Difference between revisions of "Ephedra"

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==Ephedra==
==Ephedra==
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==News About Ephedra==
==News About Ephedra==
'''Alternative treatments for asthma'''
*Source:http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20170620/tony-vendryes-alternative-treatments-asthma
:By Tony Vendryes
Asthma, or more correctly, bronchial asthma is a common inflammatory disease that affects the air passages of the lungs. The symptoms are variable and include episodes of wheezing, shortness of breath, coughing and chest tightness.
With increasing environmental pollution, the number of people suffering from asthma worldwide has increased. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US, more than eight per cent of Americans have the disease, with black children being the most affected group.
Modern medicine treats asthma with a wide assortment of drugs. They are administered orally as tablets or liquids, by inhalation as sprays, pumps or nebulisers, or by injection. Much of this approach centres on treating the symptoms of the problem or, at best, reducing the frequency of the episodes.
Asthma is an inflammatory disorder reflecting a disturbance of the body's immune system. Research suggests that sufferers from asthma are turning to alternative treatments more frequently in an effort to address the underlying causes of the problem and not just treat the symptoms.
Complementary approaches to asthma range from dietary changes, vitamins, minerals, herbs and breathing exercises to psychological therapies, acupuncture and homeopathy. These may reduce or eliminate the need for medication, but it is important to discuss this with your doctor.
:CLEAN UP YOUR DIET
As with any inflammatory problem, diet is extremely important to the asthmatic and the following principles should be observed:
- Avoid foods that irritate the immune system, like dairy products, wheat, preservatives and additives. Identify all foods that may trigger an attack and avoid them. Moderate your intake of sugar and salt.
- Have more antioxidant-rich foods like vegetables and fresh fruit, especially berries. Asthmatics often have low levels of these protective nutrients found in fruits and vegetables. Drink more clean water, natural fruit and vegetable juices, herbal teas and coconut water.
:TAKE VITAMINS AND MINERALS
Supplement your diet with a high-quality multivitamin/mineral tablet. Add antioxidants like vitamin C, E, A and selenium as they boost the immune system and reduce the inflammation. Vitamin C in high doses (three to six-grams.) daily is particularly useful. As this vitamin is quickly eliminated from the body, it is best to divide up your daily dose.
The omega-3 fatty acids found in the highest concentration in fish oils are anti-inflammatory and help reduce the symptoms of asthma. Epidemiological studies show that a diet high in fish oil benefits inflammatory conditions like asthma. The effective dose of omega-3is three grams or more daily. Capsules with highly concentrated omega-3 fats are more potent than just fish oil.
Magnesium: This mineral is extremely important in asthma, as it is a natural muscle relaxant that relieves the spasm of the airways that occur in asthma. Many asthmatics are magnesium-deficient and should consume magnesium-rich foods as well as take magnesium supplements. Chelated magnesium capsules such as magnesium aspartate, citrate or oratate are better absorbed than magnesium oxide or chloride. I also recommend soaking in an Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) bath.
Holistic physicians often give magnesium by intravenous injection to abort and prevent asthmatic attacks. One particularly effective treatment is called a Myers Cocktail that involves a combination of magnesium, vitamin C and other vitamins administered intravenously by a doctor.
Vitamin D: Many individuals with asthma are vitamin-D deficient and this vitamin is critical for a healthy immune system. Research suggests that increasing vitamin D levels may reduce asthma symptoms. Optimise your vitamin D status by having a daily sunbath and/or take vitamin D3 supplements regularly.
:CLEAN UP THE ENVIRONMENT
Asthmatics also need to optimise the cleanliness of the air they breathe. Air-borne pollutants abound in the modern home and workplace. House dust, smoke, chemical sprays and odors, animal dander (hairs and fur) - all can trigger asthma and should be avoided as much as possible.
:USE BREATHING EXERCISES
Breathing techniques are used for asthma, but general they involve learning to take slower, longer breaths, to breathe through your nose rather than your mouth, and to use your abdominal muscles to take deep 'belly breaths'.
Two specific breathing techniques for asthma include the Buteyko breathing technique and yoga breathing exercises (pranayama). In a number of studies, people who did such breathing exercises reported improvement in their symptoms. These methods also emphasise stress reduction and good nutrition.
:TRY ACUPUNCTURE
Acupuncture originated in China thousands of years ago and involves the insertion of very thin needles into your skin at specific points on your body. Some studies show that asthma improves with acupuncture and is very safe when delivered by trained practitioners. This suggests working with an experienced acupuncturist or a medical doctor who practises acupuncture.
:HERBAL TREATMENTS
Herbal remedies have been used for centuries and are still a primary asthma treatment in many countries. Herbs used in treating asthma include ephedra, green tea, ginger, schizandra, rosemary, pycnogenol, boswellia, aloe vera and ginkgo biloba. All these herbs have definite anti-inflammatory properties.
Blends of different types of herbs are commonly used in traditional Chinese, Indian and Japanese medicine, as certain combinations of herbs may be more effective than a single herb. Some herbal remedies can interact with prescription medications, so inform your doctor if you choose to use both.
:HOMEOPATHIC CURES
Homeopathy stimulates the body's self-healing ability using very small doses of substances that would cause the problem. For asthma, homeopathic remedies are made from substances that generally trigger an asthmatic reaction, such as pollen or weeds, but in such tiny amounts that they prevent rather than cause an asthma attack.
:RELAXATION THERAPY
Relaxation therapy techniques include meditation, biofeedback, hypnosis and progressive muscle relaxation. These techniques help asthma by reducing stress, relieving the symptoms and promoting a sense of well-being. In psychogenic asthma (emotionally induced asthma), these methods may cure the problem.
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'''Mormon Tea – a widely used medicinal plant'''
*Source:https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2015/10/11/mormon-tea-a-widely-used-medicinal-plant/
:By Joan Chew
Be upfront about the use of medications, warn TCM physicians
The spotlight was cast on the safety of Chinese herbal medication last month following the death last year of a 58-year-old woman who took cordyceps the week before an operation to remove a benign brain tumour.
She had failed to inform her doctors about her use of cordyceps, which is believed to lead to the extensive bleeding in her brain.
The case has prompted doctors and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) physicians to urge the public to be upfront about their use of medications, including herbs and herbal products.
The interaction between a herb or herbal product and a drug in the body "may augment the action of the drug, reduce the effectiveness of the drug or cause unexplained side effects", warned Ms Lim Ching Hui, senior principal pharmacist at Singapore General Hospital.
She gives four examples of herb-drug interactions that people should be aware of:
:• Herbs with high mineral content - such as Gypsum fibrosum (shigao), Concha arcae (waleng zi) and Concha ostreae (muli) - may prevent the oral absorption of the fluoroquinolone class of antibiotics.
The oral and intravenous forms of these antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections of the lungs, respiratory tract, urinary tract, gastrointestinal tract, abdomen, and bones and joints, among other uses.
:• Polyphenols in green tea can inhibit the effects of the anti- cancer drug bortezomib, which is used for the treatment of myeloma, a type of blood cancer.
This observation is based on experiments conducted in the test tube and on mice.
It is therefore not advisable for patients receiving bortezomib to consume green tea extracts or drink green tea in large amounts.
:• Patients taking a class of drugs called tyrosine kinase inhibitors for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia, lung and kidney cancers are advised to avoid grapefruit.
Grapefruit contains a group of chemical compounds known as furanocoumarins which can inhibit the enzyme CYP3A4 that metabolises this class of drugs, causing accumulation of these drugs in the body.
:• Ephedra sinica (mahuang) is the herb from which the drug ephedrine is derived.
Ephedrine is usually used in cough and cold medicines.
Taking Ephedra sinica and other herbs with similar properties has the potential to stimulate the brain, increase heart rate, narrow blood vessels and increase blood pressure, and cause sweating.
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'''Mormon Tea – a widely used medicinal plant'''
*Source:https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2015/10/11/mormon-tea-a-widely-used-medicinal-plant/
:By: Jonathan DuHamel
Mormon Tea (genus Ephedra) is a woody shrub that grows two to five feet high and wide. According to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, “These are conifers more primitive than pine trees; they bear papery cones. (Their closest relative is the bizarre Welwitschia spp. of the Namib Desert, which looks like a beached green octopus but has the same cone structure as ephedra.) The various species are similar in general appearance; distinguishing among them requires close inspection.” There are about 40 species that occur in arid habitats in the northern hemisphere and South America. About six species occur in the Sonoran Desert region. Wikipedia shows a global distribution map for ephedra which includes a wide swath through Mediterranean Europe and south-central Asia. In some places in Mexico, such as the desert east of the Pinacate volcanic field, Ephedra plants reach 15 feet tall.
Ephedra has long been used medicinally, but there seems to be some controversy as to effectiveness and safety depending on species and source consulted.
ASDM notes: “The stems contain caffeine and ephedrine (a drug that acts like adrenalin/epinephrin). The closely related pseudoephedrine is now synthesized commercially and is an ingredient in commercial asthma and cold remedies, e.g., Sudafed®. Pseudoephedrine is also a precursor in the production of the dangerous illegal drug methamphetamine (“speed”). A tea with stimulant properties is made by steeping dried stems. It has been used medicinally to treat a variety of ailments including syphilis, diabetes, and pneumonia. A Chinese species is the source of ma huang, a tea so potent that it has caused deaths from overstimulation of the heart.”
DesertUSA describes several species: “This medium-sized shrub grows up to 4 feet high and appears to have no leaves. It looks like a thicket of numerous green, jointed, leafless branches with conspicuous nodes. It actually does have small, scale-like leaves and tiny flowers of male and female cones which bloom February through April. The fruit is a seed surrounded by 2 or 3 large scales. There are a number of species of Mormon Tea (Ephedra genus) growing in the southwestern deserts of the U.S., including E. trifurca, E. viridis, E. torreyana, E. nevadensis and E. californica. All have been used for a variety of medicinal purposes by various peoples over the centuries.”
WebMD notes: “Mormon tea is made from a plant, Ephedra nevadensis. The dried branches are boiled in water to make the tea. People use it as a beverage and as a medicine. Be careful not to confuse Mormon tea (Ephedra nevadensis) with ephedra (Ephedra sinica and other ephedra species). Unlike these other plants, Mormon tea does not contain ephedrine, an unsafe stimulant.
As a medicine, people take Mormon tea for sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis and gonorrhea. It is also used for colds, kidney disorders, and as a ‘spring’ tonic.”
WebMD goes on to say: “The tannins in Mormon tea have a drying (astringent) effect and can reduce body secretions such as mucus. This might explain its use for colds. There isn’t enough information to know how Mormon tea might work for other uses such as kidney problems and sexually transmitted diseases. Mormon tea seems to be safe when consumed as a beverage in normal food amounts. But there isn’t enough information to know if Mormon tea is safe in medicinal amounts. Possible side effects include stomach complaints, kidney and liver damage, nose or throat cancer, increased urination, and constipation.”
Herb2000.com has an article specific to Ephedra nevadensis:
“From 1552 onwards, people have recommended taking Mormon tea as it is beneficial to our health. In effect, this herb and the tea brewed from it have been extensively used by frontiersmen to cure venereal or sexually transmitted diseases. In addition, Mormon tea has also been prescribed for treating conditions like colds and kidney problems as well as in the form of a ‘spring tonic’. Reputed herbal medicine physician David G. Spoerke has attributed the therapeutic actions of Mormon tea to an uncertain amount of alkaloid ephedrine enclosed by the herb. It may be noted here that this alkaloid ephedrine is a medication that facilitates the narrowing of the blood vessels, invigorating the central nervous system (CNS) as well as widening the bronchioles. On the other hand, Mowed, Gottlieb and Castleman have said that ephedrine is not the active constituent of Mormon tea – but its most active constituent is (+)-norpseudoephedrine, a much more strong stimulant for the central nervous system.”
The US Department of Agriculture has a good overview which includes a detailed description of the plants and their habitats. (see PDF file) USDA says that ephedrine, the pharmaceutically active compound found in the Old World species has not been detected in any North American species.
Here is the USDA description:
Ephedras are dioecious, with male and female cones occurring on separate plants. The cones are borne singly or in pairs or whorls at the branch nodes. The seeds are borne singly or in pairs in the axils of the female cone scales. The inner cone scales are modified to enclose the seed and form integuments that mimic the angiosperm pericarp. Flowering usually takes place in March through May, and seeds ripen from June through September, depending on elevation and species. The plants are wind-pollinated. Ephedra plants do not flower every year; their reproductive pattern could be described as mast fruiting, where most individuals in the population flower synchronously in a year with ample rainfall, and large quantities of seeds are produced. The population does not flower again for several years, whether or not a high-rainfall year occurs. The seedcrop may be damaged by late frosts, late spring drought, or infestations of pentatomid bugs.
The distribution of male and female ephedra plants is not random; individuals on dry slopes are over-represented by males, whereas those growing on run-on surfaces are 4 times as likely to be females as males. The genetic basis for sex differentiation in Ephedra is not known, but the spatial arrangement of males and females functions to maximize reproductive output, as it places males where their pollen can be easily wind-dispersed early in the season and females where they are more likely to have resources later in the season to ripen a seedcrop.
North American ephedra species fall into 2 groups characterized by differences in seed size and dispersal ecology. The large-seeded species (for example, green and Nevada Mormon-teas) are dispersed by scatter-hoarding rodents such as kangaroo rats, which deposit them in shallowly buried caches and later return to eat most of the seeds or sprouts. The cone scales in these species are small. In small-seeded species (for example, Torrey Mormon-tea) the outer cone scales are large and membranous, and the intact cones are often seen wind-rowed at some distance from adult plants. The seeds are apparently wind-dispersed, as they have long, awn-like points that probably make them unattractive to rodents. Cones with seeds intact may remain on the surface for many months.
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'''The Facts on Ephedra'''
*Source:https://experiencelife.com/article/the-facts-on-ephedra/
:By John Rosengren
Dangerous, benign, helpful, harmful? Here’s the scoop on one of the most controversial herbs around.
Lose weight. Boost energy. Perform better. Those claims have cast ephedra in the spotlight of late. The buzz over this stimulating herb and its derivatives has raised questions over its safety, especially in the wake of last summer when three football players died after allegedly using ephedrine. None of the deaths was directly attributed to ephedra, but the headlines underscored the need to use dietary supplements with caution.
Herbal lore traces the use of ephedra back 5,000 years to China, where the stem of the almost leafless shrub – known by its Chinese handle “ma huang” – was used to treat colds, asthma and hay fever. The plant, which thrives in sunny, dry climates, is also found in the southwestern United States. Native Americans introduced the powder brewed in hot water to the Mormons when they arrived in Utah in 1847. The piney-tasting drink came to be known as Mormon tea, substituted for the taboo coffee and black tea. In the Old West, ephedra was even reputed to cure syphilis and gonorrhea, making it a popular brothel beverage: “Whorehouse tea.”
In modern times, natural ephedra alkaloids and their laboratory counterparts have been used to treat asthma, emphysema, colds, allergies, arthritis and rheumatism. They’ve been packaged in a smorgasbord of over-the-counter products marketed to aid weight loss, increase energy, enhance performance and even stop smoking. On the illicit end, ephedra has been used to manufacture methamphetamine, which goes by the street names Crystal, Ice and Meth.
:Adrenaline Rush
Ephedra products used by some 12 million Americans rank among the most lucrative and controversial of dietary supplements. Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, the herb’s two primary active ingredients, resemble adrenaline in the way they stimulate the nervous system. The alkaloids relieve swelling of the mucous membrane and open the bronchial passages, making a variety of over-the-counter cold and allergy medications containing ephedra alkaloids or ma huang the natural decongestant and antihistamine of choice for many.
Simple side effects of ephedra in any form include increased urination and dry mouth. The ephedra alkaloids also suppress appetite and speed metabolism, causing the body to burn calories faster. That trait has made ma huang an attractive weight-loss shortcut in a nation where 40 million adults are obese, though health experts maintain that the herb is a poor substitute for the tried-and-true formula of reduced caloric intake and regular aerobic exercise. One study suggests that ephedra alkaloids can suppress nicotine urges, a plus for those who want to quit smoking. But no evidence – other than folklore – exists to support the myth that Whorehouse tea cures sexually transmitted diseases.
Energy products employ the ephedra alkaloids – often combined with caffeine – to provide an energy jolt comparable to drinking a six-pack of Mountain Dew. Bodybuilders claim the products help them lift harder and longer. Other users also report sustained stamina along with heightened intensity, alertness and perception. While that appeals to athletes from football players to figure skaters, they should be forewarned that the National Collegiate Athletic Association, United States Olympic Committee and National Football League (among other athletic governing bodies) have banned ephedra products for the competitive edge they provide and the risk they pose to those ingesting them.
:Ephedra’s Downside
While ephedra is generally considered safe when used by healthy adults (in moderate amounts and for a limited period of time), it can cause adverse effects ranging from headaches, dizziness, insomnia, anxiety and tremulousness to strokes, heart attacks, psychosis, seizures and death.
An article published in the December 21, 2000, New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) reported the results from a study involving 140 adverse events occurring from the use of dietary supplements containing ephedra alkaloids, including 13 cases of permanent disability and 10 deaths. The authors concluded, “The use of dietary supplements that contain ephedra alkaloids poses a serious health risk to some persons.”
Since 1997, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sought to impose tighter controls on ephedra products, limiting the legal dose to 8 milligrams and restricting the 24-hour maximum intake to 24 mg, well below the American Herbal Product Association’s limit of 25 mg per serving with daily consumption not to exceed 100 mg. The FDA also wants to ban the marriage of ephedra and caffeine because the combination has a synergistic effect believed to increase the incidence of adverse reactions. The FDA also seeks to outlaw labeling claims that ephedra products can cause weight loss.
Meanwhile, the Ephedra Education Council reported in November 2001 that two studies by separate researchers confirm that ephedra is safe and effective for weight loss when consumed and used as directed. “This research is the latest in a series of clinical studies that support the safety of ephedra at a time when there is no clinical research linking dietary supplements containing ephedra to significant adverse events,” said Wes Siegner, spokesperson for the Ephedra Education Council. “While longer-term studies ultimately will be more conclusive, the findings of these clinical trials continue to confirm ephedra’s safety.”
Yet, the FDA asserts it has on file reports of more than 1,200 adverse events – including 70 deaths – associated with the use of ephedra-laced products. Of particular sobering note, the FDA has found in reviewing those adverse events that “most occurred in young to middle-aged otherwise healthy adults using the products for weight control and increased energy.”
Christine Haller, M.D., and Neal Benowitz, M.D., authors of the NEJM report, likewise frown upon ma huang. They point out that it is rarely prescribed by Western physicians for medical purposes and, unlike vitamins and minerals, it is not essential to proper nutrition. They find even the purported benefits negligible. “People who take these products to increase their exercise capacity or to lose weight place themselves at risk without a substantial likelihood of benefit,” the authors write.
Concerns over ephedra’s safety have rendered the herb illegal in Nebraska and have restricted sales in Texas to those 18 or older. Elsewhere, consumers are left to their own judgment. Regarding purchase and use of the ancient Chinese herb, the Latin wisdom seems appropriate: caveat emptor (buyer beware).
:Warning!
:• Since the herb causes uterine contractions, it is not recommended for pregnant women. Also, those with high blood pressure risk serious adverse effects from ephedra alkaloids.
:• The American Herbal Products Association recommends no one under the age of 18 use products containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine. To avoid passing along ma huang to infants, women should suspend use during the months they’re nursing.
:• Anyone with heart disease, diabetes, glaucoma or an overactive thyroid gland would be wise to consult a physician before experimenting with ma huang. Likewise, if using any prescription medication or an over-the-counter product to treat allergy symptoms, asthma or colds, talk to your doctor first.
:• To be safe, if the use of ephedra causes insomnia, nervousness, stomach upset, heart palpitations or general weakness, cease use and call a physician.
:It’s in There!
Here’s just a sampling of products containing natural ephedra or similar synthetic compounds: Ripped Force, Ripped Fuel, Ultimate Orange, Sudafed, Metabolife 356, Shape-Fast Plus, Herbalife’s Thermojetics, Total Control, Purple Blast, Diet Fuel, Diet Phen, Magic Herb, and Herbal Phen-Fen (a combination of ephedra and St. John’s Wort).
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'''Growing a successful events venue at the Royal College of Physicians'''
*Source:http://www.conference-news.co.uk/2015/06/growing-a-successful-events-venue-at-the-royal-college-of-physicians/
:(Conference News)
The Royal College of Physicians’ medicinal garden in London offers an extra enriching and educational environment for client organisers and their delegates at the venue.
With over 1,100 plants with links to medical history, the outdoor space at the RCP offers planners and delegates a chance to take a break from the conference room.
The RCP garden fellow, Dr Henry Oakeley, identifies 10 of the garden’s medicinal plants with surprising attributes :
1. Citrus medica
This giant lemon, the size of a rugby ball, contains vitamin C which is essential for our health. It was the first lemon to come to Europe about 2,000 years ago – from the land of the Medes (Iran-Turkey region), hence the name.
2. Papaver somniferum
The sap in the seed heads, opium, is the source of morphine, a vital medicine for over 7,000 years, for the relief of pain and suffering.
3. Illicium anisatum
This is Japanese star anise, whose poisonous seed heads contain the crucial chemical from which Tamiflu, for treating bird and swine flu, was synthesised.
4. Galega officinalis
Goat’s Rue (sometimes known as Holy Hay) is a pale blue member of the pea family, poisonous to cattle, but, since 1956, it is the source of Metformin, the most widely used medicine for treating diabetes in the world.
5. Ephedra sinica
This ancient flowering plant first appeared 250 million years ago and has shown no evolutionary change for 110 million years. It contains a chemical, ephedrine, which acts like adrenaline, and was used for asthma. More recently this has been converted to amphetamines and ecstasy.
6.  Melilotus officinalis
Yellow sweet clover, when stored wet and allowed to ferment, became the source of Warfarin, the anticoagulant so essential for preventing blood clotting. Fresh, it has no value.
7. Digitalis purpurea
Small pieces of dried leaves of this, the purple foxglove, were found to be a cure for heart failure in the mid-18th century. The active medicine, digoxin, is still extracted from the leaves.
8. Atropa belladonna
Deadly nightshade, it contains atropine, once used to dilate the pupils, to treat sea sickness, as a pre-med, and more recently as an antidote to nerve gas poisoning.
9. Arundo donax
The giant reed, used to make the reeds of oboes etc. Russian scientists found that extracts numbed their tongues when they tasted it – and lignocaine, the local anaesthetic that we use today, was synthesised from it.
10. Musa basjoo
The banana is one of over 60 plants in the garden named after doctors. In this case, Antonio Musa, Greek physician to Caesar Augustus, the first Roman Emperor.
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'''How Diet Pills Sank a Traditional Chinese Herb for Sinus Problems'''
*Source:http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/2103035-how-diet-pills-sank-a-traditional-chinese-herb-for-sinus-problems/
:By Conan Milner (Epoch Times)
There’s a cheap, natural, and safe remedy for treating sinus problems with a long history of success, but it’s virtually impossible to find in North America today. It is a common herb in traditional Chinese medicine, but it proved too much for our society.
Ephedra (or “ma huang” to the Chinese) is a plant that looks like a clump of twigs with no leaves. It’s a relative of the pine tree, but has no trunk. Its use as a medicine was first described about 3,000 years ago in the classic Chinese medicine book “Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing” (“Divine Farmer’s Materia Medica”) as a nontoxic herb for treating the common cold, headache, and malaria.
Ephedra became a featured herb in several classic Chinese formulas to stop coughs, promote urination and sweating, and resolve infections.
"Traditional formulas always use a small amount of ephedra mixed with other herbs to offset its speedy side effects."
The secret to ephera’s sinus- and lung-clearing power are two of its best-known alkaloids—ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. These alkaloids have since played a big role in some of America’s best-known cold, flu, and allergy medicines, such as Sudafed and Claritin-D.
But in the last few years, these once over-the-counter medications have become controlled substances because ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are also the main ingredients in making meth.
These chemicals have an effect on the body similar to adrenaline. At low doses, they open up bronchial passages. At high doses, they act as powerful amphetamines.
In other words, ephedra is a stimulant, but this is not a feature the architects of Chinese medicine ever tried to exploit. Instead, traditional formulas always use a small amount of ephedra mixed with other herbs to offset its speedy side effects.
:Safe and Natural
Starting in the 1980s, a new supplement industry decided to use ephedra for a treatment that Chinese medicine had never considered—weight loss.
From a business standpoint, the idea was genius. The market was eager for a natural diet pill, and the treatment was effective because it worked just like speed. Most importantly, it had the virtue of safety. Since ephedra had been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years, supplement companies had a reassuring story to tell customers who raised concerns.
