

The TTK group is already in the game - earlier it had marketed `Mustang' and `Virilex' capsules and recently it came out with an OTC drug called Big Boss, with little alteration in composition from the existing brands.

The organised sector has got other serious players, who do not outwardly promote their products as sex stimulants. Ranbaxy's product (Revital with Ginseng), JB Pharmaceuticals (Fitovit), Microlabs (Biovital), Lyka Labs (Gintona), all of which are ethically promoted and far cheaper than OTC products of the same ilk. Others like Ajanta Pharma (Thirty Plus), Medimix soap manufacturer Sowparnika Herbal Extracts (Strongnite), JK Ansell (Nirvana), Yogi Pharmacy (Spy) sell their products over the counter.

Most of the advertisements in the OTC products arediscreet, to prevent the manufacturer from coming under the Magic Remedies Act (making tall claims), but all of them are suggestive.

But Tampcol has come out openly with the properties of some of its herbs in Vigorous, making no bones about the matter. This could change the face of the industry in the south, driving out some players and accepting others more credible.

While manufacturers are striving to work towards respectability and credibility in this `stimulant' market, the customer can however be sure of the Indian Drug Review's definition of such capsules as stress relievers, general tonic, or restorative therapy during illness and convalescence. He can, therefore depending on his faith in the product and the strength of his purse, opt for a wide range of the same - from Memory Plus (stress reliever costing Rs 3.50) to capsules varying in price from Rs 5 to Rs 12. Who knows, he could end up with a Viagra!