Ephedrine

Ephedrine or ma huang, these terms are used to refer to the same substance derived from the plant Ephedra. (There are many common names for these evergreen plants, including squaw tea and Mormon tea.) Ephedra from which ephedrine is derived, is a shrub-like plant that is found in desert regions in central Asia and other parts of the world. The dried greens of the plant are used medicinally. Ephedra is a stimulant containing the herbal form of ephedrine, an FDA-regulated drug found in over-the-counter asthma medications.

Ephedra's main active medical ingredients are the alkaloids ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. The ephedras also contain various tannins and related chemicals. The stem contains 1-3% total alkaloids, with ephedrine accounting for 30-90% of this total.

It is nasal decongestant, and has been used therapeutically for nocturnal enuresis, diabetic neuropathic edema, dysmenorrhea, narcolepsy, and myasthenia gravis. Ephedrine in combination with caffeine has been shown to promote thermogenesis, fat loss, and muscle gain in several controlled trials. Ephedrine is metabolized to norephedrine (phenylpropanolamine) which is responsible for the central nervous system stimulating effects of the drug.

There are some adverse effects of ephedreine before 1994. These included hypertension, hypotension, drug interactions, cardiovascular disturbances, and psychosis. The number of adverse events relating to ephedrine continued to escalate with the increasing availability and attractive advertising for "natural alternatives" to street drugs. The situation drew the attention of the media and some states scrambled to enact their own regulatory controls. Ohio had banned the sale of all ephedrine-containing products in 1994. In 1994, Texas enacted a ban on all ephedrine-containing products, but the ban was lifted by a court injunction three weeks later. 14 states had placed some control or restriction on ephedrine, including some that banned over the counter sales, by July 1995.