By the mid 1990s, many cases of heart failure, liver damage, and even fatalities of otherwise healthy individuals were linked to these supplements. Despite a growing reputation for serious side effects, ephedra-based diet pills remained popular, and continued to avoid regulation.
In the style of Big Tobacco, the ephedra industry created a public relations organization called the Ephedra Education Council (EEC) to fend off concerns that the herb posed any safety risk. Instead, it turned critics’ attention to all the good ephedra could do for society.
“Industry does, and will continue to support warning labels that inform the public of potential risks. However, it is important to remember that obesity itself is considered a threat to public health, and that ephedra has been proven safe and useful in combating this growing public health crisis with millions of Americans finding it useful in managing their weight,” reads an EEC statement from 2000.
But in the early 2000s, federal officials began cracking down. In 2002, when the U.S. Justice Department announced that it would begin investigating the companies that profited from ephedra-based diet pills, industry leader Metabolife International voluntarily released more than 13,000 health complaints the company had received since 1997 from consumers reporting serious adverse reactions to its top-selling product.
:Ruined Reputation
By the time Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler died in 2003 with high levels of ephedrine in his blood, society was fed up with ephedra. In early 2004, after issuing warnings for years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally banned all products containing the ephedrine alkaloid unless they were approved by the agency, pointing to over 18,000 reports of adverse effects, such as seizures, heart attacks, strokes, and death.
However, none of these adverse cases was ever connected to a traditional Chinese formula. In its ruling, the FDA continued to permit Chinese medicine practitioners to use ephedra, but nearly all dropped it, choosing some alternative herb instead. Nothing worked quite like ephedra, but it had become more trouble than it was worth.
Take for example the Institute for Traditional Medicine (ITM) in Portland, Oregon—a company that makes Chinese medicine supplements sold exclusively to qualified health practitioners. Three years before the FDA ban took effect, the company voluntarily removed ephedra from each of its formulas. According to ITM’s director and founder, Dr. Subhuti Dharmananda, the stigma associated with ephedra had become too great a liability.
“If we have one product with ma huang in it, then the insurance company raises our product liability insurance rate for everything by a factor of three,” Dharmananda told the New York Times in 2004.
:Mormon Tea
There is another species of ephedra native to North America known as Mormon tea (Ephedra viridis), which is still legal to everyone under the FDA since, unlike ma huang (Ephedra sinica), it does not contain significant amounts of ephedrine.
According to legend, Mormon tea was introduced to Mormon settlers in the 1800s by local native tribes, who, like the Chinese, used their ephedra to address respiratory problems. This ephedra is not as potent as ma huang, but it has served as a stimulating beverage to those who follow the Mormon religion and are forbidden from consuming caffeine.
Mormon tea has never been seriously considered by the Chinese medicine community, but it has caught the attention of supplement makers hoping to reignite some of the past glory of the ephedra weight-loss craze. In October 2015, Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals announced the release of their “potent flagship fat burner” in a press release. The main ingredient is Mormon tea extract.
To replace the action of the ephedrine, the formula contains chemicals that regulators and health professionals have already warned are dangerous and that the FDA has warned Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals to remove. The company’s solution is to keep changing the target chemicals to stay one step ahead of the law.
“The trick is to use Hi-Tech’s ephedrine-free ephedra extract, but combine it with PEA alkaloids from acacia rigidula (now updated to say “Senegalia Berlandieri Extract”) and DMAA (now labeled as Methylhexanamine HCl) to replace the ephedrine component. What you’re left with is nothing short of awesome intensity,” the release states.
As with the ephedra products of the 1990s, Hi-Tech assures complete safety.
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'''What you need to know about Ma Huang'''
*Source:http://www.active.com/articles/what-you-need-to-know-about-ma-huang
:By Ingri Cassel (Idaho Observer)
Ephedra grows throughout the western United States in arid desert grasslands and sagebrush country. When the Mormons first came out west, the Indians taught them how to make a tea out of this plant's “twigs.” It soon became known as Brigham tea or Mormon tea. Ephedra is classified as a Gymnosperm and is primitive in evolutionary terms much like horsetail. A variety of ephedra known as Ma Huang has been used for thousands of years in the Far East in the treatment of colds, especially ones with chills, aches and pains, and a chesty cough. Also used for bronchial asthma.
After making an extract of ephedra, the alkaloid ephedrine was discovered by Chinese scientists in 1924. Two years later, Merck pharmaceuticals produced a synthetic version of ephedrine that is still used in asthma medications today. Scientists also revealed that ephedrine is both a cardiac stimulant and central nervous system stimulant. So, in keeping with allopathic methods, chemicals were used to synthesize ephedrine resulting in the discovery of an entire new class of drugs -- amphetamines.
Amphetamine-containing inhalers were very popular in the mid 1900s for the relief of both nasal congestion and depression. Today such inhalers are strictly controlled.
Mark Pederson in his 1987 book, Nutritional Herbology, states:
“Ephedrine hydrochloride and pseudoephedrine both work when taken orally and, unlike amphetamines, are available without a prescription. Pseudoephedrine tablets (Sudafed, Contac, Primatene, and Bronkaid) are presently over-the-counter remedies for the relief of nasal congestion.”
Recent studies with both humans and laboratory animals have shown ephedrine to be beneficial in promoting weight loss. The main mechanism at work is its thermogenic ability to increase the metabolic rate of adipose tissue thereby enhancing the body's ability to burn fat. Its weight reducing effects are greatest in those who have a low basal metabolic rate. [Tenney, Louise. Today's Herbal Health, 5th edition]
Ephedra is a stiff shrub with slender, jointed branches that appears to have no leaves since the leaves are actually “scales”. The ephedra plant flowers in the spring, and after it flowers it can be described as looking like the trunk of an old tree with leafless stems or sticks growing upward.
It is interesting to note that ephedra only grows in highly mineralized soil. Approximately ten percent of the minerals absorbed by this plant are copper. Ephedra also contains fair amounts of such important minerals as zinc, magnesium, manganese, selenium, iron and potassium as well as the vitamins thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), vitamins A and C. According to Dr. John R. Christopher, the minerals absorbed by ephedra (as well as other plants) are “live, highly vibrating minerals that can be assimilated into the body and used without side effects.”
Ephedra has some of the same properties as adrenaline, although the native American variety (Ephedra gerardiana) contains less ephedrine than the Chinese variety, Ma Huang (Ephedra sinica). It is helpful when used to boost stamina, energy and circulation since ephedra acts directly on the muscle cells, stimulating the nervous system and supplying more oxygen to muscle tissue. Ephedra is well known as a bronchial dilator and decongestant, and has been used to relieve congestion, asthma and allergies.
Michael Moore tells us in his book, Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West, that:
“An acquaintance with a yearly scourge of longstanding pollen allergies began drinking the tea as a regular beverage to replace coffee and found that he had taken less than one tenth his usual amount of little yellow allergy pills for that season.”
Ephedra is a powerful blood purifier, being a popular folk remedy for such conditions as arthritis, rheumatism, bursitis and other painful muscle and joint problems. Since ephedra is a vasoconstrictor, it has been used to stop internal bleeding.
The Pima Indians dried ephedra roots in the sun and then powdered them. They then sprinkled the powder on all kinds of sores -- including those caused by syphilis. The Navajos boiled the twigs with alum to produce a light tan dye color.
Ephedra can be used either as a tea or powdered and put into capsules. When prepared as a tea, old time herbalists and Mormon pioneers recommend that one use the “grounds” repeatedly -- adding a teaspoon of the freshly dried herb on top of the herbal grounds left from previous days. This method should be continued for at least four to six days since it takes several days of simmering this tea -- 15 to 20 minutes a day -- to sufficiently extract all the bio-available copper and other minerals. Naturally, more water and ephedra should be added to the tea each day.
My herbalist mentor and personal hero, Dr. John R. Christopher said, “A good, clean bloodstream means a good, clean body. This body we live in is the temple of God, and the scriptures tell us that God will not dwell in an unclean tabernacle. By keeping the bowels and bloodstream clean, we are well on the way to a clean body. Such an 'instrument' can receive 'even hidden treasures of knowledge' by becoming a clear channel to a higher source of knowledge. This should be our goal.”
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'''What you need to know about Ma Huang'''
*Source:http://www.active.com/articles/what-you-need-to-know-about-ma-huang
:By Nancy Ling, R.D. (Competitor Magazine)
You may have noticed Ma Huang appearing in the ingredient lists of some popular nutritional drinks and supplements, and wondered, Ma What? Why is this strange ingredient in products like Ripped Fuel, Metabolife 356, Diet Fuel and MetaboLift?
The answer is, Ma Huang is a powerful stimulant being marketed to body builders and other athletes as an effective fat burner.
Ma Huang has its interesting name because it is an ancient Chinese herb with an interesting history. Also known as ephedra, Ma Huang is an odd-looking, botanically primitive, almost leafless shrub that resembles horsetail. It has tough, jointed, barkless stems and branches, with small scale-like leaves and tiny yellow-green flowers that appear in summer.
:History
The use of Ma Huang has loosely been traced to around 3000 BC, when Chinese physicians began prescribing ephedra tea for colds, asthma and hay fever. When the Mormons arrived in Utah in 1847, the native Indians introduced them to the American variety of ephedra, a piney-tasting tonic beverage. The Mormons used it as a substitute for coffee and tea, and therefore the name arose: Mormon Tea.
From the late 1920s through the 1940s, ephedrine was used in various products as a decongestant and bronchodilator. It was generally effective and safe, but it was also known to produce potentially damaging side effects, including increased blood pressure and heart palpitations. It was replaced with a chemical substitute, pseudo-ephedrine, which scientists considered equally effective but with reduced side effects. This is the active ingredient in many over-the-counter products like Sudafed.
Herbalists recommend Ma Huang (ephedra) today to treat asthma, hay fever and the nasal and chest congestion of colds and flu. Ma Huang's active ingredients are ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and norspeudoephedrine, all three of which are strong central nervous system stimulants. They are stronger than caffeine, but less potent than amphetamine.
Ephedrine opens the bronchial passages, stimulates the heart and increases blood pressure, metabolic rate, perspiration and urine production. It reduces the secretion of both saliva and stomach acids.
Unfortunately, the powerful stimulants in Ma Huang can lead to stroke and even death in otherwise healthy people.
:Why is Ma Huang used?
While the scientific community generally regards Ma Huang/ephedra as a fairly dangerous nutritional supplement on the health food store shelf, there are supporters for its use as a fat-loss agent. According to them, the combination of ephedrine and caffeine allows people to increase fat loss while maintaining muscle mass. They also claim that Ma Huang is actually relatively safe, and that reports of health problems and death related to taking it are simply sensationalized news stories.
There is a body of research that suggests that ephedrine plus caffeine increases thermogenesis, the burning of calories in the body. Weight loss and fat loss appear to be greater in research subjects taking ephedrine and caffeine compared to those simply dieting alone. Ephedrine plus caffeine is thought to act centrally by suppressing appetite and peripherally by stimulating the usage of fat by the muscles. Most studies find that combining a low-calorie diet with ephedrine and caffeine induces significant weight and fat loss.
There is suggestion that weight loss with the ephedrine and caffeine combination is also superior because muscle mass is preserved, while fat is lost. This purported benefit has resulted in a great deal of marketing toward athletes, playing on the desire of many athletes to increase muscle mass while reducing body fat.
:Side effects and safety issues
Unfortunately, Ma Huang is not without risks. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has compiled more than 800 adverse events for Ma Huang, including heart attack, stroke, tremors, insomnia and death. At least 17 deaths have been linked to supplements containing Ma Huang.
In 1996, the FDA warned the public to avoid Ma Huang/ephedrine-containing dietary supplements. In 1997, the FDA proposed new labeling requirements that would require strict warning labels, limits on the amount of alkaloid in each serving, and a ban on combining Ma Huang with other herbal stimulants. However, this requirement has not yet been passed. In fact, many metabolism-boosting formulas contain Ma Huang with other stimulants such as guarana and kola nut extracts.
As a stimulant, Ma Huang can cause insomnia, nervousness, stomach upset, dry mouth, agitation and hand tremors. Supporters of its use recommend that users start with a small amount and increase the dosage slowly to allow the body to get used to the drug, thus minimizing adverse effects. They also recommend that users drink more water to minimize dry mouth.
However, many groups of people are cautioned to never use Ma Huang. Competitive athletes are included in this list, because many athletic organizations, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the United States Olympic Committee, list Ma Huang as a banned substance.
Ma Huang should never be used by pregnant women, as it can stimulate spontaneous abortions. It is not recommended for people with cardiovascular disease, angina, hypertension, thyroid disease or prostate enlargement. Individuals on medications such as MAO inhibitors or alpha-2 blockers should avoid any Ma Huang, as the combined effects may cause dangerously high blood pressure.
We can conclude ...
Ma Huang is a natural product with drug-like actions. However, "natural" does not equate with "safe."
Ma Huang, like other nutritional supplements, is not strictly regulated like drugs, so the ephedrine content in commercial products is highly variable. This makes Ma Huang-containing products potentially dangerous, as evidenced by the number of adverse events documented. Even supplement manufacturers have responded to this negative publicity by promoting "Ma Huang-free" products.
Read labels on supplement products and, to be safe, look for products without Ma Huang or ephedra.
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'''Despite F.D.A. Ban, Ephedra Won't Go Away'''
*Source:http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/17/health/despite-fda-ban-ephedra-won-t-go-away.html?
:By MARY DUENWALD
By April 12 2004, ephedra will disappear from stores and Web sites that sell dietary supplements, by order of the Food and Drug Administration. But that does not mean the herb will entirely drop out of sight.
The agency's ban on ephedra specifically excludes uses of the herb in traditional Asian medicine. Acupuncturists, herbalists and other practitioners of Oriental medicine routinely dispense teas, pills and powders containing ma huang, the type of ephedra grown in China, to treat colds, asthma, persistent cough, headache, water retention and other maladies.
The ban on dietary supplements containing ephedra, announced in December, was published by the agency on Wednesday and will take effect 60 days later. It targets the ephedra supplements that have been advertised for weight loss, muscle building and athletic performance.
The supplements have been linked to heart attack, stroke and sudden death because of their ability to raise blood pressure, increase heart rate and speed up brain activity.
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The F.D.A.'s ban states that herbal medicine preparations ''are beyond the scope of this rule because they are not marketed as dietary supplements.''
California and New York, which had already banned the sale of ephedra supplements, made similar exceptions for herbal medicine. Illinois, in its ephedra ban, did not.
Herbal medicine practitioners say they are relieved that their profession has not been included in the F.D.A. ban because ma huang is so useful.
''Ephedra is the first herb taught in a Chinese medicine course,'' said David Molony, an acupuncturist in Catasauqua, Pa., who is a vice president of the American Association of Oriental Medicine. ''It's traditionally been used as one of the top herbs for one of the top complaints of humanity: colds.''
Yet ma huang is becoming increasingly difficult for herbalists to obtain, because of insurance costs. Ephedra's dangerous side effects have led to lawsuits against supplement makers. And those, in turn, have caused insurers to raise the premiums for companies that deal in ephedra, even for use in herbal medicine.
''This started even before the baseball player died,'' said Subhuti Dharmananda, an herbal medicine supplier, referring to the death last year of Steve Bechler, a 23-year-old pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles, who had been taking ephedra supplements. ''If we have one product with ma huang in it, then the insurance company raises our product liability insurance rate for everything by a factor of three,'' Mr. Dharmananda said.
As a result, his company, the Institute for Traditional Medicine, in Portland, Ore., has not used ma huang in any of his products since 2001. ''We have reformulated all the products that had ma huang,'' Mr. Dharmananda said.
Some other herbal medicine distributors have also discontinued ma huang, but some continue to sell it.
''We decided to pay higher insurance rates to keep those formulas available,'' said Dr. John Scott, an Oriental medicine practitioner and owner of Golden Flower Chinese Herbs, an herbal medicine distributor in Albuquerque. But Dr. Scott said he was disturbed by the rising insurance rates and by the negative news surrounding ephedra.
The active ingredient in ephedra is ephedrine, a stimulant. Dietary supplements have contained concentrated amounts of ephedra, sometimes combined with caffeine, another stimulant. Herbalists say they are not surprised that some consumers suffered side effects.
''Chinese medicine practitioners have known for years that you could get too much of this,'' said Dr. Robert Schulman, a physician who practices acupuncture in Manhattan.
They even recommend a specific herbal antidote, known as white tiger decoction, to be given to people who are overstimulated by ma huang, he said.
Dr. Schulman and other practitioners of Oriental medicine say they would not dispense ephedra in concentrations as strong as those found in dietary supplements, they would not dispense it for weight loss or muscle building, and they would not dispense it for more than a week or two.
Because ma huang relaxes the air passages in the lungs, Mr. Molony said, it is used to treat asthma and cough. It also promotes sweating, so it can help a person recover from a minor cold, he said. And it is said to promote urination and thus relieve edema.
But ma huang is never dispensed by itself, practitioners say. It is used in combination with various other herbs. ''Part of what makes herbal medicines safer is that they have a complex array of constituents,'' Dr. Scott said.
Ma huang can be found in dozens of different formulations, but only a few are commonly used. One of these combines ma huang with cinnamon twig, apricot seed and licorice.
These ingredients can be boiled together to create a rather viscous tea. Or they can be boiled and then dried to make powders or tablets.
The cinnamon twig is meant to help promote sweating; the apricot seed, to suppress cough and stop wheezing; and the licorice, to moisten the lungs and ''harmonize'' the other ingredients, Mr. Molony said.
''I've gotten a lot of mileage out of this formulation for a chronic cough,'' said Dr. Schulman, ''one that just doesn't go away.''
Herbal medicine practitioners caution against giving ma huang formulations to people who have high blood pressure or a fever or to women who are pregnant.
Though herbalists universally claim that their use of ma huang is safe, there have been no efforts to monitor harmful effects in patients receiving herbal treatments, the F.D.A. reports.
What if someone asked an herbalist to dispense ephedra for weight loss? The F.D.A.'s new rule does not specifically prohibit that.
Herbalists said in interviews that they and their colleagues would not do that.
''I would tell them there are a lot better ways to lose weight than using stimulants,'' Mr. Molony said.
Mr. Dharmananda said, ''For those of us involved in natural healing, the idea of popping pills for weight loss doesn't work.''
Andrew Gaeddert, an herbalist at the Get Well Clinic in Oakland, Calif., said: ''I can't think of one herbalist who would use ephedra or ma huang as a weight loss alternative. When people get herbal training, they get the idea drummed into them that this is a strong herb and we use it only for a short time.''
Dr. Stephen Bent, a physician at the University of California at San Francisco who has studied the health risks of ephedra, said, ''The traditional Chinese medicine loophole is probably not a great danger.''
A bigger danger, he said, is that consumers may turn to F.D.A.-approved over-the-counter asthma medications that contain ephedrine. ''It seems strange to me that the F.D.A. is banning ephedra because it contains ephedrine but not over-the-counter products containing ephedrine, which obviously could be used for a long period of time,'' Dr. Bent said. ''It raises the question of how often these approvals are reviewed for their appropriateness.''
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'''Ephedra (Ma Huang)'''
*Source:http://www.chineseherbshealing.com/ephedra-ma-huang/
:(Chinese Herbs Healing)
Speaking of ephedra (Ma Huang), an ancient Chinese herb with over 5,000-year history, you might have heard of it if you ever spent some time on locating an effective diet pill. These days weight loss pills with ephedra are expanding the market despite of all those considerable controversy out there. As a legal drug recorded in the “Chinese Pharmacopoeia”, clinically it is mainly used for common cold due to wind-cold, chest tightness, cough, wheezing, and so on. Its main ingredient is ephedrine (EPH), which is also one item listed in the pharmacopoeia and commonly used for the prevention of bronchial asthma and relief of mild asthma.
When you catch a cold, the nasal drops containing ephedrine hydrochloride can be of a great help on reducing nasal congestion and swelling, runny nose, and other cold symptoms. Thanks to its outstanding benefits on accelerating metabolism, losing weight, and increasing endurance, ephedrin becomes one of the most popular performance enhancers for athletes. Besides, it is also one desirable fat burning pills since it will burn off the fat while maintaining muscle. But I do have to say, ephedrine has obvious adverse reactions, especially damage to the heart. Others include heart palpitations, arrhythmias, myocardial infarction, elevated blood pressure, stroke, brain damage, or even death.
:What is ephedra or Ma Huang?
Medicinally it refers to the herbaceous stems of Ephedra sinica Stapf, Ephedra intermedia Schrenk ex C.A.Mey, or Ephedra equisetina Bge., which is a plant in the family Ephedraceae. It is mainly produced in Xinjiang, Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Gansu and other places. It is usually collected during autumn. After the harvesting, it needs to remove the woody stems, residual root and impurities, and then cut into sections. It is usually used raw, stir-fried with honey, or smashed.
Ephedra plant is a perennial herb, 30 to 50 cm in height. Needle leaves, usually about 1 to 2 millimeters thick, grow upward directly. The color of leaf is always changing according to the seasonal variation – green in summer, yellow in autumn, withered and yellow in winter, and tender green mixed with pale yellow in the following spring. Ephedra fruit turns red and sweet when ripe. Since it is edible and with high nutritional value, people love to pick and eat it when the fruit season comes. But eating too much of it may lead to dizziness. After the fruits are rife enough to fall into the soil or sand, it will sprout and grow in the coming year.
Ephedra sinica stem contains 1% to 2% alkaloids, which consist of 40% to 90% l-Ephedrine, d-pseudoephedrine, and traces of lN-methyl ephedrine, dN-methyl-pseudoephedrine, l-Norephedrine, d-Demethyl-pseudoephedrine, and Ephedine. Besides, it still contains 6% of catechu tannin, volatile oils, flavonoids, organic acids, etc.; Ephedra equisetina contains 1.15% to 1.75% alkaloids, mainly ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. And it still contains tannins, flavonoid glycosides, dextrin, inulin, starch, pectin, cellulose, saccharides like glucose, oxalic acid, citric acid, malic acid, fumaric acid and other organic acids; Ephedra intermedia contains large amounts of ephedrine. Besides, it still contains tannins, flavonoid glycosides, dextrin, inulin, starch, pectin, cellulose, glucose, etc. The above-mentioned 3 species have similar chemical constituents. But in terms of alkaloid content, the highest one is ephedra equisetina, followed by ephedra sinica and ephedra intermedia.
:Ephedra health benefits
Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are the main active ingredient in many anti-tussive, anti-cold and intranasal compound preparations. Unlike its traditional use in China, this herb is extensively used for the purposes of weight loss, bodybuilding, and libido boost. Common brands include Stimerex with ephedra, Xenadrine with ephedra, Metabolife with ephedra, Lipodrene with ephedra, and so on. Besides of ephedra pills, you can also buy ephedra products such as ephedra tea, extract, supplements, etc. It is used as diet pills because it can induce perspiration, promote diuresis, and improve basal metabolic rate; it is used as stamina and sex enhancer because it can increase myocardial contractility, enhance cardiac output, and stimulate central nervous system. In addition, it is considered that the reason why it can help lose weight is based on its effect of suppressing appetite, which results in reduced calorie intake and thus burn off the fat for the energy needed.
Modern pharmacological actions of má huáng
1. Its volatile oil can induce sweating because ephedra alkaloids increases and speeds up people’s sweat gland secretion;
2. Its volatile oil has antipyretic effect;
3. Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine relieve bronchial smooth muscle spasm;
4. Pseudoephedrine has significant diuretic effect;
5. Ephedrine can stimulate the heart, constrict blood vessels, and increase blood pressure;
6. Ephedrine has obvious stimulant effect on central nervous system, which cause excitement, insomnia, and anxiety;
7. Its volatile oil has inhibition on influenza virus;
8. Its methanol extract has anti-inflammatory effects;
9. Its decoction inhibits pathogenic microorganisms.
:Selected herbal remedies on herba ephedrae
The Chinese Pharmacopoeia says that it is acrid and slightly bitter in flavor and warm in nature. It covers meridians of lung and bladder. Prime functions are inducing perspiration to dispel cold, freeing lung to relieve asthma, and inducing diuresis for removing edema. Essential indications include common cold due to wind-cold, chest tightness, cough, and wind-water puffy swelling. Besides, the ephedra stir-fried with honey is able to moisten lung to arrest cough, which is mainly used for asthma or cough after the exterior syndrome has been cured. Recommended dosage is from 2 to 9 grams.
1. Ma Huang Tang from Shang Han Lun (On Cold Damage). It is combined with Gui Zhi (Cinnamon Twig), Xing Ren (Apricot Seed), and Gan Cao (Licorice Root) to cure wind-cold exterior excess accompanied with wheezing and cough.
2. San Ao Tang from Tai Ping Hui Min He Ji Ju Fang (Formulas of the Peaceful Benevolent Dispensary). It is matched with apricot and licorice to treat excess type dyspnea due to attack of exopathogenic wind-cold and obstructive lung qi.
