Ephedra (Ephedra sinica), which is found on the tundra and the rocky reaches of Asia, Europe and America is also known as ma huang. The Chinese have been using it as their traditional medicine for more than 5000 years.
Ephedra was used to treat asthma and bronchitis.
Ephedra is also advised for symptoms of cold and flu like fever, nasal congestion, cough, and chills.
Ephedra is an evergreen plant that grows about one to four feet high. The
ephedra plant hardly has any leaves and is thin, cylindrical, with yellow-green branches and underground runners. The parts used for medicinal purposes are the stems and the branchlets.
Ephedra is an herb that is produced naturally and whose main ingredient is ephedrine but it can be synthesized for medical purposes as well. However, no matter how effective the ephedra medications might me, the sale of ephedra and its dietary supplements have been banned by the Food and Drug administration from May 2004.
Till May 2004,
synthetic ephedra compounds like pseudoephedrine were used abundantly in over-the counter for treating cold and flu like symptoms. Ephedra was also said to be effective for weight loss programs and improve athletic performance. Since most of the
ephedra products contained caffeine it had chances of adverse side effects. In fact some of the ephedra products triggered cases like stroke; irregular heart beat and even resulted in death. As a result, ephedra was banned by the FDA in May 2004. The ban also includes dietary supplements that contain ephedrine, norephedrine, ma huang or pinellia.
Ephedra was mainly used to treat diseases like cough, bronchitis, sinusitis, asthma and nasal congestion. It was prescribed in both liquid and dietary form. Though no clear positive or negative interactions of the herb and conventional medicines have been recorded, the active ingredients of
ephedra, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine have sometimes been linked with several drug interactions. Some of the medicines with which definite interactions have been found are Amphetamine and Amphetamine derivatives Antidepressants; Aspirin Blood Pressure Medications, Caffeine and Guarana Narcotics, Phenylpropanolamine and Theophylline (used for asthma). Even before it was banned, ephedra was recommended only for a short term. Though the time frame was not clear, it was usually recommended for seven days for twelve consecutive weeks.
