Steroids found in dietary supplement

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- A University of California researcher reportedly has found anabolic steroids in a dietary supplement marketed on the Internet and in body-building shops.

Don Catlin at the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory says the steroids are similar to those linked to two of the biggest doping scandals in sports history, including the one involving East German Olympic athletes in the 1960s and '70s, reports The Washington Post.

Catlin told the newspaper the supplement, marketed to fitness and health enthusiasts, contains a steroid closely resembling the principal steroid used to fuel East Germany's secret sports doping program.

Catlin analyzed the supplement for the newspaper, which purchased it on the Internet and reimbursed the researcher for the cost of the testing, the report said.

The discovery provides further evidence the country's multimillion-dollar dietary supplements industry also has become a clearinghouse for the distribution of anabolic steroids, The Post reported.

A consultant to the distributor of the supplement wrote in an e-mail message that the product was discontinued several weeks ago.