3. Xiao Qing Long Tang from On Cold Damage. It is formulated with Xi Xin (Herba Asari), Gan Jiang (Dried Ginger Root), Ban Xia (Pinellia), etc. to get rid of cold phlegm, fluid retention, cough, asthma, and clear, thin mucus in the nose.
4. Ma Xing Gan Shi Tang from (On Cold Damage). It is joined with Shi Gao (Gypsum), apricot, and licorice for the treatment of excessive lung heat, high fever, and tachypnea.
5. Gan Cao Ma Huang Tang from Jin Gui Yao Lue (Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Cabine). It is coupled with licorice to cure edema and dysuria accompanied with exterior syndrome.
6. Yue Bi Jiao Zhu Tang from Jin Gui Yao Lue. It is used together with gypsum, licorice, Sheng Jiang (Fresh Ginger), and Bai Zhu (White Atractylodes) to treat edema and dysuria.
Ephedra side effects
In April 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned the sale of food containing ephedra alkaloids and decided more relevant products would be imposed greater controls in early 2006. However, the fancy use, marketing hype, and poor management of over-the-counter drugs, instead of ephedra, should be the one to take the blame since the combination of them can lead to public neglect and misunderstanding on the safety of ephedra and ephedrine. Since 2003, the adverse events caused by abusing ephedrine have been increasing since it is allowed to be used as a food additive. And most of them are cardiovascular and nervous system problems, including myocardial infarction, heart rhythm abnormalities, seizures, loss of consciousness, or even a death. All these mentioned adverse reactions are more serious than normal side effects of ephedrine used medicinally, which doesn’t make sense at all. But there is one thing worth noting here – among the severe or death cases some are women who have taking weight loss pills with ephedra for a long term, even up to 4 years.
Currently controversy still exists on the clinical safety of ephedra and ephedrine alkaloids. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) never uses Ma Huang herb for the mere purpose of losing weight or building muscle. For sure ephedrine can be used for loss of libido and delayed ejaculation clinically, which however doesn’t justify the abuse of it by healthy person. And this is against the basic spirit and principles of TCM. So, clinically the use and dosing of ephedra or ephedrine should be done strictly according to the guidance of a doctor.
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'''Ephedra health benefits and side effect'''
*Source:http://moffatloss.com/ephedra-health-benefits-and-side-effect/
:(brandon, moffatloss)
You can use Ephedra (Ma huang, teamster’s tea, sea ephedrine,Ephedra sinica, desert tea, yellow horse, yellow astringent, joint fir, squaw tea, mormon tea, popotillo and sea grape) for respiratory ailments , weight loss, energy and athletic performance.
:Introduction
Ephedra as a herb used since ages for
improving breathing and resolving conditions
related to the lungs, is stiff shrub with slender, jointed branches.
Combined with cinnamon, licorice and almond ,people used this herb roots and
branches for treating lung disorders, hay fever,
asthma and common cold .
:Health benefit
1. You can use Ephedra tea for the symptoms of cold and flu healing.
2. With its decongestant effects, you can also us it
in the treatment of asthma-related problems.
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3. Ephedra has stimulant effect capable of boosting the performance of. athletes by reducing feelings of fatigue and pain.
4. You can use ephedra as weight loss drugs.
It can increase the rate of metabolism in your
body, cause your would body heats up after
consume this.
5. ephedra is also used to treat edemas.
6. Ephedra can boost your energy levels and using its active compound ephedrine. Ephedra stimulate the heart and increase blood flow, which increase energy and supply blood and oxygen hence keeps muscles fresh.
Side effect
1. Ephedra and its extracts are potentially addictive, and
2. Ephedra can disrupt regular heart
rhythm, induce cardiac arrest, and raise blood pressure.
3. Ephe dramake you sweat profusely,become irritable, nervous, nauseous and insomnia.
4. An overdose can cause; dry mouth,
irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, stroke, seizures,
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'''The Qualities and Uses of the Chinese Herb Mahuang / 麻黃 / Ephedra'''
*Source:http://chinesemedicinecentral.com/2007/chinese-herb-of-the-week-the-qualities-and-uses-of-ma-huang/
:By Eric Grey
Ma Huang – Ephedra – 麻黄
Mahuang is one of the most famous herbs in the Chinese Materia Medica – and with good reason. In a world where medicine is mostly unable to deal with the most common illnesses that people encounter, colds and flus, an herb that can handily address these symptoms has a right to be respected. Unfortunately, some of the popularity of this herb exists for more nefarious reasons. Mahuang has been implicated in a number of exertion related deaths, particularly in young athletes and people seeking to lose weight.
Unfortunately, many people are unable or unwilling to learn the whole story. These deaths did not come from the controlled use of appropriate doses of the whole herb under the supervision of an appropriately trained Chinese medicine practitioner.
In many of these cases, the herb is broken down to isolate the desired alkaloids (for example, L-ephedrine) and often mixed with other stimulating compounds to increase the metabolism of the imbiber. It is not used using the principles of formula science – and thus is dangerous. When mahuang is used in its natural or minimally prepared form, prescribed by a physician within a carefully constructed formula appropriate to the patient’s condition and constitution – it is absolutely safe and  quite beneficial.
However, access to mahuang, even for licensed practitioners, is under a shadow in the United States.  While it is clear that the federal authorities aren’t targeting practitioners, the consensus seems to be that this is a matter of enforcement priorities only.  Regardless of the situation for practitioners, finding it from safe sources is very difficult – for most it is impossible.
That doesn’t mean we should fail to study it, however.  We must learn about this critically important herb, and do whatever we can to work for continued access to it for licensed, trained professionals.  That’s an article for another day.
:The plant
Ma Huang is part of the family Ephedraceae and the Genus Ephedra. There are several medicinal members of this genus, but the standard species used in Chinese medicine appears to be Ephedra sinica. It is considered to be an evergreen shrub and its natural range is throughout East Asia and northern China. It is a sun-loving herb and does not thrive in shady areas. It also thrives in sub-optimal soil, preferring disturbed areas and a sandy growing medium.
Let’s think about Ma Huang from the perspective of the doctrine of signatures. The growing plant is green in color, tough, with few extra parts. Since green is such a common color in plants, it doesn’t make much sense to refer to the Liver (associated with green color). But the shape reminds me of the tubular structures inside of lung tissue, which resonates with its effect of clearing breathing passages. Its ability to live in marginal environments, especially dry ones, as well as its preference for sandy soil seems to resonate it with the energy of Yang Ming and dryness – which makes sense given its ability to dry rather intensely.
:The names
In English, the genus name is typically used as the common name – ephedra or, sometimes, ephedrine. In some cases even in English it is commonly known as Mahuang, in similar fashion to Dang Gui which is sometimes simply referred to by its Chinese name by English speaking non-practitioners. The quick and dirty Chinese translation is “hemp yellow.” This translation, frankly, doesn’t do much for me so I’ll look a little more closely at the characters.
:麻 – má
The primary meaning of this character is, simply, hemp. Hemp is a hardy plant used in the manufacture of a number of durable products including, but not limited to, rope and cloth. In general, textiles and ropes created from hemp are rougher than their cotton brethren – this may have something to do with another possible definition of má, which is pockmarked, rough or pitted. Ma Huang is, indeed, fairly rough to the touch.
:黄 – huáng
Again, we’re not going to get a lot of common variation in this character – it means yellow in pretty much every significant context. But will that stop me from pulling it apart? Of course not! 😀 Interestingly, the character has undergone a lot of change during its history. The earliest versions show a person wearing a ceremonial belt or pendant – which some sources suggest may have been yellow.
The importance of the color yellow cannot be understated for the ancient Chinese. Think of the Yellow River, often called the “mother river” and of the Yellow Emperor, often thought of as China’s first head of state. Yellow is also the color associated with the Earth phase element, and this element is commonly thought to be the most central, linking together the others. There are many herbs with 黄 in their names, including the Yellow brothers (Huang Bai, Huang Lian and Huang Qin) and the eminent purgative and blood mover, Da Huang. Good Ma Huang does have a yellowish tint, so the use of Huang may simply refer to this fact. It may also hint at its importance.
The Shennong Ben Cao Jing refers to another name for Ma Huang – Dragon Sand, 龍沙. Sand could refer to the areas where it is commonly found, or able to grow. Dragon, the animal of the Stomach, is a potent symbol in ancient Chinese thought. Perhaps this name refers to the herb’s importance or its ability to devour pathogens. Reader input would be greatly appreciated here – I’m fascinated by this alternate name.
:Differences between modern interpretation and the Shennong ben cao jing
As all good Chinese herb scholars, I do a fair amount of memorizing herb properties.  Of course, in my case, I am especially interested in comparing the information found in the Shennong Ben Cao Jing (SBCJ) and the modern textbooks. In the SBCJ, Ma Huang is listed as being bitter. Modern textbooks list it as being both bitter and pungent.
The pungency makes sense from a functional perspective – pungent flavor is strongly moving, particularly pushing things to the surface and dispersing them. Given the strongly diaphoretic nature of Ma Huang, we should expect pungency to be part of its profile. So why did the SNBCJ not talk about this?
The bitter flavor informs us of one of the other important functions of Ma Huang, it’s impact on the Bladder and water metabolism. Mahuang is capable of reducing water accumulation through the promotion of urination. This, of course, is one of the reasons it is sometimes, unfortunately, used in weight loss schemes – part of what brought FDA scrutiny down on misuse of the herb. However, the SBCJ does first discuss the uses of Ma Huang that we think of most commonly and only later refers to its accumulation reducing effects. We may have to look beyond our traditional understanding of the nature of herb flavors to get more information – perhaps in another article…
:Medicinal uses
I have already hinted at the basic use of this herb in Chinese herbal medicine. Mahuang is a primary herb in all of the strongest formulas for releasing pathogens from the body through the skin using the sweating mechanism. It releases the exterior, inducing sweating, disperses the Lung Qi to stop coughing, promotes urination to reduce water accumulation and can also warm to dispel cold. Traditionally, one should remove the joints at the internodes from ephedra to increase its diaphoretic action. Interestingly, it is in the internodes that the highest concentration of stimulant alkaloids is found.
A North American species in the genus is known as “Mormon tea” because the early Mormon people in the United States used it as a replacement for caffeinated beverages, which are forbidden by the religion. It is commonly asserted that Native American tribes also used a species of the genus in similar fashion, but I was unable to locate any hard evidence of this. Regardless, it is interesting to see another example of cross-cultural support for the use of an herb.
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'''Are Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs) toxic?'''
*Source:http://www.thehealthsite.com/news/are-traditional-chinese-medicines-tcms-toxic/
:(Admin , The Health Site)
Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) also carry potentially lethal plant ingredients, allergens and traces of endangered species, according to a new research, which warned the consumers to be aware of
Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) also carry potentially lethal plant ingredients, allergens and traces of endangered species, according to a new research, which warned the consumers to be aware of health safety issues before adopting these as a treatment option. The 15 TCM samples, seized by Australian border officials, in the form of powders, tablets, capsules, flakes, and herbal teas were audited using the DNA sequencing technology. DNAs are preserved in the samples.
“TCMs have a long cultural history, but today consumers need to be aware of the legal and health safety issues before adopting them as a treatment option,” said Michael Bunce, research leader and Murdoch University Australian Research Council Future Fellow, the journal Public Library of Science Genetics reports. “In total we found 68 different plant families in the medicines – they are complex mixtures of species,” Bunce said.
“Some of the TCMs contained plants of the genus Ephedra and Asarum. These plants contain chemicals that can be toxic if the wrong dosage is taken, but none of them actually listed concentrations on the packaging,” Bunce said. “We also found traces from trade restricted animals that are classified as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered, including the Asiatic black bear and Saiga antelope,” added Bunce, according to a university statement.
Until now it has been difficult to determine the biological origins of ingredients present in TCMs because processing into pills and powders makes identification difficult. Doctoral student Megan Coghlan, who is studying the application of DNA techniques in wildlife forensic applications, said the research shows that second-generation, high throughput sequencing is an efficient and cost-effective way to audit the species composition. “The approach has the ability to unravel complex mixtures of plant and animal products,” Coghlan said. Further testing of TCMs would reveal the extent of the problem and make it easier for customs officials to identify the trade of endangered species. The increasing popularity of the medicines has seen the value of the industry increase to hundreds of millions of dollars per annum.
“We found multiple samples that contained DNA from animals listed as trade-restricted according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species Legislation. Put simply, these TCMs are not legal,” Coghlan said. “A product labelled as 100 percent Saiga antelope contained considerable quantities of goat and sheep DNA,” Bunce said. “Another product, Mongnan Tianbao pills, contained deer and cow DNA, the latter of which may violate some religious or cultural strictures,” Bunce added.
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'''Weight loss supplements – do they work?'''
*Source:http://www.thehealthsite.com/fitness/weight-loss-supplements-do-they-work/
:(Editorial Team , The Health Site)
Weight loss supplements are not really effective in helping you shed weight and may have unpleasant or serious side-effects. Melinda Manore, from Oregon State University, reviewing evidence surrounding hundreds of weight loss supplements, concluded that no single product results in significant weight loss and many have side-effects. ‘What people want is to lose weight and maintain or increase lean tissue mass,’ Manore said. ‘There is no evidence that any one supplement does this. And some have side effects ranging from the unpleasant, such as bloating and gas, to very serious issues such as strokes and heart problems.’
A few products, including green tea, fibre and low-fat dairy supplements, can have a modest weight loss benefit of three to four pounds, but it is important to know that most of these supplements were tested as part of a reduced calorie diet, the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism reports. ‘For most people, unless you alter your diet and get daily exercise, no supplement is going to have a big impact,’ said Manore, according to an Oregon statement.
Manore looked at supplements that fell into four categories: products such as chitosan that block absorption of fat or carbohydrates, stimulants such as caffeine or ephedra that increase metabolism, products such as conjugated linoleic acid that claim to change the body composition by decreasing fat, and appetite suppressants such as soluble fibres. She found that many products had no randomized clinical trials examining their effectiveness, and most of the research studies did not include exercise. Most of the products showed less than a two-pound weight loss benefit compared to the placebo groups.
‘I don’t know how you eliminate exercise from the equation. The data is very strong that exercise is crucial to not only losing weight and preserving muscle mass, but keeping the weight off,’ said Manore, professor of nutrition and exercise sciences at Oregon. Manore said the key to weight loss is to eat whole grains, fruits, vegetables and lean meats, reduce calorie intake of high-fat foods, and to keep moving. ‘Adding fiber, calcium, protein and drinking green tea can help,’ Manore said. ‘But none of these will have much effect unless you exercise and eat fruits and vegetables,’ Manroe added.
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'''Ephedra Facts – Health Benefits with Side Effects and Warnings'''
*Source:http://www.shapefit.com/diet/ephedra-facts.html
:By Amit Kumar
It is not an uncommon practice to pull out your little book of Grandmother’s secrets when you’re not feeling well and seek the help of home remedies. Many home remedies often involve the use of herbs and natural plants of all kinds. However, though the many herbs are mentioned in the list of trusted home remedies, it is important to understand the actual role played by these herbs in addressing ailments. You need to know several ways in which these herbs can be used and the side effects they bring along, some of which could have severe detrimental effects on the body in the long run.
One important herb that people often use to address a wide-range of issues, be it weight loss or the common cold, is ephedra. Ephedra, botanically known as Ephedra Sinica, is a popular plant with medicinal properties and the use is widely known all over the world. Known to the Chinese as Ma Huang, this herb, evergreen in nature, has a history of being used in traditional medicines for over 5,000 years in the communities of India and China, or to brew herbal tea as done by the Native Americans. It is native to Mongolia and Central Asia and the desert shrub is often found growing on the rocky and dry terrain in Asia.
:Uses of Ephedra
Ephedra primarily contains alkaloid and non-alkaloid compounds which are mainly responsible for the plant being attributed to its medicinal properties. The presence of the ephedrine compound in the plant ensures that ephedra is capable of stimulating the heart and the nervous system heavily. It is therefore a prime ingredient in several traditional medicines that are used to treat common ailments such as nasal congestion, a common cold, flu, wheezing and asthma, as it helps resolve the problem of swelling of the mucous membrane. It has been used to control fever on account of its potential to allow the body to break into sweat and flush the flu or the fever within the body.
The impact of the herb on the heart is such that it increases the heart rate, helps increase blood pressure and allows the bronchial tubes to expand easily, making breathing easier. It also helps relieve pain in the joints and bones. It functions as a “water pill”, helping increase the flow of urine in the body among people who face issues with retention of fluids in the body. It has also been used in the manufacture of several capsules and tablets.
Lately, it has been advertised as a solution to weight loss for people who want to battle the issue of obesity. It is commonly sold as a dietary supplement in the United States. When consumed in moderate quantities along with low-fat food and physical exertion, it promises to help one lose weight in a short period of time, as little as six months. It could be said that the herb supports the suppression of appetite, when consumed with caffeine, which eventually results in significant weight loss. Another theory could be that the herb helps increase the temperature of the body and with this increase in body heat, more calories are burned, which explains the weight loss phenomenon. It also results in an increase in metabolism and the rate at which one puts on weight tends to reduce consequently, no matter how much you eat.
It is often an ingredient in energy sports drinks, which are consumed by athletes to increase their performance. It is also sipped by people prior to their workouts. Since this herb helps clear the bronchial passage and initiates easy breathing, it helps people actively participate in sports and similar activities. The consumption of this by athletes has considerably increased owing to the fact that it is easily available as an over-the-counter drug. Though it lacks proof, the herb is known to increase alertness and stamina, as claimed by athletes and bodybuilders.
It is a lesser known fact that ephedra is often sold as a recreational drug, going by the name of herbal ecstasy. However, the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) strictly disapprove of this drug and its possession can spell trouble. It is also known to suppress the urge to smoke and hence, is used by those who wish to quit smoking.
:The Other Side To Using Ephedra
Ironically, an herb such as Ephedra with the aforementioned medicinal properties is also an herb which has been strictly banned by the FDA following more than 1,200 reported casualties after the use of ephedra in several forms. Between 1995 to 1997 the FDA was notified about 900 cases of toxicity caused due to ephedra and 37 cases of sudden death, stroke or heart attack came to light. Another study conducted by the New England Journal of Medicine in 2000 brought to light cases of 13 individuals suffering from permanent disability and 10 incidences of death among 140 other events that highlighted the adverse impacts of ephedra. Most of the adverse impact is seen in the case of young and middle-aged consumers who resort to taking ephedra either for the purpose of losing weight or to boost their energy levels. However, the Ephedra Education Council has been conducting studies to prove that the use and consumption of ephedra is absolutely safe and effective.
Research conducted by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the US National Institute of Health confirms that though the use of synthetic ephedrine does facilitate quick weight loss, it also pulls in side-effects such as nausea, mood swings, anxiety, vomiting, hyperactivity, and palpitations. Placebo-controlled randomized trials were conducted by a Southern California Evidence-based Center which falls under the US Department of Health and Human Services to further support the fact that the aforementioned side effects were a result of ephedrine based dietary supplements. Other consequences recorded included myocardial infarctions, strokes, seizures and development of psychiatric cases.
Overall, it has been noted that consumption of ephedra can result in a dry mouth, kidney stones, tremors, insomnia, irregularity in the heart rhythm, stomach problems, damage caused to the heart and difficulty in urinating. It is also advised that women, who are lactating, are pregnant or children should be kept away from doses of ephedra as it could have detrimental effects.
Keeping these side effects in mind, it is extremely important to know that the consumption of ephedra should be carefully reviewed by a trained medical professional, with the amount and time period of consumption of supplements with ephedra as an ingredient being carefully monitored.
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'''Sports Supplements - Ephedrine and Athletic Performance'''
*Source:https://www.verywell.com/sports-supplements-ephedrine-and-athletic-performance-3119368
:By Elizabeth Quinn
Ephedrine and Ephedra are Banned for Most Uses
Ephedrine is a drug derived from the plant Ephedra equisetina. It has been used for hundreds of years as a stimulant and a decongestant. A synthetic form of the drug, pseudoephedrine, is a common ingredient in over-the-counter and prescription cold and allergy products. Structurally similar to amphetamines, it increases blood pressure and heart rate. The mechanisms behind ephedrine's effect on weight-loss appear to be those of increasing energy expenditure through increased lipolysis; increasing basal metabolic rate through thyroxine; and decreasing food intake by suppressing appetite.
:Ephedrine Claims
:• Increases body fat loss
:• Improves athletic performance
:• Improves concentration
: Research Shows
:• Research has found no effect of ephedrine on strength, endurance, reaction time, anaerobic capacity, or recovery time after prolonged exercise
:• Ephedrine products have been found to contain from 0% to 100% of the amount listed on the label
:• Side effects vary and do not correlate with the amount consumed
:• Caffeine potentiates the effect of Ephedrine and the combination can be dangerous
:Cautions for Ephedrine
:• Ephedrine is banned by the NCAA, MLB, NFL, PGA and the IOC. It is not allowed for use by amateur athletes and many professional athletes.
:• FDA has documented 40 deaths and more than 800 side effects linked to Ephedrine use
:• Side effects include:
::• irregular heart rate
::• elevated blood pressure
::• dizziness
::• headache
::• heart attack
::• stroke
::• seizure
::• psychosis
::• death
:Ephedra Banned in Supplements
Ma huang is an herbal form of ephedrine called ephedra that was contained in many herbal products available in health food stores (often along with chromium).
Prior to 2004, ephedra and ma huang could be included in supplements because USFDA regulations excused the makers of nutritional supplements from fully identifying the contents of their products. It became a very popular addition to supplements that were sold for weight loss. Supplements that included other stimulants such as caffeine were especially concerning as they can enhance the side effects and health risks.
While some people thought that as a "natural" supplement that ephedra wouldn't be harmful, it was linked to deaths and serious reactions. Ma huang has been blamed for the deaths of several high school students who used it as a stimulant or aphrodisiac; the deaths presumably resulted from CNS bleeding or cardiac arrhythmia. Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler died of heat stroke in 2003 while taking ephedra for weight loss and the medical examiner said that may have contributed to it.
This resulted in a ban of ephedrine alkaloids (ephedra) in dietary supplements by the FDA in 2004. This ban was upheld in 2005 but low-dose ephedra of 10 mg or less was still marketed until a complete ban was upheld in 2007.
Ma huang may still be sold as a pure herb or tea in the United States.
Over-the-counter sales of pseudoephedrine-containing products may be restricted due to their use in illegal manufacturing of methamphetamine. Some states require showing identification and allow only small quantities to be purchased at one time.
The best advice is to lose weight the way sports nutritionists recommend: proper diet and exercise. If you choose to take ephedra or ephedrine, you should consume them according to national industry standards.
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'''What the 2015 Nobel Prizes mean for traditional Chinese medicine'''
*Source:http://fortune.com/2015/10/06/2015-nobel-prizes-traditional-chinese-medicine/
:By Marta Hanson
Scientisist Youyou Tu’s Nobel Prize is a sign that Western science has changed how it perceives alternative systems of medicine — but only slightly.
I’m sure I’m not the only one surprised by the announcement that half of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has gone to a researcher who spent her entire career researching traditional Chinese medicine. Based at the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Beijing (now the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences) since 1965, scientist Youyou Tu, her colleagues, and home institution may well be just as stunned today as I am.
Being granted the Lasker Award is often a good predictor of Nobel Prize prospects. Tu received one in 2011 for her discovery of Artemisinin as an alternative malaria cure to the standard chloroquine, which was quickly losing ground in the 1960s due to increasingly drug-resistant parasites. Scientific research on the pharmaceutically active properties of traditional Chinese medicinals, however, has never been a predictor for such widespread international recognition.
Traditional medical knowledge anywhere in the world has not even been on the radar for Nobel Prize prospects. Until now, that is. So how should we interpret this arguably seismic shift in international attention on traditional Chinese medicine?
:Discoveries to be made in historical record
In the question-and-answer session after the announcement at the Karolinska Institute, which awards the Nobels, one of the panelists emphasized not just the quality of Tu’s scientific research, but also the value of recorded empirical experience in the past.
