FDA Class I recall: herbal capsules found to contain undeclared steroid and antihistamine — 71 bottles sold through an eBay third-party seller
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration classified "Kian Pee Wan Capsules" (30-count bottles) sold by Buy-Herbal as Class I — its most serious category — because the product was marketed without an approved application and contains the undeclared drug ingredients dexamethasone and cyproheptadine. The quantity is 71 bottles, sold to individual consumers through an eBay third-party seller.
Recall overview (primary data)
- ClassificationClass I (most serious)
- Product typeDrug
- Recalling firmBuy-Herbal
- ReasonMarketed Without an Approved NDA/ANDA: Product contains undeclared drug ingredients dexamethasone and cyproheptadine.
- DistributionProduct was sold to individual consumers via ebay third party seller.
- Recall initiated2026-03-21
Key points
- Recall number D-0769-2026; FDA Class I, the most serious category; status Ongoing.
- The product is "Kian Pee Wan Capsules" in 30-count bottles; the recalling firm is located in New York.
- The reason is marketing without an approved NDA/ANDA together with undeclared drug ingredients: dexamethasone and cyproheptadine.
- The quantity is 71 bottles, sold to individual consumers through an eBay third-party seller.
- Voluntary, firm-initiated. Initiated 2026-03-21; reported 2026-08-19.
- Across the 1,408 FDA recall records this site holds as of 2026-09-01 the reason text runs to a median of 109 characters, from 11 to 1,067.
1Why an undeclared drug ingredient lands in the most serious class
A product sold as a supplement or a traditional remedy turns out to contain a prescription drug that is not on the label. The reason this becomes Class I is that the person taking it does not know. Drugs interact with one another, and some should be avoided with particular conditions — but none of that can be acted on when the ingredient is invisible. The danger is not set by the dose alone; not knowing is itself the hazard.
2What dexamethasone and cyproheptadine are
Dexamethasone is a synthetic corticosteroid, a prescription drug with strong anti-inflammatory action. Taken continuously it suppresses the body's own production of steroid hormones, and stopping abruptly is known to be able to cause adrenal insufficiency. Raised blood sugar and blood pressure and reduced resistance to infection are also recognized effects.
Cyproheptadine is a first-generation antihistamine known for sedation and for stimulating appetite.
If those two were present without being declared, anyone taking the product did not know they had been taking a steroid continuously. They had no reason to connect a change in how they felt to the product, and no reason to consult a clinician before stopping.
371 bottles, sold through an eBay third-party seller
Seventy-one bottles is a small number for a recall. But the distribution is recorded as sold to individual consumers through an eBay third-party seller, which means it never passed a retail shelf. Product in a store can be pulled from stock before it reaches anyone; product shipped directly to an individual is only recovered if the notice reaches that person. A small quantity and a hard-to-reach quantity are separate matters.
4How much a record says is not uniform
Measuring the length of the reason text across the 1,408 FDA recall records this site holds as of 2026-09-01 gives a median of 109 characters. The shortest runs to 11, the longest to 1,067.
A record like this one, naming the substances, the sales channel and the quantity, sits at the long end. At the short end almost nothing survives from which to work out what happened. How much a record yields is set by how the filing firm and office write, not by how serious the event was.
Why it matters
When a sale runs through a third-party listing on an online marketplace, knowledge of who bought the product sits with the seller's records, and there is no shelf to clear the way a retail recall works. Effectiveness depends on the quality of those records and on the notification channels the platform offers. In undeclared-ingredient cases, the decisive question is whether affected people can be led to realize that they were the ones taking it.
FAQ
What is dexamethasone?
What is cyproheptadine?
Why is the most serious class used for only 71 bottles?
Sources (primary)
Source: openFDA (U.S. FDA, CC0 public domain). Data is provided as-is and must not be used for medical decisions. Verify the latest and exact details with the official FDA recall information. This site is not endorsed or certified by the U.S. FDA.
- FDA recall information (official)
- openFDA (data provider)
- Recall number: D-0769-2026