The antifebrile effect of the Chinese herb Artemisia annua (qinghaosu 青蒿素), or sweet wormwood, was known 1,700 years ago, he noted. Tu was the first to extract the biologically active component of the herb — called Artemisinin — and clarify how it worked. The result was a paradigm shift in the medical field that allowed for Artemisinin to be both clinically studied and produced on a large scale.
Tu has always maintained that she drew her inspiration from the medical text of a fourth-century Chinese physician and alchemist named Ge Hong 葛洪 (circa 283-343).
His Emergency Formulas To Keep at Hand (Zhouhou beijifang 肘後備急方) can best be understood as a practical handbook of drug formulas for emergencies. It was a book light enough to keep “behind the elbow” (zhouhou), namely, in one’s sleeve, where Chinese men sometimes carried their belongings. We can discern from Ge’s astute description of his patients’ symptoms that people then suffered not only from malaria but also from other deadly diseases including smallpox, typhoid and dysentery.
Beyond recording the fever-fighting qualities of Artemisia annua, Physician Ge also wrote about how Ephedra sinica (mahuang 麻黃) effectively treated respiratory problems and how arsenic sulphide (“red Realgar,” xionghuang 雄黃) helped control some dermatological problems.
:Traditional ingredients, modern drugs
Just because a compound has natural roots and has long been used in traditional medicine is no reason to take it lightly.
You might remember that in 2004, the FDA actually banned ephedra-containing dietary and performance-enhancing supplements. They’d been the cause not only of serious side effects but also several deaths. The ban remains in effect in the U.S. despite a court challenge from ephedra manufacturers. Related drug ephedrine, however, is used to treat low blood pressure and is a common ingredient in over-the-counter asthma medicines.
As for Realgar, its toxicity was well-known in both ancient Greece and Chinese antiquity. In Chinese medical thought, though, skillfully administered toxins may also be powerful antidotes for other toxins. Realgar thus continues to be used in Chinese medicine as a drug that relieves toxicity and kills parasites. Applied topically, it treats scabies, ringworm and rashes on the skin’s surface; taken internally, it expels intestinal parasites, particularly roundworms.
Although biomedicine does not currently use Realgar or its related mineral arsenicals in treatments, Chinese researchers have been studying their anticancer properties for some time now. In 2011, a Chinese researcher at Johns Hopkins University, Jun Liu (with other colleagues), also discovered that the Chinese medicinal plant Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F (lei gong teng 雷公藤 “Thunder God Vine”) is effective against cancer, arthritis and skin graft rejection.
Tu’s groundbreaking work on artemisinin, in fact, can be seen as the tip of the iceberg of the extensive and global scientific study of pharmacologically active Chinese medicinals, including another successful antimalarial Dichroa febrifuga (changshan 常山) that has roots in the new scientific research on Chinese medicinals in 1940s mainland China.
It was validation of this traditional drug as an antimalarial in the 1940s, in fact, that set the foundation for Chinese leader Mao Tse Tung’s directive two decades later in the late 1960s to find a cure for malaria. Indeed, Tu’s research is best understood within the complex politics and history of top-down support from the Chinese government of Chinese medicine in mainland China during the long durée of the 20th century, and not just in the Maoist period.
Even outside mainland China, though, such research has yielded results. In the 1970s, for example, U.S. and Japanese researchers developed the statin drugs used to lower cholesterol from studying the mold Monascus purpureus that makes red yeast rice, well, “red.”
Empirical evidence of the medical efficacy in the rich Chinese medical archive from centuries earlier similarly influenced the initial direction of this research.
:Medically bilingual
So is this Nobel Prize for Tu’s discovery a signal that Western science has changed how it perceives alternative systems of medicine? Perhaps, but only slightly.
One of the Karolinska Institute panelists acknowledged that there are many sources from which scientists draw inspiration to develop drugs. Among them, we should not ignore the long history of experiences from the past. As he clarified, such sources may be inspirational, but the old herbs found there cannot be used just as they are. Don’t underestimate the sophisticated methods Tu used to extract the active Artemisinin compound from Artemesia annua, another one of the panelists concluded.
So the Nobel Prize is not only acknowledging this complete transformation of a Chinese herb through modern biomedical science into something powerfully efficacious, but also the millions of lives saved because of its successful application worldwide, particularly in the developing world.
But there’s something else that marks Tu as extraordinary vis-à-vis both her two fellow Nobel Laureates for medicine, William C Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura, and her more Western medically oriented colleagues in pharmacology. She embodies, in both her history and her research, what I call medical bilingualism — the ability not only to read in two different medical languages but to understand their different histories, conceptual differences, and, most importantly for this unexpected news, potential value for therapeutic interventions in the present.
This medical bilingualism is a quality that current researchers mining the same fine line between the empirical knowledge of traditional medical traditions and the highest level of modern biomedical science would be lucky to share with Nobel Laureate Youyou Tu.
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'''The John Swallow Saga: Fighting for Ephedra in Fat-Burning Pills'''
*Source:http://utahpoliticalcapitol.com/2013/07/30/the-john-swallow-saga-part-2-fighting-for-ephedra-in-fat-burning-pills/
:By Lynn Packer
It does not take a seer stone to determine when Utah Republican Attorney General John Swallow, first got caught up in Utah’s web of get-rich-quick schemes whose promoters rely on weak laws and lax enforcement. Fast-buck entrepreneurs need attorneys and people in high places to support Utah’s penny stock, telemarketing, multilevel marketing, door-to-door and dietary supplement ventures.
Fresh out of Brigham Young University Law School in 1990, Swallow joined Salt Lake’s Scalley & Reading law firm. Near the same time two Utah county property speculators, George Evan Bybee and Dennis Gay, were putting together Basic Research LLC to market fat-burning diet pills. It was the precursor to their fight gainst the Food and Drug Administration for the right to make claims like:
No sooner had Basic Research launched its new products than another relatively new Utah company, ShapeRite Concepts LTD sued in 1992, claiming Basic Research had stolen its formula. Ephedra, a stimulant now banned by the FDA, was a key ingredient in both companies’ formulas. (Utah pioneers once drank so-called “Mormon Tea” brewed from an Ephedra species plant native to the Moab area.)
ShapeRite, sold via multilevel marketing, was founded by Utahn Carl Martin and his son, Greg, after the elder Martin had served a prison term for a penny stock swindle where investors were led to believe he could mine gold from beach sand in Costa Rica.
It was the beginning of John Swallow’s connection to the dietary supplement industry and his friendship with George Bybee.
J. Bruce Reading and his relatively new associate, John Swallow, represented Bybee and Gay against ShapeRite. A ShapeRite attorney said Reading and Swallow were always together in court with Swallow “like a little kid tagging along.” Swallow was, after all, a junior associate. “Very nice, pleasant and professional,” is how the opposing attorney described Swallow.
The diet pill case settled in 1994, and both companies quickly escalated their sales into the multimillions of dollars. ShapeRite eventually merged with 4Life Research Ltd. Of Sandy, Utah, which went worldwide and now has sales in more than 50 countries with several hundred thousand distributors.
During his six-year stint with Scally & Reading, Swallow was elected to the Utah State House of Representatives where he served until 2002 when he ran unsuccessfully against Democrat Jim Matheson in Utah’s 2nd congressional district..
In 1998, Swallow left the law firm and went with Basic Research and Bybee full time, joining subsidiary Silver Sage as corporate counsel. There, he took up the banner against the federal government, fighting to keep ephedra in the company’s weight loss pills. The combination of ephedra and caffeine proved to be powerful weight-loss drugs sold by Basic Research and many competitors.
Swallow represented the company with the Ephedra Committee of American Herbal Products Association.  In September, 2000, Swallow represented SilverSage at the Second Dietary Supplement symposium in Maryland. There, he spoke as an attorney and member of the Utah House of Representatives in defense of ephedra. He began his speech by telling the story of when he worked on his father’s farm near Ely Nevada:
:''When growing up we could not keep out calves from breaking through the fence to get hay. We used razor wire and the calves were injured getting the hay. But we finally put the hay on a platform above the heads of the calves in their own pens and none were injured.''
He said the FDA was trying to impose unsupported restrictions on ephedra which is like putting razor wire around the fence. “We are only denying consumers an effective way to manage their weight,” he told the symposium. “Ephedra is safe, but does it really work? Yes it works!”
Swallow’s efforts paid off, and during the 1998-2002 time-frame he was Basic Research’s general counsel, the industry was able to keep any ephedra ban at bay.
After Swallow moved on to On International, Inc. (See an upcoming Utah Political Capitol report) the FDA banned ephedra after a rash of  illnesses and deaths. The sale of ephedra-containing dietary supplements is now illegal in the United States. Basic Research and its competitors moved on with ephedra-free pills.
In 2006, the Federal Trade Commission fined Basic Research $3 million for making questionable weight-loss and fat-loss claims for skin gels and diet supplements.  Two of the many products on the list contained ephedra, which had since been outlawed. One of the pills, PediLean, was marketed to help overweight children lose weight. Basic Research unsuccessfully attempted to defend the ads by listing the names and credentials of those who worked on them, including John Swallow, who was reported to have reviewed the ad copy before it ran.
In 2004, as Swallow was a candidate for  Utah’s 2nd Congressional District the US house, The Salt Lake Tribune reported on one of the FDA’s actions:
:''As an attorney for a major Utah dietary supplement firm, congressional candidate John Swallow approved advertisements for several products that federal regulators say were misleading or deceptive, according to a legal filing by the company.''
:''The Federal Trade Commission has alleged that ads for six products manufactured or marketed by Basic Research and its subsidiaries were false or unsubstantiated, including a cream that “dissolves surface body fat wherever applied.”''
:''In a filing with the FTC, the company states that Swallow “reviewed ad copy” for the products in question.''
:''Swallow said the filing must be a mistake, because in three years as the company’s general counsel he primarily handled contract and human resource matters.''
:''“If they had me reviewing the ads, they would’ve been nuts because I don’t know a thing about that FTC stuff,” he said.''
True statement by Swallow?
Two years earlier he spoke in Maryland in great detail about the use of and defense of ephedra.  He was not there to talk about human resource matters. Swallow cited several studies and provided legal advice about complying with FDA labeling regulations. He said government overregulation is like razor wire to farm animals. “It will hurt an obese population because it will deny access to the one dietary supplement that really will work for them.”
After leaving Basic Research as general counsel in about 200,1 Swallow continued doing some legal work for the firm and for Bybee personally. Bybee was an ardent Swallow campaign supporter but too much so.
In November 2007 the Federal Election Commission (FEC) leveled $46,750 in fines for illegal contributions to the Swallow for Congress campaign. “The Commission found reason to believe the Swallow committee violated the Act by accepting excessive contributions and failing to disclose itemized contributions adequately on FEC reports,” the FEC Said. “The committee accepted contributions from three partnerships, WinterHawk Enterprises LLC, Winterfox LLC and BMF #1, Ltd., that were attributed to individual members of each partnership.” All were Bybee entities used to disguise the source of the campaign funds.
Swallow, even after joining the Attorney General’s Office, registered as a lobbyist for Bybee, personally, and for several of his companies after Bybee disengaged from day-to-day work at Basic Research: Armored Coatings, Mirage Products, Xyelexin and Winterfox. But he told UPC through a friend that listing himself as a lobbyist “was to make sure that disclosure was made regarding companies he had been involved with. It would be akin to obtaining a fishing license but never going fishing.”
Swallow, Bybee and Basic Research declined comment on this story.
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'''8 drugs that exist in nature'''
*Source:http://theweek.com/authors/therese-oneill
:By Therese Oneill
Most drugs today, legal and otherwise, are synthesized in a laboratory. But most medical and recreational drugs originally began in the wild, growing naturally in forests, fields, and deserts. Some can still be found there. Here are some of the country's better known drugs, in their natural, pre-processed form.
1. Opium poppy (heroin, morphine, codeine)
Morphine is one of the many opiates that come from the opium poppy. The poppy is sliced while still in bud form, and the milky fluid (latex) that bleeds out is dried, becoming raw opium. Then a long process of adding dangerous chemicals, filtering, and cooking increases the potency of the drug. Heroin is a super-strong, quickly absorbed form of morphine, and the most intense use of opium. English researcher C.R. Wright accidentally created it for the first time in 1874 when he boiled morphine and acetic anhydride together on his stove.
2. Blue agave (Tequila)
Alcohol is unique in the world of drugs because it's made through the process of fermentation, not a particular basic ingredient. Fermentation occurs when yeast eats the sugars of whatever plant you're using, the by-product being ethanol (drinkable alcohol). In tequila, named for the Mexican town where it originated, the sugar comes from the beautiful blue agave. The center of the blue agave looks like pineapple. After it's roasted and mashed, it provides the sugar that, once properly rotted, leaves behind alcohol.
3. Coca leaves (cocaine)
Coca leaves, mostly grown in South America, have to go through some pretty ugly steps to become cocaine. Steps involving powdered cement, gasoline soaks, and battery acid baths are all needed to condense the naturally occurring leaves into an illegal narcotic. The leaves themselves have been used by native populations for centuries as a (much milder) stimulant and medication. Spanish physician and botanist Nicolás Monardes described the effect of the leaves in 1569: "When they wished to make themselves drunk and out of judgment they chewed a mixture of tobacco and coca leaves which make them go as they were out of their wittes."
4. Ephedra sinica (Sudafed, meth)
This scraggly little bush, also called ma huang, has been used in Chinese medicine for centuries. If it sounds familiar, that's because decongestants like Sudafed once synthesized their main ingredient from ephedra (pseudoephedrine). Products containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine are very hard to find now, as the U.S. government considers it a controlled substance. The alkaloids in the plant can be abused, most commonly in the form of weight-loss drugs and meth production. Researching the plant, I couldn't find out if this plant was legal to own. I called the DEA to ask, and, well, they weren't sure either. But they politely researched their documents, and translated them to people-speak for me. It is legal to grow and own the ephedra sinica plant. You just have to register your herb garden with the government and submit to monitoring if you do.
5. Psilocybin mushroom (shrooms)
Psilocybin, the naturally occurring compound that causes the euphoria and psychedelic trips associated with shrooms, can be found in over 200 species of mushrooms, most of which grow wild in Mexico. Different mushrooms have different concentrations of psilocybin, even varying in which part of the fungus you eat. A word of advice to the adventure seeker: Shrooms can be indistinguishable from any number of lethally poisonous mushrooms. Consuming unknown mushrooms may send you on a trip that takes you much further than you intended.
6. Willow bark (aspirin)
Salicylic acid, found in willow bark, has cooled fevered brows across the world for millennia. Even Hippocrates, the father of medicine, used to recommend chewing the bark to reduce fevers and inflammation in his patients, around 300 B.C. The willow tree has strains native to Europe, China, and North America, all of which can be used in medicine. It was from this bark that scientists at the German company Bayer developed aspirin in 1897. An interesting side note: Bayer lost all its patents and trademarks in World War I, when the U.S. government seized the firm as spoils of war and auctioned it off to an American patent medicine company.
7. Sassafras root (ecstasy)
Root beer and sarsaparilla used to have actual sassafras oil in them for flavor. They don't anymore, since the chemical in the oil, safrole, is now a controlled substance. Distilled from the roots and bark of the sassafras tree, safrole is a key ingredient in the manufacture of ecstasy. Not in its original form, of course. It is the treatments with formaldehyde, paint thinner, and drain cleaner that make sassafras oil such a delightful thing to put inside your body.
8. Penicillium mold (penicillin)
Penicillin: The mighty, moldy world changer. It was the first drug to effectively combat bacterial infections, leading to cures of an untold number of afflictions, from strep to syphilis. It was discovered accidentally by Alexander Fleming in 1928. He forgot about a petri dish filled with staph bacteria he'd left out, and he discovered blue green penicillium mold growing all over it. Penicillium mold is an incredibly common species of mold, apt to grow on organic material wherever conditions are dank enough. Wherever the mold touched the staph, the bacteria was gone. Fleming didn't think it would work in people and never tried to make medicine out of it. That was done years later by Australian Nobel laureate Howard Walter Florey, together with the German Nobel laureate Ernst Chain and the English biochemist Norman Heatley.
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'''Ma Huang: Appropriate vs. High-Risk Uses'''
*Source:http://www.christopherhobbs.com/library/articles-on-herbs-and-health/ma-huang-appropriate-vs-high-risk-uses/
:By Christopher Hobbs
To me one of the worst things about a cold is that feeling that I can’t breathe through my nose at night. Invariably, my sinuses will be clear all day, but as soon as I lie down, it’s as if someone stuffed a large cotton ball up each nostril. I try blowing my nose just right, I try turning this way, then that to get one nostril to drain and open up, but to no avail. Hours later, with little sound sleep, I reach for an herbal formula with the Chinese herb called ma huang, which I know will shortly open things up.
Of course, I could have gone to the drug store and bought one of the many over-the counter (OTC) preparations like SudafedÆ or PrimatineÆ that contain the same active ingredient as ma huang, ephedrine, but then I would have gotten a few other things that I might have to lie awake and worry about, like FD&C Blue dyes Nos. 1 and 2, Red No. 3 parabens and black ink.
Ma huang (Ephedra sinensis) is an important medicinal herb from China used for over 3,000 year in teas and other preparations to help with symptoms of asthma, colds and flu, and allergies. It has also found worldwide acceptance as an effective component of many herbal formulas, over-the-counter (OTC) medications, and as a source for the purified drugs ephedrine and pseudoephedrine used widely for upper respiratory tract ailments (such as allergies and asthma).
The broom-like stems of the herb are harvested by the tons in China and shipped to ports all over the world. Although there are several American species (known as Mormon Tea and used traditionally as a blood purifier), such as E. nevadensis, it is important to note that they contain little or no ephedrine.
The most common use of ma huang in traditional medicine is to relieve symptoms from the first stages of what we call “the common cold,” in western countries, especially the type that is due to exposure to cold, damp, and wind. It is also invaluable for helping to relieve the wheezing and breathing difficulties associated with some types of asthma and allergies.
A TCM herbalist or acupuncturist will always prescribe ma huang in combination with other herbs to help counteract possible side effects such as nervousness, sleeplessness, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, and directing energy away from the digestive organs.
The main active ingredient of ma huang, ephedrine, falls into a therapeutic category of “Adrenergic bronchodilators.” (Opens up the bronchial tree by stimulating the sympathetic nervous system) and is the only adrenergic bronchodilator that is available without a doctor’s prescription. Ephedrine can shrink congested mucous membranes, helping to dry up the watery discharge and open the stuffed nasal passages which so often accompany the common cold or some flu.
The alkaloid acts in similar ways to the body’s own stimulant, adrenaline, but is milder and longer-lasting and, unlike adrenaline, works orally.
Pseudoephedrine, a natural variant of ephedrine from ma huang, is found as a main ingredient in such well-known products as Sudafed, Actifed, Contac, Robitussin-PE, Sinutab, and others, because it causes less of a blood-pressure rise than ephedrine, while maintaining a similar strength for bronchodilation.
In current medical practice in the United States, ephedrine is approved for the following conditions:
:• “Symptoms of bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema and other lung diseases”
:• cough, wheezing, shortness of breath, and troubled breathing (increases the flow of air through the bronchial tubes by dilating them).
:• Narcolepsy (“uncontrolled desire for sleep, or sudden attacks of sleep”).
Presently, there is a controversy “brewing” over ma huang. The problem is that some herbal product manufacturers tend at times to disregard the traditional use of ephedra. A number of popular weight-loss and energy products include pure ephedra concentrates, which stimulate the nervous system and metabolism (by stimulating the thyroid gland). There is evidence that the herb works for these purposes, but there are possible dangers… side effects such as a weakening of the digestion, blood pressure increases with an extra demand on the heart, as well as sleep disturbances, nervousness, and anxiety. Some manufacturers do try to add tonic herbs to help counteract these effects.
David Litell from Excell Products, a popular line of “human energy” products containing ma huang said that some of the formulas blended with tonic herbs “are good enough to use on an as needed basis” and that “….ma huang formulas give many people what they want [in the way of extra energy] without draining their reserves.”
He adds that when blended with tonic herbs, ma huang is safer to use than other popular (and legal) stimulants like coffee, kola nut, or guarana, all of which contain caffeine.
However, the uncontrolled and possibly uneducated sale of ma huang is concerning many licensed practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) who worry that the herb (and perhaps others) will become unavailable to them for use in their clinics because of restrictions by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Harvey Kaltsis, the President of the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAAOM) told me that if ma huang is used in commercial formulas for weight loss or energy products, the contraindications should be on the bottle, and it should be properly formulated with other herbs that help counteract its possible side-effects.
“Ephedra should be determined by a TCM differential diagnosis to be appropriate for the person who is using it. Because ephedra is warm in nature, it is inappropriate for people with high blood pressure, spontaneous sweating, and other heat conditions because it will aggravate them.”
Michael Tierra, author of The Way of Herbs is a licensed acupuncturist and western herbalist who feels that ephedra should not be taken long-term. He feels that it is also not appropriate for use in people who have “yin deficiency,” or stress-related adrenal weakness disorders like chronic fatigue.
Currently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has an import alert on ephedra extracts, and the herb was recently mentioned in testimony before a House Sub-Committee hearing on dietary supplements (Proxmire hearings) as a substance about which unsubstantiated claims and documented hazards had occurred in the marketplace. They state that serious side effects have been reported to them from products containing ma huang.
Traditional contraindications for ephedra include general weakness, poor digestion, high blood pressure, nervousness, sleeping difficulties, cardiac arrythmias, and heart disease. It may also contract the uterus, which means it should not be used during pregnancy.
As an OTC and pharmaceutical drug, a number of cautions must be included in labels and instructions for products containing ephedrine, including tremors, nervousness, insomnia, hypertension, heart palpitations, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, and prostatic enlargement. Ephedrine is classified by the FDA for pregnancy in category C (no studies on adverse effects on the fetus exist for humans or animals). It passes through mother’s milk to the infant and should not be taken during breast-feeding. It should not be taken with monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors (such as isocarboxazid, phenelzine, or tranylcypromine or possibly the herb St. John’s wort—Hypericum perforatum) which can potentiate the stimulating effects of ephedra.
Despite the number of side effects listed for purified ephedrine in therapeutic doses, studies show that the whole herb ma huang has a very low toxicity and potential for side effects, when used properly (Tang). Animal studies also have failed to demonstrate carcinogenic or mutagenic potential for ephedrine, and the alkaloid is rapidly eliminated from the human body (88% of an oral dose is excreted in the urine within 24 hours, 97% after 48 hours).
Traditional Uses
Herbalists have been saying for years that ma huang should not be used out of the context of a system of medicine that considers its possible side effects as well as clearly defining what kind of person can safely take the herb and for what kind of conditions. Some herbalists feel like manufacturing and advertising products containing ma huang for energy or weight loss are irresponsible and can do nothing but hurt the industry in the long run. This may not have been an easy controversy to clear up without outside intervention, because ephedra makes fantastic profits for manufacturers promising quick energy and slimmer torsos.
Manufacturers of diet and energy products containing ma huang say that ephedra really works to burn fat by stimulating the thyroid gland, a major player in determining the rate of metabolism. They add that when blended with “tonic” herbs that help to counteract its side effects, ma huang is safer to use than other popular (and legal) stimulants like coffee, kola nut, or guarana, all of which contain caffeine.
In TCM, it is known as “Ma Huang,” which means, literally, “hemp yellow,” because of its color. Botanically, it is more closely related to the conifers like pine and firs than to familiar flowering plants such as the mints or dandelions.
The broom-like stems are harvested by the tons in China and shipped to ports all over the world. Although there are several American species (known as Mormon Tea and used traditionally as a blood purifier), such as E. nevadensis, they contain little or no ephedrine or its natural variants.
For coughs and wheezing, it is often combined with apricot seed; for retention of fluids (such as around the eyes) with symptoms of flu or colds, it is combined with ginger; and to counteract its tendency to aggravate inflammation or “heat” during colds and flu, combined with gypsum (Shi Gao) and scullcap root (Huang Qin).
Traditionally, the contraindications (times when it is inappropriate to take ma huang) are listed as:
:• people who are weakened by excessive sweating (ma huang increases sweating
:• to help “push out” the virus pathogen)
:• people who have colds in the summer during hot weather, or colds and
:• flu with steady fever (no chills), or more-deeply seated ailments such
:• as bronchitis accompanied by thick yellow mucus,
:• people with high blood pressure
:• people who are nervous or
:• people who have trouble sleeping
:• people with cardiac arrhythmia.
:• people with heart disease
;Medical Cautions
Additionally, western medicine gives these cautions for the use of ephedra:
:• tremor, nervousness, insomnia, transient hypertension, and heart palpitations.
:• Allergic reactions are rare, but do occur
:• Ephedrine-containing products should be used cautiously with people with heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, or hyperthyroidism.
:• Urinary retention can occur in men with prostatic enlargement.
:• Ephedrine is classified by the FDA for pregnancy in category C (no studies on adverse effects on the fetus exist for humans or animals).
:• Ephedrine passes through mother’s milk to the infant and should not be taken during breast-feeding.
:• Can trigger anxiety attacks
:• Can cause tremors and is contraindicated for people with epilepsy
:• Monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors (such as isocarboxazid, phenelzine or tranylcypromine or possibly the herb St. John’s wort—Hypericum perforatum) can potentiate the stimulating effects of ephedra.
:• Studies with animals show that ephedrine has a low toxic potential and  is not carcinogenic or mutagenic (Tang).
:• In humans, 88% of an oral dose is excreted in the urine within 24 hours, 97% after 48 hours
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'''Doctors' alert on herb-drug interaction'''
*Source:http://health.asiaone.com/health/health-news/doctors-alert-herb-drug-interaction
:By Joan Chew, The Straits Times
The spotlight was cast on the safety of Chinese herbal medication last month following the death last year of a 58-year-old woman who took cordyceps the week before an operation to remove a benign brain tumour.
She had failed to inform her doctors about her use of cordyceps, which is believed to lead to the extensive bleeding in her brain.
The case has prompted doctors and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) physicians to urge the public to be upfront about their use of medications, including herbs and herbal products.
The interaction between a herb or herbal product and a drug in the body "may augment the action of the drug, reduce the effectiveness of the drug or cause unexplained side effects", warned Ms Lim Ching Hui, senior principal pharmacist at Singapore General Hospital.
She gives four examples of herb-drug interactions that people should be aware of:
: • Herbs with high mineral content - such as Gypsum fibrosum (shigao), Concha arcae (waleng zi) and Concha ostreae (muli) - may prevent the oral absorption of the fluoroquinolone class of antibiotics.
The oral and intravenous forms of these antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections of the lungs, respiratory tract, urinary tract, gastrointestinal tract, abdomen, and bones and joints, among other uses.
: • Polyphenols in green tea can inhibit the effects of the anti- cancer drug bortezomib, which is used for the treatment of myeloma, a type of blood cancer.
This observation is based on experiments conducted in the test tube and on mice.
It is therefore not advisable for patients receiving bortezomib to consume green tea extracts or drink green tea in large amounts.
: • Patients taking a class of drugs called tyrosine kinase inhibitors for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia, lung and kidney cancers are advised to avoid grapefruit.
Grapefruit contains a group of chemical compounds known as furanocoumarins which can inhibit the enzyme CYP3A4 that metabolises this class of drugs, causing accumulation of these drugs in the body.
: • Ephedra sinica (mahuang) is the herb from which the drug ephedrine is derived.
Ephedrine is usually used in cough and cold medicines.
Taking Ephedra sinica and other herbs with similar properties has the potential to stimulate the brain, increase heart rate, narrow blood vessels and increase blood pressure, and cause sweating.
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'''TCM cancer treatment goes through final clinical trials in US'''
*Source:http://shanghaiist.com/2015/06/29/tcm-cancer-treatment-goes-through-final-clinical-trials.php
*By Sharon Choi
Kanglaite Injection (KLT), a drug that contains anti-cancer substances extracted from coix seed, has recently been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to undergo phase III clinical trials.
KLT first underwent trials in 2001, making it the first traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to go through the FDA approval process. During the second phase, the drug proved to prolong pancreatic, lung and liver patients' lives by 1.9 months when used with chemotherapy, exceeding the success rate of existing Western cancer treatments.
On Saturday, Li Dapeng, the developer of the herbal remedy and a researcher at Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, announced that phase II was completed.
"After promising results from the phase II clinical trials, they are permitting us to move on to the third and final phase, where a larger number of volunteer cancer patients will be involved," Li was quoted as saying in an ECNS report. "If everything goes smoothly, KLT will hit the U.S. market in three years."
Li plans to enroll 750 patients for phase III, which is expected to take around three to four years to complete. Even though the trials require almost 16 years and millions of yuan, Li says it's worth the effort and time.
KLT was approved in China in 1995 and has since become the most popular anti-cancer drug in the country. If KLT passes the third phase of clinical trials, it will become the third medicine derived from TCM to enter Western pharmacies, following Mahuang, or Ephedra sinica, for asthma and Qinghao, Artemisia annua, for malaria.
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'''Ephedra'''
*Source:https://www.verywell.com/what-is-ephedra-side-effects-and-safety-concerns-89187
:By Cathy Wong, ND
What You Need to Know
:What is Ephedra?
Also known as: Ephedra sinica, ma huang, Chinese ephedra, Sida cordifolia, epitonin, ephedra
Ephedra sinica is an herb with a long history of use in traditional Chinese medicine for asthma, bronchitis, allergies and cold and flu symptoms.
During the 80s, ephedra became popular outside of traditional Chinese medicine for weight loss and to enhance sports performance. Its popularity continued to grow, and it was found in many nutritional supplements marketed for weight loss and performance enhancement until supplements containing ephedra were banned by the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2006.
The primary active ingredients in ephedra are believed to be the alkaloids ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, which are thought to increase heart rate, constrict blood vessels (which increases blood pressure), dilate bronchial tubes (which makes it easier to breathe) and have thermogenic properties (increases body heat and metabolic rate).
A synthetic form of pseudoephedrine is found in over-the-counter decongestants and cold medicines, and synthetic ephedrine is used to treat asthma (but it has largely been replaced by newer medications). Synthetic ephedrine and pseudoephedrine have also been used to make the illicit street drug methamphetamine, as reported by The New York Times.
Ephedra in the United States
Dietary supplements containing any amount of ephedra alkaloids have been banned in the United States since 2006.
In Canada, ephedra is authorized by Health Canada for use only as a nasal decongestant.
Nutritional supplements with ephedra can't contain stimulants, such as caffeine, that might heighten the effect of the ephedra. Also, they can't exceed 400 mg per dose or 1600 mg per day of ephedra, or 8 mg ephedrine per dose or 32 mg per day of ephedrine. Products with implied or unproven claims for weight loss, appetite suppression, body-building effects or increased energy are not permitted.
Why Do People Use Ephedra?
1) Weight Loss
Ephedra is used in weight loss supplements. Proponents claim that it may help promote weight loss and suppress appetite.
Prior to the ban on ephedra supplements, many dietary supplements marketed for weight loss also contained caffeine-containing herbs, such as green tea, yerba mate and guarana. The ephedra/caffeine combination, however, is now widely believed to heighten the potential health risks and is not recommended.
2) Sports Performance
Ephedra is similar in structure to amphetamine, so it has been used to increase athletic performance in strength and endurance sports, increase alertness and aggressiveness on the field, and reduce fatigue in sports such as ice hockey, baseball, football, and cycling. There isn't good evidence, however, that it can improve sports performance, and is not recommended for this purpose given the potential side effects.
Ephedra is banned by many sports associations, including the International Olympic Committee, the National Football League (NFL) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
3) Asthma and Other Respiratory Disorders
Ephedra has a long history of use in traditional Chinese medicine as a folk remedy for asthma, bronchitis, allergies, fever, chills and cold and flu symptoms, such as nasal congestion.
:Caveats
Side effects of ephedra may include:
:• nausea
:• headache; dizziness
:• irritation of the stomach; diarrhea
:• anxiety; psychosis
:• kidney stones
:• tremors
:• dry mouth
:• irregular or rapid heart rhythms; heart damage
:• high blood pressure
:• restlessness; nervousness; sleeping problems
:• decreased appetite
:• flushing; sweating
:• increased urination
Use of ephedra has also been associated with stroke, seizures, psychosis and death.
A study commissioned by the National Institutes of Health reviewed 16,000 adverse event reports and identified two deaths, nine strokes, four heart attacks, one seizure and five psychiatric cases involving the use of ephedra where there were no other possible factors that could have contributed to these results.
The NIH-commissioned study also concluded that ephedra was associated with higher risks of mild to moderate side effects such as heart palpitations, psychiatric and digestive effects, and symptoms of hyperactivity of the autonomic nervous system (tremor, insomnia), especially when combined with caffeine or other stimulants such as kola nut, green tea, guarana or yerba mate.
Many of the side effects of ephedra have been attributed to overdose, abuse and combining it with other stimulants that heighten its effect, such as caffeine. Side effects of ephedra, however, can vary and don't always depend on the dose. Serious adverse effects may also occur in susceptible people at low doses.
The risk of side effects and adverse effects appears to be greater in people with preexisting conditions, such as heart disease, high blood pressure; heart rate disorders; thyroid disease; hypoglycemia; glaucoma; anxiety; glaucoma; pheochromocytoma; diabetes; kidney disease or kidney stones; mental illness or a history of mental illness; enlarged prostate; cerebral insufficiency and a history of seizures, stroke, or transient ischemic attacks. People with these health conditions should avoid ephedra. People with allergies to ephedra, ephedrine, or pseudoephedrine should also avoid ephedra.
Ephedra is believed to increase the risk of heat stroke because it increases metabolism and impairs the body's ability to lose heat.
Ephedra shouldn't be taken two weeks before or after surgery. It shouldn't be used by pregnant or nursing women or children. People with anorexia nervosa or bulimia should avoid ephedra because it affects appetite.
Supplements haven't been tested for safety and due to the fact that dietary supplements are largely unregulated, the content of some products may differ from what is specified on the product label. Also keep in mind that the safety of supplements in pregnant women, nursing mothers, children, and those with medical conditions or who are taking medications has not been established.
Remember, products containing ephedra were banned by the FDA in 2006.
:Potential Interactions
Based on known interactions between the active ingredients of ephedra, ephedrine, and pseudoephedrine, the following medications could theoretically interact with ephedra:
:• Aerolate, T-Phyl, and Uniphyl (theophylline) -- a medication used for asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis
:• Amphetamines, such as those used for narcolepsy or attention deficit hyperactivity, such as Adderall (dextroamphetamine)
:• Antidepressants, particularly monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), such as Marplan (isocarboxazid), Nardil (phenelzine) and Parnate (tranylcypromine), due to an increased risk of high blood pressure and stroke; tricyclic antidepressants, such as Elavil (amitriptyline) and :• Pamelor (nortriptyline)
:• Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid
:• Blood pressure medicatio;
:• Diabetes medications, such as insulin, Glucophage (metformin), Diabeta, Glynase, Micronase (glyburide
:• Narcotics, such as codeine
:• Pitosin (Oxytocin) or Secale Alkaloid Derivatives
:• St. John's Wort
:• Stimulants -- Ephedra should not be combined with other substances with a stimulant effect, such as caffeine and Sudafed (pseudoephedrine hydrochloride), as it may have an additive effect. Herbs known to contain caffeine include green tea, kola nut, guarana and yerba mate, while bitter orange is a stimulant.
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'''Ephedra Ban'''
*Source:https://www.verywell.com/ephedra-herbal-remedy-ban-89093
:By Cathy Wong, ND
Ephedra was a popular herbal remedy for weight loss and sports performance enhancement in the United States up until it was banned in 2006 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Here is a brief history of ephedra regulation:
1997: The FDA proposed a ruling that would ban supplements containing 8 mg or more of ephedrine alkaloids from being sold and would also require stricter labeling of ephedra supplements.
Members of the supplement industry created a public relations group to oppose the changes.
2000: The FDA withdrew the proposed changes and restrictions. A review published in the New England Journal of Medicine, however, reported a number of cases of severe side effects resulting from ephedra use.
2001: Minnesota Vikings football player Korey Stringer died as a result of heatstroke. Ephedra use was considered to be a possible cause in his death.
2003: A report was prepared by the non-profit think tank the RAND Corporation for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Their ephedra study reviewed clinical trials and adverse events reported to the FDA and to a manufacturer, Metabolife. The report said that a number of serious adverse events were "strongly tied to ephedra use within 24 hours without other plausible explanations", including three deaths, two heart attacks, two strokes, one seizure and three psychiatric incidents.
Ephedra has been linked to other adverse events and deaths, but the estimates vary greatly.
A study published in the medical journal Annals of Internal Medicine in 2003 found that products containing ephedra accounted for 64% of all adverse reactions to herbs reported in the United States in 2001, even though ephedra sales made up less than 1% of herbal supplement sales in the United States.
On February 17, 2003, 23-year-old Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler died of heatstroke in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after collapsing the day before during a workout at Fort Lauderdale Stadium. The local medical examiner reportedly said that the ephedra Bechler had been taking to lose weight may have contributed to his death.
Bechler's highly publicized death is believed to have been a key factor in the FDA's announcement on December 30, 2003 that it was planning to ban dietary supplements with ephedra because of the health risks.
The FDA also issued a consumer alert, advising consumers to stop buying and using ephedra. Although ephedra dropped sharply, 14% of people using non-prescription weight loss supplements in the United States continued to take ephedra or products containing ephedrine.
2004: On February 6, 2004, the FDA issues their final rule banning the sale of all dietary supplements containing ephedra in the United States, saying that they posed an "unreasonable risk of illness or injury".
The rule became effective 60 days after it was issued.
2005: On April 14, 2005, Judge Tena Campbell of the Federal District Court in Utah overturns the FDA's universal ban on ephedra products as a result of a suit brought by the supplement manufacturer Nutraceutical Corporation, which marketed a lower-dose ephedra product.
The judge ruled that the FDA had come to their decision by doing a risk-benefit analysis, considered inappropriate for supplements under a 1994 law (called the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA)). Also the DSHEA required dose-specific findings to justify a ban and that the FDA had insufficient evidence to conclude that products with 10 mg or less a day of ephedrine alkaloids posed a risk. As a result, products with 10 mg or less of ephedra alkaloids were allowed back on the market.
2006: On August 17, 2006, a federal appeals court upheld the FDA ban on ephedra, overturning the 2005 ruling that allowed the sale of products containing 10 mg or less of ephedra.
The court ruled that the 133,000 page administrative record, which included 19,000 adverse events reports, compiled by the FDA was sufficent to support the inital finding that supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids at any dose posed an unreasonable risk of illness and injury and that the risk-benefit analysis was required.
The FDA stated that no dose of dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids was safe and that the sale of these products in the United States was illegal and subject to enforcement action.
Up until this ruling, many herbal supplement companies marketed low-dose ephedra products containing 10 mg or less of ephedra alkaloids.
2007: Nutraceutical Corporation filed a petition for rehearing in front of the tenth circuit of the US Court of Appeals, however the United States Supreme Court declined to hear the petition.
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'''Ma Huang: Setting the Record Straight'''
*Source:http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/archives2003/jul/07jiang.html
:By Yong Ping Jiang, DOM, PhD
The "Ask Dr. Jiang" column is designed to explore corners of Chinese medicine that may not be easily understood by American practitioners or are underrepresented in American clinical health literature.
:''Dear Dr. Jiang:''
''I am concerned about the future of ma huang and my ability to use it in my practice. Even if it is not taken off the market, many of my patients are afraid to take it after all the negative publicity it has received. Are there any effective substitutes for ma huang?''
''Concerned About Losing Ma Huang''
''Los Angeles, California''
Dear CALM:
Chinese doctors have been using ma huang for over 2,000 years. Let's face it: if there were other herbs that worked as well, they would already be using them. Ma huang continues to be used because it possesses powerful and unique qualities, and if a patient really needs these qualities, any substitute will produce less than satisfactory clinical results. We all have to live in the real world, however, and ma huang won't work if a patient is unwilling to take it, or if the law prevents you from prescribing it.
Before we can discuss possible ma huang substitutes, I need to set the record straight on ma huang itself. There are a number of misunderstandings that have developed in recent years, even among practitioners of Chinese herbal medicine. Let's take a look at them.
Misunderstanding #1: Ma huang increases energy.
This idea has no theoretical or clinical basis in Chinese medicine, and it cannot be found anywhere in the classical or modern Chinese literature. Ma huang's warm acrid qualities powerfully move the qi, and the "energy" people claim to enjoy is a result of that movement. Ma huang can indirectly increase energy in a patient who suffers fatigue due to excess cold from cold damage, but in this case, the fatigue is the result of excess, not deficiency. The results come from dispersing evil qi and allowing the right qi to reassert itself. In this and all other cases, ma huang is a reducing herb. It does not tonify.
Misunderstanding #2: Because ma huang is a warm herb, it should not be used in case of fever.
In fact, most of the ma huang formulas in the Shang Han Lun are designed for use in febrile presentations. This misunderstanding is perhaps the result of confusing Eastern and Western medical perspectives. Since there is no such thing as a fever due to wind cold in Western medicine or even in Western herbalism, some Western practitioners have assumed that ma huang's warm properties make it contraindicated in all fevers. As long as the febrile patient's symptoms match the indications of the formula, ma huang can and should be used in treatment.
Misunderstanding #3: ma huang should not be taken for more than a few days.
Wrong again. The length of treatment will depend on the formula being used; the condition being treated; the dosage; and the patient's overall constitution. If a formula like xiao qing long tang is being used to treat acute asthma due to wind cold, it should of course be discontinued after the acute symptoms of wind cold have abated. However, in the case of gui zhi shao yao zhi mu tang and wu tou tang, both of which are used to treat chronic wind-cold-damp bi patterns, administration can continue for several weeks or even months, since dampness takes a long time to expel.
Misunderstanding #4: All formulas containing ma huang are contraindicated in heat patterns and deficiency patterns.
This misunderstanding is a result of confusing ma huang as an isolated herb and ma huang as a constituent in a formula that contains other herbs. As an isolated herb, ma huang is warm, acrid and bitter. It is used to dispel cold excess, especially wind cold, and is therefore contraindicated for heat or deficiency, but Chinese medicine never prescribes ma huang as an individual herb; it is always used in a formula. In addition, many formulas containing ma huang are used to treat precisely the patterns for which ma huang by itself would be contraindicated. Ma xing shi gan tang, for example, is used to treat heat obstructing the lungs. Yue bi jia ban xia tang (yue bi tang with the addition of ban xia) is used for phlegm heat obstructing the lung. While both of these formulas take advantage of ma huang's ability to move lung qi and calm wheezing, they contain enough shi gao to counterbalance ma huang's warm quality.
Likewise, ma huang xi xin fu zi tang is used to treat wind-cold occurring in patients with underlying yang deficiency. In modern China, a pill made from this formula is sometimes taken as a long-term treatment for congestive heart failure in patients with heart yang deficiency. Yang he tang is used for yin sores due to phlegm blocking the channels and blood deficiency. Both of these formulas, while treating an underlying deficiency pattern, require ma huang to facilitate the movement of qi.
In summary, ma huang is a safe and effective herb as long as it is used according to the rules of Chinese medicine, which have been founded on direct clinical experience in the treatment of thousands of patients over many generations. When these rules are abandoned, as they have been in the United States, it is not difficult to see why so many adverse reactions have occurred. Not only is ma huang taken to "increase energy," something it cannot possibly do; and not only is it being taken without regard to pattern diagnosis or underlying constitutional needs, it is being taken as an isolated herb, rather than as part of a balanced formula. Most astonishing of all, it is being taken in raw powdered form, without any cooking or processing. According to the instructions in the Shang Han Lun, ma huang is supposed to be decocted first, and the foam removed, before adding other ingredients. This additional cooking, and perhaps also the removing of the foam, changes the chemistry of the decoction and removes any harsh or toxic qualities.
Now, to answer your question about ma huang substitutes. The only traditional substitution for ma huang that I'm aware of is the combination of fang feng and jing jie, but this substitution is only prescribed in the treatment of very weak patients; it wouldn't be used to treat patients who match the normal confirmation for ma huang use. I need to warn you, therefore, that the suggestions I'm about to offer are based primarily on theory, since there is no Chinese clinical experience in arbitrarily substituting other herbs when the patient really needs ma huang. Although the following substitutions are safe, no one can honestly say how effective they will be.
When considering substitutes, you will need to determine which qualities of ma huang you are seeking to replace. If you are trying to treat wind-cold-damp bi patterns, for example, try substituting qiang huo and du huo, both of which expel wind cold and wind dampness. These herbs might be substituted for ma huang in formulas such as ma xing yi gan tang, ma huang jia zhu tang or ge gen tang. In the case of wu tu tang, you can try substituting gui zhi, but in the case of gui zhi shao yao zhi mu tang, you might be able to remove the ma huang without replacing it at all, since that formula already contains gui zhi in addition to several other warm acrid herbs.
If you are using ma huang to treat external invasion with lung obstruction, you can try substituting zi su ye. This substitution might be made, for example, in ma huang tang. Since zi su ye is much weaker than ma huang, I would advise that you use it at a higher than usual dosage. If you are treating phlegm cold, as in the case of xiao qing long tang and she gan ma huang tang, in addition to zi su ye add xuan fu hua. If you are treating phlegm heat, as in the case of yue bi jia ban xia tang or ding chuan tang, substitute qian hu.
If you are using yang he tang to treat yin sores, you can try substituting bai zhi, since this herb releases exterior cold and expels pus. If you are using yang he tang to treat crane's knee wind (water swelling in the knees), use qiang huo or du huo as substitutes for ma huang.
If you are treating external cold with internal deficiency, as in the case of ma huang xi xin fu zi tang or ma huang fu zi gan cao tang, you might try using several other warm acrid herbs as substitutes, such as qiang huo, jing jie and fang feng.
This is the best I can do with a very difficult subject, CALM. Let us hope that we can educate the public, as well as government regulators, on the importance of keeping ma huang available for legitimate medical use.
----
'''Ephedra Tea Benefits'''
*Source:http://healthytea101.blogspot.com/2015/01/ephedra-tea-benefits.html
:(Healthy Tea 101)
Ephedra Tea Benefits have been recognized in the annals of Chinese traditional and herbal medicine as being particularly potent in the treatment of various respiratory ailments.
However, there is also currently some controversy regarding the consumption of ephedra in large doses as there have been adverse findings on its side effects and reactions with other medication.
Ephedra is a plant known in China as Ma Huang and has been traditionally used to stop "leakages" that contribute to the loss of energy and vigor. It has been used in China for 5,000 years to treat asthma and upper respiratory infections.
The stems of ephedra have pungent and bitter taste that have diaphoretic, diuretic, pectoral, vasoconstrictive and vasodilative properties.
The main chemical constituent in ephedra is ephedrine. Ephedrine is a potent chemical that works by stimulating the nervous system, dilating bronchial tubes, elevating blood pressure, and increasing heart rate.
Due to these effects, ephedra became a favorite of athletes as it is believed that the herb enhances athletic performance. But several incidences of adverse effects on health and even death that may have been caused by excessive consumption of ephedra and ephedra supplements led the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban the sale of ephedra supplements in the United States in 2004. Currently, ephedra and ephedrine products are heavily regulated and those buying large quantities in frequent durations face penalties.
Nonetheless, ephedra remains widely used by athletes. A survey of college hockey players in 2006 found that nearly half had used ephedra in the belief it would enhance athletic performance.
Ephedra tea can be made by placing about 10 grams of ephedra herb in 2 cups of water and let it boil for 10 minutes. Filter out the herbs before drinking the ephedra tea.
The following are the health benefits attributed to ephedra and ephedra tea.
:Ephedra Tea may help alleviate such respiratory ailments as asthma, colds, coughs and hay fever.
:Ephedra Tea may help expel exterior pathogens and regulate the proper functioning of the lungs.
:Ephedra Tea, taken in a regulated and supervised manner, may be effective for short-term weight loss.
:Ephedra Tea may help in alleviating various allergic symptoms.
:Ephedra Tea, taken in a regulated and supervised manner, stimulates the central nervous system may help boost energy and enhance alertness.
Ephedra is best not used as a stimulant. Its long-term use is not recommended. It is always best to seek the advice of qualified health practitioners when using ephedra, especially those that have high blood pressure, heart or thyroid diseases, diabetes, prostate problems and other conditions. Pregnant and nursing women are advised against using ephedra, ephedra tea or other products with ephedra.
----
'''Physicians Recommend Ephedra To Battle Weight Problems and Improve Patient Health'''
'''Physicians Recommend Ephedra To Battle Weight Problems and Improve Patient Health'''
*Source:http://newhope.com/supply-news-amp-analysis/physicians-recommend-ephedra-battle-weight-problems-and-improve-patient-hea
*Source:http://newhope.com/supply-news-amp-analysis/physicians-recommend-ephedra-battle-weight-problems-and-improve-patient-hea

Latest revision as of 18:23, 24 November 2018

Ephedra.jpg
Ephedra

Dietary supplement is a product that contains vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, enzymes, and/or other ingredients intended to supplement the diet. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has special labeling requirements for dietary supplements and treats them as foods, not drugs.

Manufacturers and distributors of dietary supplements and dietary ingredients are prohibited from marketing products that are adulterated or misbranded. That means that these firms are responsible for evaluating the safety and labeling of their products before marketing to ensure that they meet all the requirements of DSHEA and FDA regulations.

Ephedra1.jpg
Ephedra Flowering Plant
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Ephedra

The medicinal herb Ephedra as an alternative herbal remedy for asthma, wheezing, nasal congestion - Ephedra is an evergreen shrub-like plant native to Central Asia and Mongolia. The principal active ingredient, ephedrine, is a compound that can powerfully stimulate the nervous system and heart.Common Names--ephedra, Chinese ephedra, ma huang

Latin Name--Ephedra sinica Picture of Ephedra

What Ephedra Is Used For

  • Ephedra has been used for more than 5,000 years in China and India to treat conditions such as colds, fever, flu, headaches, asthma, wheezing, and nasal congestion.
  • It has also been an ingredient in many dietary supplements used for weight loss, increased energy, and enhanced athletic performance.

How Ephedra Is Used

The dried stems and leaves of the plant are used to create capsules, tablets, extracts, tinctures, and teas.

What the Science Says about Ephedra

  • An NCCAM-funded study that analyzed phone calls to poison control centers found a higher rate of side effects from ephedra, compared with other herbal products.
  • Other studies and systematic reviews have found an increased risk of heart, psychiatric, and gastrointestinal problems, as well as high blood pressure and stroke, with ephedra use.
  • According to the FDA, there is little evidence of ephedra's effectiveness, except for short-term weight loss. However, the increased risk of heart problems and stroke outweighs any benefits.
  • In recent years, the safety of ephedra-containing dietary supplements has been questioned by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and the medical community as a result of reports of serious side effects and ephedra-related deaths. In response to accumulating evidence of adverse effects and deaths related to ephedra, the FDA banned the sale of ephedra-containing supplements on April 12, 2004. A suit by an ephedra manufacturer was upheld by a Federal District Court judge in Utah on April 14, 2005. The FDA appealed this ruling, and on August 17, 2006 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upheld the FDA's ban of ephedra. The sale of ephedra-containing dietary supplements is currently illegal in the United States because of the high risk of ephedra-related adverse events. >>this article copied verbatim from wikipedia>>

Ephedra biochemistry

The alkaloids ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are the active constituents of the plant. Pseudoephedrine is used in over-the-counter decongestants. Derivatives of ephedrine are used to treat low blood pressure, but alternatives with reduced cardiovascular risk have replaced it for treating asthma. Ephedrine is also considered a performance-enhancing drug and is prohibited in most competitive sports. Some species in the Ephedra genus have no alkaloid content and are therefore essentially inert; however, the most commonly used species, E. sinica, has a total alkaloid content of 1–3% by dry weight. Ephedrine constitutes 40–90% of the alkaloid content, with the remainder consisting of pseudoephedrine and the demethylated forms of each compound. >> This article copied verbatim from wikipedia >>

Herbal remedies in zamboanga.PNG

Side Effects and Cautions about Ephedra

In 2004, the FDA banned the U.S. sale of dietary supplements containing ephedra. The FDA found that these supplements had an unreasonable risk of injury or illness--particularly cardiovascular complications--and a risk of death. The ban does not apply to traditional Chinese herbal remedies or to products like herbal teas regulated as conventional foods.

  • Between 1995 and 1997, the FDA received more than 900 reports of possible ephedra toxicity. Serious adverse events such as stroke, heart attack, and sudden death were reported in 37 cases.
  • Taking ephedra can also result in nausea, anxiety, headache, psychosis, kidney stones, tremors, dry mouth, irregular heart rhythms, heart damage, high blood pressure, restlessness, sleep problems, irritation of the stomach, and increased urination.
  • Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding and children should avoid taking ephedra. Using ephedra may worsen many health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, sleep disorders, and diabetes.
  • Ephedra use may lead to serious health problems when used with other dietary supplements or medicines.
  • Combining ephedra with caffeine increases the risk of potentially serious side effects.
  • Tell your health care providers about any complementary and alternative practices you use. Give them a full picture of what you do to manage your health. This will help ensure coordinated and safe care.

News About Ephedra

Alternative treatments for asthma

By Tony Vendryes

Asthma, or more correctly, bronchial asthma is a common inflammatory disease that affects the air passages of the lungs. The symptoms are variable and include episodes of wheezing, shortness of breath, coughing and chest tightness.

With increasing environmental pollution, the number of people suffering from asthma worldwide has increased. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US, more than eight per cent of Americans have the disease, with black children being the most affected group.

Modern medicine treats asthma with a wide assortment of drugs. They are administered orally as tablets or liquids, by inhalation as sprays, pumps or nebulisers, or by injection. Much of this approach centres on treating the symptoms of the problem or, at best, reducing the frequency of the episodes.

Asthma is an inflammatory disorder reflecting a disturbance of the body's immune system. Research suggests that sufferers from asthma are turning to alternative treatments more frequently in an effort to address the underlying causes of the problem and not just treat the symptoms.

Complementary approaches to asthma range from dietary changes, vitamins, minerals, herbs and breathing exercises to psychological therapies, acupuncture and homeopathy. These may reduce or eliminate the need for medication, but it is important to discuss this with your doctor.

CLEAN UP YOUR DIET

As with any inflammatory problem, diet is extremely important to the asthmatic and the following principles should be observed:

- Avoid foods that irritate the immune system, like dairy products, wheat, preservatives and additives. Identify all foods that may trigger an attack and avoid them. Moderate your intake of sugar and salt.

- Have more antioxidant-rich foods like vegetables and fresh fruit, especially berries. Asthmatics often have low levels of these protective nutrients found in fruits and vegetables. Drink more clean water, natural fruit and vegetable juices, herbal teas and coconut water.

TAKE VITAMINS AND MINERALS

Supplement your diet with a high-quality multivitamin/mineral tablet. Add antioxidants like vitamin C, E, A and selenium as they boost the immune system and reduce the inflammation. Vitamin C in high doses (three to six-grams.) daily is particularly useful. As this vitamin is quickly eliminated from the body, it is best to divide up your daily dose.

The omega-3 fatty acids found in the highest concentration in fish oils are anti-inflammatory and help reduce the symptoms of asthma. Epidemiological studies show that a diet high in fish oil benefits inflammatory conditions like asthma. The effective dose of omega-3is three grams or more daily. Capsules with highly concentrated omega-3 fats are more potent than just fish oil.

Magnesium: This mineral is extremely important in asthma, as it is a natural muscle relaxant that relieves the spasm of the airways that occur in asthma. Many asthmatics are magnesium-deficient and should consume magnesium-rich foods as well as take magnesium supplements. Chelated magnesium capsules such as magnesium aspartate, citrate or oratate are better absorbed than magnesium oxide or chloride. I also recommend soaking in an Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) bath.

Holistic physicians often give magnesium by intravenous injection to abort and prevent asthmatic attacks. One particularly effective treatment is called a Myers Cocktail that involves a combination of magnesium, vitamin C and other vitamins administered intravenously by a doctor.

Vitamin D: Many individuals with asthma are vitamin-D deficient and this vitamin is critical for a healthy immune system. Research suggests that increasing vitamin D levels may reduce asthma symptoms. Optimise your vitamin D status by having a daily sunbath and/or take vitamin D3 supplements regularly.

CLEAN UP THE ENVIRONMENT

Asthmatics also need to optimise the cleanliness of the air they breathe. Air-borne pollutants abound in the modern home and workplace. House dust, smoke, chemical sprays and odors, animal dander (hairs and fur) - all can trigger asthma and should be avoided as much as possible.

USE BREATHING EXERCISES

Breathing techniques are used for asthma, but general they involve learning to take slower, longer breaths, to breathe through your nose rather than your mouth, and to use your abdominal muscles to take deep 'belly breaths'.

Two specific breathing techniques for asthma include the Buteyko breathing technique and yoga breathing exercises (pranayama). In a number of studies, people who did such breathing exercises reported improvement in their symptoms. These methods also emphasise stress reduction and good nutrition.

TRY ACUPUNCTURE

Acupuncture originated in China thousands of years ago and involves the insertion of very thin needles into your skin at specific points on your body. Some studies show that asthma improves with acupuncture and is very safe when delivered by trained practitioners. This suggests working with an experienced acupuncturist or a medical doctor who practises acupuncture.

HERBAL TREATMENTS

Herbal remedies have been used for centuries and are still a primary asthma treatment in many countries. Herbs used in treating asthma include ephedra, green tea, ginger, schizandra, rosemary, pycnogenol, boswellia, aloe vera and ginkgo biloba. All these herbs have definite anti-inflammatory properties.

Blends of different types of herbs are commonly used in traditional Chinese, Indian and Japanese medicine, as certain combinations of herbs may be more effective than a single herb. Some herbal remedies can interact with prescription medications, so inform your doctor if you choose to use both.

HOMEOPATHIC CURES

Homeopathy stimulates the body's self-healing ability using very small doses of substances that would cause the problem. For asthma, homeopathic remedies are made from substances that generally trigger an asthmatic reaction, such as pollen or weeds, but in such tiny amounts that they prevent rather than cause an asthma attack.

RELAXATION THERAPY

Relaxation therapy techniques include meditation, biofeedback, hypnosis and progressive muscle relaxation. These techniques help asthma by reducing stress, relieving the symptoms and promoting a sense of well-being. In psychogenic asthma (emotionally induced asthma), these methods may cure the problem.

Mormon Tea – a widely used medicinal plant

By Joan Chew

Be upfront about the use of medications, warn TCM physicians

The spotlight was cast on the safety of Chinese herbal medication last month following the death last year of a 58-year-old woman who took cordyceps the week before an operation to remove a benign brain tumour.

She had failed to inform her doctors about her use of cordyceps, which is believed to lead to the extensive bleeding in her brain.

The case has prompted doctors and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) physicians to urge the public to be upfront about their use of medications, including herbs and herbal products.

The interaction between a herb or herbal product and a drug in the body "may augment the action of the drug, reduce the effectiveness of the drug or cause unexplained side effects", warned Ms Lim Ching Hui, senior principal pharmacist at Singapore General Hospital.

She gives four examples of herb-drug interactions that people should be aware of:

• Herbs with high mineral content - such as Gypsum fibrosum (shigao), Concha arcae (waleng zi) and Concha ostreae (muli) - may prevent the oral absorption of the fluoroquinolone class of antibiotics.

The oral and intravenous forms of these antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections of the lungs, respiratory tract, urinary tract, gastrointestinal tract, abdomen, and bones and joints, among other uses.

• Polyphenols in green tea can inhibit the effects of the anti- cancer drug bortezomib, which is used for the treatment of myeloma, a type of blood cancer.

This observation is based on experiments conducted in the test tube and on mice.

It is therefore not advisable for patients receiving bortezomib to consume green tea extracts or drink green tea in large amounts.

• Patients taking a class of drugs called tyrosine kinase inhibitors for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia, lung and kidney cancers are advised to avoid grapefruit.

Grapefruit contains a group of chemical compounds known as furanocoumarins which can inhibit the enzyme CYP3A4 that metabolises this class of drugs, causing accumulation of these drugs in the body.

• Ephedra sinica (mahuang) is the herb from which the drug ephedrine is derived.

Ephedrine is usually used in cough and cold medicines.

Taking Ephedra sinica and other herbs with similar properties has the potential to stimulate the brain, increase heart rate, narrow blood vessels and increase blood pressure, and cause sweating.

Mormon Tea – a widely used medicinal plant

By: Jonathan DuHamel

Mormon Tea (genus Ephedra) is a woody shrub that grows two to five feet high and wide. According to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, “These are conifers more primitive than pine trees; they bear papery cones. (Their closest relative is the bizarre Welwitschia spp. of the Namib Desert, which looks like a beached green octopus but has the same cone structure as ephedra.) The various species are similar in general appearance; distinguishing among them requires close inspection.” There are about 40 species that occur in arid habitats in the northern hemisphere and South America. About six species occur in the Sonoran Desert region. Wikipedia shows a global distribution map for ephedra which includes a wide swath through Mediterranean Europe and south-central Asia. In some places in Mexico, such as the desert east of the Pinacate volcanic field, Ephedra plants reach 15 feet tall.

Ephedra has long been used medicinally, but there seems to be some controversy as to effectiveness and safety depending on species and source consulted.

ASDM notes: “The stems contain caffeine and ephedrine (a drug that acts like adrenalin/epinephrin). The closely related pseudoephedrine is now synthesized commercially and is an ingredient in commercial asthma and cold remedies, e.g., Sudafed®. Pseudoephedrine is also a precursor in the production of the dangerous illegal drug methamphetamine (“speed”). A tea with stimulant properties is made by steeping dried stems. It has been used medicinally to treat a variety of ailments including syphilis, diabetes, and pneumonia. A Chinese species is the source of ma huang, a tea so potent that it has caused deaths from overstimulation of the heart.”

DesertUSA describes several species: “This medium-sized shrub grows up to 4 feet high and appears to have no leaves. It looks like a thicket of numerous green, jointed, leafless branches with conspicuous nodes. It actually does have small, scale-like leaves and tiny flowers of male and female cones which bloom February through April. The fruit is a seed surrounded by 2 or 3 large scales. There are a number of species of Mormon Tea (Ephedra genus) growing in the southwestern deserts of the U.S., including E. trifurca, E. viridis, E. torreyana, E. nevadensis and E. californica. All have been used for a variety of medicinal purposes by various peoples over the centuries.”

WebMD notes: “Mormon tea is made from a plant, Ephedra nevadensis. The dried branches are boiled in water to make the tea. People use it as a beverage and as a medicine. Be careful not to confuse Mormon tea (Ephedra nevadensis) with ephedra (Ephedra sinica and other ephedra species). Unlike these other plants, Mormon tea does not contain ephedrine, an unsafe stimulant.

As a medicine, people take Mormon tea for sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis and gonorrhea. It is also used for colds, kidney disorders, and as a ‘spring’ tonic.”

WebMD goes on to say: “The tannins in Mormon tea have a drying (astringent) effect and can reduce body secretions such as mucus. This might explain its use for colds. There isn’t enough information to know how Mormon tea might work for other uses such as kidney problems and sexually transmitted diseases. Mormon tea seems to be safe when consumed as a beverage in normal food amounts. But there isn’t enough information to know if Mormon tea is safe in medicinal amounts. Possible side effects include stomach complaints, kidney and liver damage, nose or throat cancer, increased urination, and constipation.”

Herb2000.com has an article specific to Ephedra nevadensis:

“From 1552 onwards, people have recommended taking Mormon tea as it is beneficial to our health. In effect, this herb and the tea brewed from it have been extensively used by frontiersmen to cure venereal or sexually transmitted diseases. In addition, Mormon tea has also been prescribed for treating conditions like colds and kidney problems as well as in the form of a ‘spring tonic’. Reputed herbal medicine physician David G. Spoerke has attributed the therapeutic actions of Mormon tea to an uncertain amount of alkaloid ephedrine enclosed by the herb. It may be noted here that this alkaloid ephedrine is a medication that facilitates the narrowing of the blood vessels, invigorating the central nervous system (CNS) as well as widening the bronchioles. On the other hand, Mowed, Gottlieb and Castleman have said that ephedrine is not the active constituent of Mormon tea – but its most active constituent is (+)-norpseudoephedrine, a much more strong stimulant for the central nervous system.”

The US Department of Agriculture has a good overview which includes a detailed description of the plants and their habitats. (see PDF file) USDA says that ephedrine, the pharmaceutically active compound found in the Old World species has not been detected in any North American species.

Here is the USDA description:

Ephedras are dioecious, with male and female cones occurring on separate plants. The cones are borne singly or in pairs or whorls at the branch nodes. The seeds are borne singly or in pairs in the axils of the female cone scales. The inner cone scales are modified to enclose the seed and form integuments that mimic the angiosperm pericarp. Flowering usually takes place in March through May, and seeds ripen from June through September, depending on elevation and species. The plants are wind-pollinated. Ephedra plants do not flower every year; their reproductive pattern could be described as mast fruiting, where most individuals in the population flower synchronously in a year with ample rainfall, and large quantities of seeds are produced. The population does not flower again for several years, whether or not a high-rainfall year occurs. The seedcrop may be damaged by late frosts, late spring drought, or infestations of pentatomid bugs.

The distribution of male and female ephedra plants is not random; individuals on dry slopes are over-represented by males, whereas those growing on run-on surfaces are 4 times as likely to be females as males. The genetic basis for sex differentiation in Ephedra is not known, but the spatial arrangement of males and females functions to maximize reproductive output, as it places males where their pollen can be easily wind-dispersed early in the season and females where they are more likely to have resources later in the season to ripen a seedcrop.

North American ephedra species fall into 2 groups characterized by differences in seed size and dispersal ecology. The large-seeded species (for example, green and Nevada Mormon-teas) are dispersed by scatter-hoarding rodents such as kangaroo rats, which deposit them in shallowly buried caches and later return to eat most of the seeds or sprouts. The cone scales in these species are small. In small-seeded species (for example, Torrey Mormon-tea) the outer cone scales are large and membranous, and the intact cones are often seen wind-rowed at some distance from adult plants. The seeds are apparently wind-dispersed, as they have long, awn-like points that probably make them unattractive to rodents. Cones with seeds intact may remain on the surface for many months.

The Facts on Ephedra

By John Rosengren

Dangerous, benign, helpful, harmful? Here’s the scoop on one of the most controversial herbs around.

Lose weight. Boost energy. Perform better. Those claims have cast ephedra in the spotlight of late. The buzz over this stimulating herb and its derivatives has raised questions over its safety, especially in the wake of last summer when three football players died after allegedly using ephedrine. None of the deaths was directly attributed to ephedra, but the headlines underscored the need to use dietary supplements with caution.

Herbal lore traces the use of ephedra back 5,000 years to China, where the stem of the almost leafless shrub – known by its Chinese handle “ma huang” – was used to treat colds, asthma and hay fever. The plant, which thrives in sunny, dry climates, is also found in the southwestern United States. Native Americans introduced the powder brewed in hot water to the Mormons when they arrived in Utah in 1847. The piney-tasting drink came to be known as Mormon tea, substituted for the taboo coffee and black tea. In the Old West, ephedra was even reputed to cure syphilis and gonorrhea, making it a popular brothel beverage: “Whorehouse tea.”

In modern times, natural ephedra alkaloids and their laboratory counterparts have been used to treat asthma, emphysema, colds, allergies, arthritis and rheumatism. They’ve been packaged in a smorgasbord of over-the-counter products marketed to aid weight loss, increase energy, enhance performance and even stop smoking. On the illicit end, ephedra has been used to manufacture methamphetamine, which goes by the street names Crystal, Ice and Meth.

Adrenaline Rush

Ephedra products used by some 12 million Americans rank among the most lucrative and controversial of dietary supplements. Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, the herb’s two primary active ingredients, resemble adrenaline in the way they stimulate the nervous system. The alkaloids relieve swelling of the mucous membrane and open the bronchial passages, making a variety of over-the-counter cold and allergy medications containing ephedra alkaloids or ma huang the natural decongestant and antihistamine of choice for many.

Simple side effects of ephedra in any form include increased urination and dry mouth. The ephedra alkaloids also suppress appetite and speed metabolism, causing the body to burn calories faster. That trait has made ma huang an attractive weight-loss shortcut in a nation where 40 million adults are obese, though health experts maintain that the herb is a poor substitute for the tried-and-true formula of reduced caloric intake and regular aerobic exercise. One study suggests that ephedra alkaloids can suppress nicotine urges, a plus for those who want to quit smoking. But no evidence – other than folklore – exists to support the myth that Whorehouse tea cures sexually transmitted diseases.

Energy products employ the ephedra alkaloids – often combined with caffeine – to provide an energy jolt comparable to drinking a six-pack of Mountain Dew. Bodybuilders claim the products help them lift harder and longer. Other users also report sustained stamina along with heightened intensity, alertness and perception. While that appeals to athletes from football players to figure skaters, they should be forewarned that the National Collegiate Athletic Association, United States Olympic Committee and National Football League (among other athletic governing bodies) have banned ephedra products for the competitive edge they provide and the risk they pose to those ingesting them.

Ephedra’s Downside

While ephedra is generally considered safe when used by healthy adults (in moderate amounts and for a limited period of time), it can cause adverse effects ranging from headaches, dizziness, insomnia, anxiety and tremulousness to strokes, heart attacks, psychosis, seizures and death.

An article published in the December 21, 2000, New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) reported the results from a study involving 140 adverse events occurring from the use of dietary supplements containing ephedra alkaloids, including 13 cases of permanent disability and 10 deaths. The authors concluded, “The use of dietary supplements that contain ephedra alkaloids poses a serious health risk to some persons.”

Since 1997, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sought to impose tighter controls on ephedra products, limiting the legal dose to 8 milligrams and restricting the 24-hour maximum intake to 24 mg, well below the American Herbal Product Association’s limit of 25 mg per serving with daily consumption not to exceed 100 mg. The FDA also wants to ban the marriage of ephedra and caffeine because the combination has a synergistic effect believed to increase the incidence of adverse reactions. The FDA also seeks to outlaw labeling claims that ephedra products can cause weight loss.

Meanwhile, the Ephedra Education Council reported in November 2001 that two studies by separate researchers confirm that ephedra is safe and effective for weight loss when consumed and used as directed. “This research is the latest in a series of clinical studies that support the safety of ephedra at a time when there is no clinical research linking dietary supplements containing ephedra to significant adverse events,” said Wes Siegner, spokesperson for the Ephedra Education Council. “While longer-term studies ultimately will be more conclusive, the findings of these clinical trials continue to confirm ephedra’s safety.”

Yet, the FDA asserts it has on file reports of more than 1,200 adverse events – including 70 deaths – associated with the use of ephedra-laced products. Of particular sobering note, the FDA has found in reviewing those adverse events that “most occurred in young to middle-aged otherwise healthy adults using the products for weight control and increased energy.”

Christine Haller, M.D., and Neal Benowitz, M.D., authors of the NEJM report, likewise frown upon ma huang. They point out that it is rarely prescribed by Western physicians for medical purposes and, unlike vitamins and minerals, it is not essential to proper nutrition. They find even the purported benefits negligible. “People who take these products to increase their exercise capacity or to lose weight place themselves at risk without a substantial likelihood of benefit,” the authors write.

Concerns over ephedra’s safety have rendered the herb illegal in Nebraska and have restricted sales in Texas to those 18 or older. Elsewhere, consumers are left to their own judgment. Regarding purchase and use of the ancient Chinese herb, the Latin wisdom seems appropriate: caveat emptor (buyer beware).

Warning!
• Since the herb causes uterine contractions, it is not recommended for pregnant women. Also, those with high blood pressure risk serious adverse effects from ephedra alkaloids.
• The American Herbal Products Association recommends no one under the age of 18 use products containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine. To avoid passing along ma huang to infants, women should suspend use during the months they’re nursing.
• Anyone with heart disease, diabetes, glaucoma or an overactive thyroid gland would be wise to consult a physician before experimenting with ma huang. Likewise, if using any prescription medication or an over-the-counter product to treat allergy symptoms, asthma or colds, talk to your doctor first.
• To be safe, if the use of ephedra causes insomnia, nervousness, stomach upset, heart palpitations or general weakness, cease use and call a physician.
It’s in There!

Here’s just a sampling of products containing natural ephedra or similar synthetic compounds: Ripped Force, Ripped Fuel, Ultimate Orange, Sudafed, Metabolife 356, Shape-Fast Plus, Herbalife’s Thermojetics, Total Control, Purple Blast, Diet Fuel, Diet Phen, Magic Herb, and Herbal Phen-Fen (a combination of ephedra and St. John’s Wort).

Growing a successful events venue at the Royal College of Physicians

(Conference News)

The Royal College of Physicians’ medicinal garden in London offers an extra enriching and educational environment for client organisers and their delegates at the venue.

With over 1,100 plants with links to medical history, the outdoor space at the RCP offers planners and delegates a chance to take a break from the conference room.

The RCP garden fellow, Dr Henry Oakeley, identifies 10 of the garden’s medicinal plants with surprising attributes :

1. Citrus medica

This giant lemon, the size of a rugby ball, contains vitamin C which is essential for our health. It was the first lemon to come to Europe about 2,000 years ago – from the land of the Medes (Iran-Turkey region), hence the name.

2. Papaver somniferum

The sap in the seed heads, opium, is the source of morphine, a vital medicine for over 7,000 years, for the relief of pain and suffering.

3. Illicium anisatum

This is Japanese star anise, whose poisonous seed heads contain the crucial chemical from which Tamiflu, for treating bird and swine flu, was synthesised.

4. Galega officinalis

Goat’s Rue (sometimes known as Holy Hay) is a pale blue member of the pea family, poisonous to cattle, but, since 1956, it is the source of Metformin, the most widely used medicine for treating diabetes in the world.

5. Ephedra sinica

This ancient flowering plant first appeared 250 million years ago and has shown no evolutionary change for 110 million years. It contains a chemical, ephedrine, which acts like adrenaline, and was used for asthma. More recently this has been converted to amphetamines and ecstasy.

6. Melilotus officinalis

Yellow sweet clover, when stored wet and allowed to ferment, became the source of Warfarin, the anticoagulant so essential for preventing blood clotting. Fresh, it has no value.

7. Digitalis purpurea

Small pieces of dried leaves of this, the purple foxglove, were found to be a cure for heart failure in the mid-18th century. The active medicine, digoxin, is still extracted from the leaves.

8. Atropa belladonna

Deadly nightshade, it contains atropine, once used to dilate the pupils, to treat sea sickness, as a pre-med, and more recently as an antidote to nerve gas poisoning.

9. Arundo donax

The giant reed, used to make the reeds of oboes etc. Russian scientists found that extracts numbed their tongues when they tasted it – and lignocaine, the local anaesthetic that we use today, was synthesised from it.

10. Musa basjoo

The banana is one of over 60 plants in the garden named after doctors. In this case, Antonio Musa, Greek physician to Caesar Augustus, the first Roman Emperor.

How Diet Pills Sank a Traditional Chinese Herb for Sinus Problems

By Conan Milner (Epoch Times)

There’s a cheap, natural, and safe remedy for treating sinus problems with a long history of success, but it’s virtually impossible to find in North America today. It is a common herb in traditional Chinese medicine, but it proved too much for our society.

Ephedra (or “ma huang” to the Chinese) is a plant that looks like a clump of twigs with no leaves. It’s a relative of the pine tree, but has no trunk. Its use as a medicine was first described about 3,000 years ago in the classic Chinese medicine book “Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing” (“Divine Farmer’s Materia Medica”) as a nontoxic herb for treating the common cold, headache, and malaria.

Ephedra became a featured herb in several classic Chinese formulas to stop coughs, promote urination and sweating, and resolve infections.

"Traditional formulas always use a small amount of ephedra mixed with other herbs to offset its speedy side effects."

The secret to ephera’s sinus- and lung-clearing power are two of its best-known alkaloids—ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. These alkaloids have since played a big role in some of America’s best-known cold, flu, and allergy medicines, such as Sudafed and Claritin-D.

But in the last few years, these once over-the-counter medications have become controlled substances because ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are also the main ingredients in making meth.

These chemicals have an effect on the body similar to adrenaline. At low doses, they open up bronchial passages. At high doses, they act as powerful amphetamines.

In other words, ephedra is a stimulant, but this is not a feature the architects of Chinese medicine ever tried to exploit. Instead, traditional formulas always use a small amount of ephedra mixed with other herbs to offset its speedy side effects.

Safe and Natural

Starting in the 1980s, a new supplement industry decided to use ephedra for a treatment that Chinese medicine had never considered—weight loss.

From a business standpoint, the idea was genius. The market was eager for a natural diet pill, and the treatment was effective because it worked just like speed. Most importantly, it had the virtue of safety. Since ephedra had been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years, supplement companies had a reassuring story to tell customers who raised concerns.

By the mid 1990s, many cases of heart failure, liver damage, and even fatalities of otherwise healthy individuals were linked to these supplements. Despite a growing reputation for serious side effects, ephedra-based diet pills remained popular, and continued to avoid regulation.

In the style of Big Tobacco, the ephedra industry created a public relations organization called the Ephedra Education Council (EEC) to fend off concerns that the herb posed any safety risk. Instead, it turned critics’ attention to all the good ephedra could do for society.

“Industry does, and will continue to support warning labels that inform the public of potential risks. However, it is important to remember that obesity itself is considered a threat to public health, and that ephedra has been proven safe and useful in combating this growing public health crisis with millions of Americans finding it useful in managing their weight,” reads an EEC statement from 2000.

But in the early 2000s, federal officials began cracking down. In 2002, when the U.S. Justice Department announced that it would begin investigating the companies that profited from ephedra-based diet pills, industry leader Metabolife International voluntarily released more than 13,000 health complaints the company had received since 1997 from consumers reporting serious adverse reactions to its top-selling product.

Ruined Reputation

By the time Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler died in 2003 with high levels of ephedrine in his blood, society was fed up with ephedra. In early 2004, after issuing warnings for years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally banned all products containing the ephedrine alkaloid unless they were approved by the agency, pointing to over 18,000 reports of adverse effects, such as seizures, heart attacks, strokes, and death.

However, none of these adverse cases was ever connected to a traditional Chinese formula. In its ruling, the FDA continued to permit Chinese medicine practitioners to use ephedra, but nearly all dropped it, choosing some alternative herb instead. Nothing worked quite like ephedra, but it had become more trouble than it was worth.

Take for example the Institute for Traditional Medicine (ITM) in Portland, Oregon—a company that makes Chinese medicine supplements sold exclusively to qualified health practitioners. Three years before the FDA ban took effect, the company voluntarily removed ephedra from each of its formulas. According to ITM’s director and founder, Dr. Subhuti Dharmananda, the stigma associated with ephedra had become too great a liability.

“If we have one product with ma huang in it, then the insurance company raises our product liability insurance rate for everything by a factor of three,” Dharmananda told the New York Times in 2004.

Mormon Tea

There is another species of ephedra native to North America known as Mormon tea (Ephedra viridis), which is still legal to everyone under the FDA since, unlike ma huang (Ephedra sinica), it does not contain significant amounts of ephedrine.

According to legend, Mormon tea was introduced to Mormon settlers in the 1800s by local native tribes, who, like the Chinese, used their ephedra to address respiratory problems. This ephedra is not as potent as ma huang, but it has served as a stimulating beverage to those who follow the Mormon religion and are forbidden from consuming caffeine.

Mormon tea has never been seriously considered by the Chinese medicine community, but it has caught the attention of supplement makers hoping to reignite some of the past glory of the ephedra weight-loss craze. In October 2015, Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals announced the release of their “potent flagship fat burner” in a press release. The main ingredient is Mormon tea extract.

To replace the action of the ephedrine, the formula contains chemicals that regulators and health professionals have already warned are dangerous and that the FDA has warned Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals to remove. The company’s solution is to keep changing the target chemicals to stay one step ahead of the law.

“The trick is to use Hi-Tech’s ephedrine-free ephedra extract, but combine it with PEA alkaloids from acacia rigidula (now updated to say “Senegalia Berlandieri Extract”) and DMAA (now labeled as Methylhexanamine HCl) to replace the ephedrine component. What you’re left with is nothing short of awesome intensity,” the release states.

As with the ephedra products of the 1990s, Hi-Tech assures complete safety.

What you need to know about Ma Huang

By Ingri Cassel (Idaho Observer)

Ephedra grows throughout the western United States in arid desert grasslands and sagebrush country. When the Mormons first came out west, the Indians taught them how to make a tea out of this plant's “twigs.” It soon became known as Brigham tea or Mormon tea. Ephedra is classified as a Gymnosperm and is primitive in evolutionary terms much like horsetail. A variety of ephedra known as Ma Huang has been used for thousands of years in the Far East in the treatment of colds, especially ones with chills, aches and pains, and a chesty cough. Also used for bronchial asthma.

After making an extract of ephedra, the alkaloid ephedrine was discovered by Chinese scientists in 1924. Two years later, Merck pharmaceuticals produced a synthetic version of ephedrine that is still used in asthma medications today. Scientists also revealed that ephedrine is both a cardiac stimulant and central nervous system stimulant. So, in keeping with allopathic methods, chemicals were used to synthesize ephedrine resulting in the discovery of an entire new class of drugs -- amphetamines.

Amphetamine-containing inhalers were very popular in the mid 1900s for the relief of both nasal congestion and depression. Today such inhalers are strictly controlled.

Mark Pederson in his 1987 book, Nutritional Herbology, states:

“Ephedrine hydrochloride and pseudoephedrine both work when taken orally and, unlike amphetamines, are available without a prescription. Pseudoephedrine tablets (Sudafed, Contac, Primatene, and Bronkaid) are presently over-the-counter remedies for the relief of nasal congestion.”

Recent studies with both humans and laboratory animals have shown ephedrine to be beneficial in promoting weight loss. The main mechanism at work is its thermogenic ability to increase the metabolic rate of adipose tissue thereby enhancing the body's ability to burn fat. Its weight reducing effects are greatest in those who have a low basal metabolic rate. [Tenney, Louise. Today's Herbal Health, 5th edition]

Ephedra is a stiff shrub with slender, jointed branches that appears to have no leaves since the leaves are actually “scales”. The ephedra plant flowers in the spring, and after it flowers it can be described as looking like the trunk of an old tree with leafless stems or sticks growing upward.

It is interesting to note that ephedra only grows in highly mineralized soil. Approximately ten percent of the minerals absorbed by this plant are copper. Ephedra also contains fair amounts of such important minerals as zinc, magnesium, manganese, selenium, iron and potassium as well as the vitamins thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), vitamins A and C. According to Dr. John R. Christopher, the minerals absorbed by ephedra (as well as other plants) are “live, highly vibrating minerals that can be assimilated into the body and used without side effects.”

Ephedra has some of the same properties as adrenaline, although the native American variety (Ephedra gerardiana) contains less ephedrine than the Chinese variety, Ma Huang (Ephedra sinica). It is helpful when used to boost stamina, energy and circulation since ephedra acts directly on the muscle cells, stimulating the nervous system and supplying more oxygen to muscle tissue. Ephedra is well known as a bronchial dilator and decongestant, and has been used to relieve congestion, asthma and allergies.

Michael Moore tells us in his book, Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West, that:

“An acquaintance with a yearly scourge of longstanding pollen allergies began drinking the tea as a regular beverage to replace coffee and found that he had taken less than one tenth his usual amount of little yellow allergy pills for that season.”

Ephedra is a powerful blood purifier, being a popular folk remedy for such conditions as arthritis, rheumatism, bursitis and other painful muscle and joint problems. Since ephedra is a vasoconstrictor, it has been used to stop internal bleeding.

The Pima Indians dried ephedra roots in the sun and then powdered them. They then sprinkled the powder on all kinds of sores -- including those caused by syphilis. The Navajos boiled the twigs with alum to produce a light tan dye color.

Ephedra can be used either as a tea or powdered and put into capsules. When prepared as a tea, old time herbalists and Mormon pioneers recommend that one use the “grounds” repeatedly -- adding a teaspoon of the freshly dried herb on top of the herbal grounds left from previous days. This method should be continued for at least four to six days since it takes several days of simmering this tea -- 15 to 20 minutes a day -- to sufficiently extract all the bio-available copper and other minerals. Naturally, more water and ephedra should be added to the tea each day.

My herbalist mentor and personal hero, Dr. John R. Christopher said, “A good, clean bloodstream means a good, clean body. This body we live in is the temple of God, and the scriptures tell us that God will not dwell in an unclean tabernacle. By keeping the bowels and bloodstream clean, we are well on the way to a clean body. Such an 'instrument' can receive 'even hidden treasures of knowledge' by becoming a clear channel to a higher source of knowledge. This should be our goal.”

What you need to know about Ma Huang

By Nancy Ling, R.D. (Competitor Magazine)

You may have noticed Ma Huang appearing in the ingredient lists of some popular nutritional drinks and supplements, and wondered, Ma What? Why is this strange ingredient in products like Ripped Fuel, Metabolife 356, Diet Fuel and MetaboLift?

The answer is, Ma Huang is a powerful stimulant being marketed to body builders and other athletes as an effective fat burner.

Ma Huang has its interesting name because it is an ancient Chinese herb with an interesting history. Also known as ephedra, Ma Huang is an odd-looking, botanically primitive, almost leafless shrub that resembles horsetail. It has tough, jointed, barkless stems and branches, with small scale-like leaves and tiny yellow-green flowers that appear in summer.

History

The use of Ma Huang has loosely been traced to around 3000 BC, when Chinese physicians began prescribing ephedra tea for colds, asthma and hay fever. When the Mormons arrived in Utah in 1847, the native Indians introduced them to the American variety of ephedra, a piney-tasting tonic beverage. The Mormons used it as a substitute for coffee and tea, and therefore the name arose: Mormon Tea.

From the late 1920s through the 1940s, ephedrine was used in various products as a decongestant and bronchodilator. It was generally effective and safe, but it was also known to produce potentially damaging side effects, including increased blood pressure and heart palpitations. It was replaced with a chemical substitute, pseudo-ephedrine, which scientists considered equally effective but with reduced side effects. This is the active ingredient in many over-the-counter products like Sudafed.

Herbalists recommend Ma Huang (ephedra) today to treat asthma, hay fever and the nasal and chest congestion of colds and flu. Ma Huang's active ingredients are ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and norspeudoephedrine, all three of which are strong central nervous system stimulants. They are stronger than caffeine, but less potent than amphetamine.

Ephedrine opens the bronchial passages, stimulates the heart and increases blood pressure, metabolic rate, perspiration and urine production. It reduces the secretion of both saliva and stomach acids.

Unfortunately, the powerful stimulants in Ma Huang can lead to stroke and even death in otherwise healthy people.

Why is Ma Huang used?

While the scientific community generally regards Ma Huang/ephedra as a fairly dangerous nutritional supplement on the health food store shelf, there are supporters for its use as a fat-loss agent. According to them, the combination of ephedrine and caffeine allows people to increase fat loss while maintaining muscle mass. They also claim that Ma Huang is actually relatively safe, and that reports of health problems and death related to taking it are simply sensationalized news stories.

There is a body of research that suggests that ephedrine plus caffeine increases thermogenesis, the burning of calories in the body. Weight loss and fat loss appear to be greater in research subjects taking ephedrine and caffeine compared to those simply dieting alone. Ephedrine plus caffeine is thought to act centrally by suppressing appetite and peripherally by stimulating the usage of fat by the muscles. Most studies find that combining a low-calorie diet with ephedrine and caffeine induces significant weight and fat loss.

There is suggestion that weight loss with the ephedrine and caffeine combination is also superior because muscle mass is preserved, while fat is lost. This purported benefit has resulted in a great deal of marketing toward athletes, playing on the desire of many athletes to increase muscle mass while reducing body fat.

Side effects and safety issues

Unfortunately, Ma Huang is not without risks. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has compiled more than 800 adverse events for Ma Huang, including heart attack, stroke, tremors, insomnia and death. At least 17 deaths have been linked to supplements containing Ma Huang.

In 1996, the FDA warned the public to avoid Ma Huang/ephedrine-containing dietary supplements. In 1997, the FDA proposed new labeling requirements that would require strict warning labels, limits on the amount of alkaloid in each serving, and a ban on combining Ma Huang with other herbal stimulants. However, this requirement has not yet been passed. In fact, many metabolism-boosting formulas contain Ma Huang with other stimulants such as guarana and kola nut extracts.

As a stimulant, Ma Huang can cause insomnia, nervousness, stomach upset, dry mouth, agitation and hand tremors. Supporters of its use recommend that users start with a small amount and increase the dosage slowly to allow the body to get used to the drug, thus minimizing adverse effects. They also recommend that users drink more water to minimize dry mouth.

However, many groups of people are cautioned to never use Ma Huang. Competitive athletes are included in this list, because many athletic organizations, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the United States Olympic Committee, list Ma Huang as a banned substance.

Ma Huang should never be used by pregnant women, as it can stimulate spontaneous abortions. It is not recommended for people with cardiovascular disease, angina, hypertension, thyroid disease or prostate enlargement. Individuals on medications such as MAO inhibitors or alpha-2 blockers should avoid any Ma Huang, as the combined effects may cause dangerously high blood pressure.

We can conclude ...

Ma Huang is a natural product with drug-like actions. However, "natural" does not equate with "safe."

Ma Huang, like other nutritional supplements, is not strictly regulated like drugs, so the ephedrine content in commercial products is highly variable. This makes Ma Huang-containing products potentially dangerous, as evidenced by the number of adverse events documented. Even supplement manufacturers have responded to this negative publicity by promoting "Ma Huang-free" products.

Read labels on supplement products and, to be safe, look for products without Ma Huang or ephedra.

Despite F.D.A. Ban, Ephedra Won't Go Away

By MARY DUENWALD

By April 12 2004, ephedra will disappear from stores and Web sites that sell dietary supplements, by order of the Food and Drug Administration. But that does not mean the herb will entirely drop out of sight.

The agency's ban on ephedra specifically excludes uses of the herb in traditional Asian medicine. Acupuncturists, herbalists and other practitioners of Oriental medicine routinely dispense teas, pills and powders containing ma huang, the type of ephedra grown in China, to treat colds, asthma, persistent cough, headache, water retention and other maladies.

The ban on dietary supplements containing ephedra, announced in December, was published by the agency on Wednesday and will take effect 60 days later. It targets the ephedra supplements that have been advertised for weight loss, muscle building and athletic performance.

The supplements have been linked to heart attack, stroke and sudden death because of their ability to raise blood pressure, increase heart rate and speed up brain activity. Continue reading the main story

Advertisement Continue reading the main story

The F.D.A.'s ban states that herbal medicine preparations are beyond the scope of this rule because they are not marketed as dietary supplements.

California and New York, which had already banned the sale of ephedra supplements, made similar exceptions for herbal medicine. Illinois, in its ephedra ban, did not.

Herbal medicine practitioners say they are relieved that their profession has not been included in the F.D.A. ban because ma huang is so useful.

Ephedra is the first herb taught in a Chinese medicine course, said David Molony, an acupuncturist in Catasauqua, Pa., who is a vice president of the American Association of Oriental Medicine. It's traditionally been used as one of the top herbs for one of the top complaints of humanity: colds.

Yet ma huang is becoming increasingly difficult for herbalists to obtain, because of insurance costs. Ephedra's dangerous side effects have led to lawsuits against supplement makers. And those, in turn, have caused insurers to raise the premiums for companies that deal in ephedra, even for use in herbal medicine.

This started even before the baseball player died, said Subhuti Dharmananda, an herbal medicine supplier, referring to the death last year of Steve Bechler, a 23-year-old pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles, who had been taking ephedra supplements. If we have one product with ma huang in it, then the insurance company raises our product liability insurance rate for everything by a factor of three, Mr. Dharmananda said.

As a result, his company, the Institute for Traditional Medicine, in Portland, Ore., has not used ma huang in any of his products since 2001. We have reformulated all the products that had ma huang, Mr. Dharmananda said.

Some other herbal medicine distributors have also discontinued ma huang, but some continue to sell it.

We decided to pay higher insurance rates to keep those formulas available, said Dr. John Scott, an Oriental medicine practitioner and owner of Golden Flower Chinese Herbs, an herbal medicine distributor in Albuquerque. But Dr. Scott said he was disturbed by the rising insurance rates and by the negative news surrounding ephedra.

The active ingredient in ephedra is ephedrine, a stimulant. Dietary supplements have contained concentrated amounts of ephedra, sometimes combined with caffeine, another stimulant. Herbalists say they are not surprised that some consumers suffered side effects.

Chinese medicine practitioners have known for years that you could get too much of this, said Dr. Robert Schulman, a physician who practices acupuncture in Manhattan.

They even recommend a specific herbal antidote, known as white tiger decoction, to be given to people who are overstimulated by ma huang, he said.

Dr. Schulman and other practitioners of Oriental medicine say they would not dispense ephedra in concentrations as strong as those found in dietary supplements, they would not dispense it for weight loss or muscle building, and they would not dispense it for more than a week or two.

Because ma huang relaxes the air passages in the lungs, Mr. Molony said, it is used to treat asthma and cough. It also promotes sweating, so it can help a person recover from a minor cold, he said. And it is said to promote urination and thus relieve edema.

But ma huang is never dispensed by itself, practitioners say. It is used in combination with various other herbs. Part of what makes herbal medicines safer is that they have a complex array of constituents, Dr. Scott said.

Ma huang can be found in dozens of different formulations, but only a few are commonly used. One of these combines ma huang with cinnamon twig, apricot seed and licorice.

These ingredients can be boiled together to create a rather viscous tea. Or they can be boiled and then dried to make powders or tablets.

The cinnamon twig is meant to help promote sweating; the apricot seed, to suppress cough and stop wheezing; and the licorice, to moisten the lungs and harmonize the other ingredients, Mr. Molony said.

I've gotten a lot of mileage out of this formulation for a chronic cough, said Dr. Schulman, one that just doesn't go away.

Herbal medicine practitioners caution against giving ma huang formulations to people who have high blood pressure or a fever or to women who are pregnant.

Though herbalists universally claim that their use of ma huang is safe, there have been no efforts to monitor harmful effects in patients receiving herbal treatments, the F.D.A. reports.

What if someone asked an herbalist to dispense ephedra for weight loss? The F.D.A.'s new rule does not specifically prohibit that.

Herbalists said in interviews that they and their colleagues would not do that.

I would tell them there are a lot better ways to lose weight than using stimulants, Mr. Molony said.

Mr. Dharmananda said, For those of us involved in natural healing, the idea of popping pills for weight loss doesn't work.

Andrew Gaeddert, an herbalist at the Get Well Clinic in Oakland, Calif., said: I can't think of one herbalist who would use ephedra or ma huang as a weight loss alternative. When people get herbal training, they get the idea drummed into them that this is a strong herb and we use it only for a short time.

Dr. Stephen Bent, a physician at the University of California at San Francisco who has studied the health risks of ephedra, said, The traditional Chinese medicine loophole is probably not a great danger.

A bigger danger, he said, is that consumers may turn to F.D.A.-approved over-the-counter asthma medications that contain ephedrine. It seems strange to me that the F.D.A. is banning ephedra because it contains ephedrine but not over-the-counter products containing ephedrine, which obviously could be used for a long period of time, Dr. Bent said. It raises the question of how often these approvals are reviewed for their appropriateness.

Ephedra (Ma Huang)

(Chinese Herbs Healing)

Speaking of ephedra (Ma Huang), an ancient Chinese herb with over 5,000-year history, you might have heard of it if you ever spent some time on locating an effective diet pill. These days weight loss pills with ephedra are expanding the market despite of all those considerable controversy out there. As a legal drug recorded in the “Chinese Pharmacopoeia”, clinically it is mainly used for common cold due to wind-cold, chest tightness, cough, wheezing, and so on. Its main ingredient is ephedrine (EPH), which is also one item listed in the pharmacopoeia and commonly used for the prevention of bronchial asthma and relief of mild asthma.

When you catch a cold, the nasal drops containing ephedrine hydrochloride can be of a great help on reducing nasal congestion and swelling, runny nose, and other cold symptoms. Thanks to its outstanding benefits on accelerating metabolism, losing weight, and increasing endurance, ephedrin becomes one of the most popular performance enhancers for athletes. Besides, it is also one desirable fat burning pills since it will burn off the fat while maintaining muscle. But I do have to say, ephedrine has obvious adverse reactions, especially damage to the heart. Others include heart palpitations, arrhythmias, myocardial infarction, elevated blood pressure, stroke, brain damage, or even death.

What is ephedra or Ma Huang?

Medicinally it refers to the herbaceous stems of Ephedra sinica Stapf, Ephedra intermedia Schrenk ex C.A.Mey, or Ephedra equisetina Bge., which is a plant in the family Ephedraceae. It is mainly produced in Xinjiang, Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Gansu and other places. It is usually collected during autumn. After the harvesting, it needs to remove the woody stems, residual root and impurities, and then cut into sections. It is usually used raw, stir-fried with honey, or smashed.

Ephedra plant is a perennial herb, 30 to 50 cm in height. Needle leaves, usually about 1 to 2 millimeters thick, grow upward directly. The color of leaf is always changing according to the seasonal variation – green in summer, yellow in autumn, withered and yellow in winter, and tender green mixed with pale yellow in the following spring. Ephedra fruit turns red and sweet when ripe. Since it is edible and with high nutritional value, people love to pick and eat it when the fruit season comes. But eating too much of it may lead to dizziness. After the fruits are rife enough to fall into the soil or sand, it will sprout and grow in the coming year.

Ephedra sinica stem contains 1% to 2% alkaloids, which consist of 40% to 90% l-Ephedrine, d-pseudoephedrine, and traces of lN-methyl ephedrine, dN-methyl-pseudoephedrine, l-Norephedrine, d-Demethyl-pseudoephedrine, and Ephedine. Besides, it still contains 6% of catechu tannin, volatile oils, flavonoids, organic acids, etc.; Ephedra equisetina contains 1.15% to 1.75% alkaloids, mainly ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. And it still contains tannins, flavonoid glycosides, dextrin, inulin, starch, pectin, cellulose, saccharides like glucose, oxalic acid, citric acid, malic acid, fumaric acid and other organic acids; Ephedra intermedia contains large amounts of ephedrine. Besides, it still contains tannins, flavonoid glycosides, dextrin, inulin, starch, pectin, cellulose, glucose, etc. The above-mentioned 3 species have similar chemical constituents. But in terms of alkaloid content, the highest one is ephedra equisetina, followed by ephedra sinica and ephedra intermedia.

Ephedra health benefits

Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are the main active ingredient in many anti-tussive, anti-cold and intranasal compound preparations. Unlike its traditional use in China, this herb is extensively used for the purposes of weight loss, bodybuilding, and libido boost. Common brands include Stimerex with ephedra, Xenadrine with ephedra, Metabolife with ephedra, Lipodrene with ephedra, and so on. Besides of ephedra pills, you can also buy ephedra products such as ephedra tea, extract, supplements, etc. It is used as diet pills because it can induce perspiration, promote diuresis, and improve basal metabolic rate; it is used as stamina and sex enhancer because it can increase myocardial contractility, enhance cardiac output, and stimulate central nervous system. In addition, it is considered that the reason why it can help lose weight is based on its effect of suppressing appetite, which results in reduced calorie intake and thus burn off the fat for the energy needed. Modern pharmacological actions of má huáng

1. Its volatile oil can induce sweating because ephedra alkaloids increases and speeds up people’s sweat gland secretion;

2. Its volatile oil has antipyretic effect;

3. Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine relieve bronchial smooth muscle spasm;

4. Pseudoephedrine has significant diuretic effect;

5. Ephedrine can stimulate the heart, constrict blood vessels, and increase blood pressure;

6. Ephedrine has obvious stimulant effect on central nervous system, which cause excitement, insomnia, and anxiety;

7. Its volatile oil has inhibition on influenza virus;

8. Its methanol extract has anti-inflammatory effects;

9. Its decoction inhibits pathogenic microorganisms.

Selected herbal remedies on herba ephedrae

The Chinese Pharmacopoeia says that it is acrid and slightly bitter in flavor and warm in nature. It covers meridians of lung and bladder. Prime functions are inducing perspiration to dispel cold, freeing lung to relieve asthma, and inducing diuresis for removing edema. Essential indications include common cold due to wind-cold, chest tightness, cough, and wind-water puffy swelling. Besides, the ephedra stir-fried with honey is able to moisten lung to arrest cough, which is mainly used for asthma or cough after the exterior syndrome has been cured. Recommended dosage is from 2 to 9 grams.

1. Ma Huang Tang from Shang Han Lun (On Cold Damage). It is combined with Gui Zhi (Cinnamon Twig), Xing Ren (Apricot Seed), and Gan Cao (Licorice Root) to cure wind-cold exterior excess accompanied with wheezing and cough.

2. San Ao Tang from Tai Ping Hui Min He Ji Ju Fang (Formulas of the Peaceful Benevolent Dispensary). It is matched with apricot and licorice to treat excess type dyspnea due to attack of exopathogenic wind-cold and obstructive lung qi.

3. Xiao Qing Long Tang from On Cold Damage. It is formulated with Xi Xin (Herba Asari), Gan Jiang (Dried Ginger Root), Ban Xia (Pinellia), etc. to get rid of cold phlegm, fluid retention, cough, asthma, and clear, thin mucus in the nose.

4. Ma Xing Gan Shi Tang from (On Cold Damage). It is joined with Shi Gao (Gypsum), apricot, and licorice for the treatment of excessive lung heat, high fever, and tachypnea.

5. Gan Cao Ma Huang Tang from Jin Gui Yao Lue (Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Cabine). It is coupled with licorice to cure edema and dysuria accompanied with exterior syndrome.

6. Yue Bi Jiao Zhu Tang from Jin Gui Yao Lue. It is used together with gypsum, licorice, Sheng Jiang (Fresh Ginger), and Bai Zhu (White Atractylodes) to treat edema and dysuria. Ephedra side effects

In April 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned the sale of food containing ephedra alkaloids and decided more relevant products would be imposed greater controls in early 2006. However, the fancy use, marketing hype, and poor management of over-the-counter drugs, instead of ephedra, should be the one to take the blame since the combination of them can lead to public neglect and misunderstanding on the safety of ephedra and ephedrine. Since 2003, the adverse events caused by abusing ephedrine have been increasing since it is allowed to be used as a food additive. And most of them are cardiovascular and nervous system problems, including myocardial infarction, heart rhythm abnormalities, seizures, loss of consciousness, or even a death. All these mentioned adverse reactions are more serious than normal side effects of ephedrine used medicinally, which doesn’t make sense at all. But there is one thing worth noting here – among the severe or death cases some are women who have taking weight loss pills with ephedra for a long term, even up to 4 years.

Currently controversy still exists on the clinical safety of ephedra and ephedrine alkaloids. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) never uses Ma Huang herb for the mere purpose of losing weight or building muscle. For sure ephedrine can be used for loss of libido and delayed ejaculation clinically, which however doesn’t justify the abuse of it by healthy person. And this is against the basic spirit and principles of TCM. So, clinically the use and dosing of ephedra or ephedrine should be done strictly according to the guidance of a doctor.

Ephedra health benefits and side effect

(brandon, moffatloss)

You can use Ephedra (Ma huang, teamster’s tea, sea ephedrine,Ephedra sinica, desert tea, yellow horse, yellow astringent, joint fir, squaw tea, mormon tea, popotillo and sea grape) for respiratory ailments , weight loss, energy and athletic performance.

Introduction

Ephedra as a herb used since ages for improving breathing and resolving conditions related to the lungs, is stiff shrub with slender, jointed branches.

Combined with cinnamon, licorice and almond ,people used this herb roots and branches for treating lung disorders, hay fever, asthma and common cold .

Health benefit

1. You can use Ephedra tea for the symptoms of cold and flu healing.

2. With its decongestant effects, you can also us it in the treatment of asthma-related problems. Read More Click here to try Garcinia Cambogia for free

3. Ephedra has stimulant effect capable of boosting the performance of. athletes by reducing feelings of fatigue and pain.

4. You can use ephedra as weight loss drugs. It can increase the rate of metabolism in your body, cause your would body heats up after consume this.

5. ephedra is also used to treat edemas.

6. Ephedra can boost your energy levels and using its active compound ephedrine. Ephedra stimulate the heart and increase blood flow, which increase energy and supply blood and oxygen hence keeps muscles fresh.

Side effect

1. Ephedra and its extracts are potentially addictive, and

2. Ephedra can disrupt regular heart rhythm, induce cardiac arrest, and raise blood pressure.

3. Ephe dramake you sweat profusely,become irritable, nervous, nauseous and insomnia.

4. An overdose can cause; dry mouth, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, stroke, seizures,

The Qualities and Uses of the Chinese Herb Mahuang / 麻黃 / Ephedra

By Eric Grey

Ma Huang – Ephedra – 麻黄

Mahuang is one of the most famous herbs in the Chinese Materia Medica – and with good reason. In a world where medicine is mostly unable to deal with the most common illnesses that people encounter, colds and flus, an herb that can handily address these symptoms has a right to be respected. Unfortunately, some of the popularity of this herb exists for more nefarious reasons. Mahuang has been implicated in a number of exertion related deaths, particularly in young athletes and people seeking to lose weight.

Unfortunately, many people are unable or unwilling to learn the whole story. These deaths did not come from the controlled use of appropriate doses of the whole herb under the supervision of an appropriately trained Chinese medicine practitioner.

In many of these cases, the herb is broken down to isolate the desired alkaloids (for example, L-ephedrine) and often mixed with other stimulating compounds to increase the metabolism of the imbiber. It is not used using the principles of formula science – and thus is dangerous. When mahuang is used in its natural or minimally prepared form, prescribed by a physician within a carefully constructed formula appropriate to the patient’s condition and constitution – it is absolutely safe and quite beneficial.

However, access to mahuang, even for licensed practitioners, is under a shadow in the United States. While it is clear that the federal authorities aren’t targeting practitioners, the consensus seems to be that this is a matter of enforcement priorities only. Regardless of the situation for practitioners, finding it from safe sources is very difficult – for most it is impossible.

That doesn’t mean we should fail to study it, however. We must learn about this critically important herb, and do whatever we can to work for continued access to it for licensed, trained professionals. That’s an article for another day.

The plant

Ma Huang is part of the family Ephedraceae and the Genus Ephedra. There are several medicinal members of this genus, but the standard species used in Chinese medicine appears to be Ephedra sinica. It is considered to be an evergreen shrub and its natural range is throughout East Asia and northern China. It is a sun-loving herb and does not thrive in shady areas. It also thrives in sub-optimal soil, preferring disturbed areas and a sandy growing medium.

Let’s think about Ma Huang from the perspective of the doctrine of signatures. The growing plant is green in color, tough, with few extra parts. Since green is such a common color in plants, it doesn’t make much sense to refer to the Liver (associated with green color). But the shape reminds me of the tubular structures inside of lung tissue, which resonates with its effect of clearing breathing passages. Its ability to live in marginal environments, especially dry ones, as well as its preference for sandy soil seems to resonate it with the energy of Yang Ming and dryness – which makes sense given its ability to dry rather intensely.

The names

In English, the genus name is typically used as the common name – ephedra or, sometimes, ephedrine. In some cases even in English it is commonly known as Mahuang, in similar fashion to Dang Gui which is sometimes simply referred to by its Chinese name by English speaking non-practitioners. The quick and dirty Chinese translation is “hemp yellow.” This translation, frankly, doesn’t do much for me so I’ll look a little more closely at the characters.

麻 – má

The primary meaning of this character is, simply, hemp. Hemp is a hardy plant used in the manufacture of a number of durable products including, but not limited to, rope and cloth. In general, textiles and ropes created from hemp are rougher than their cotton brethren – this may have something to do with another possible definition of má, which is pockmarked, rough or pitted. Ma Huang is, indeed, fairly rough to the touch.

黄 – huáng

Again, we’re not going to get a lot of common variation in this character – it means yellow in pretty much every significant context. But will that stop me from pulling it apart? Of course not! 😀 Interestingly, the character has undergone a lot of change during its history. The earliest versions show a person wearing a ceremonial belt or pendant – which some sources suggest may have been yellow.

The importance of the color yellow cannot be understated for the ancient Chinese. Think of the Yellow River, often called the “mother river” and of the Yellow Emperor, often thought of as China’s first head of state. Yellow is also the color associated with the Earth phase element, and this element is commonly thought to be the most central, linking together the others. There are many herbs with 黄 in their names, including the Yellow brothers (Huang Bai, Huang Lian and Huang Qin) and the eminent purgative and blood mover, Da Huang. Good Ma Huang does have a yellowish tint, so the use of Huang may simply refer to this fact. It may also hint at its importance.

The Shennong Ben Cao Jing refers to another name for Ma Huang – Dragon Sand, 龍沙. Sand could refer to the areas where it is commonly found, or able to grow. Dragon, the animal of the Stomach, is a potent symbol in ancient Chinese thought. Perhaps this name refers to the herb’s importance or its ability to devour pathogens. Reader input would be greatly appreciated here – I’m fascinated by this alternate name.

Differences between modern interpretation and the Shennong ben cao jing

As all good Chinese herb scholars, I do a fair amount of memorizing herb properties. Of course, in my case, I am especially interested in comparing the information found in the Shennong Ben Cao Jing (SBCJ) and the modern textbooks. In the SBCJ, Ma Huang is listed as being bitter. Modern textbooks list it as being both bitter and pungent.

The pungency makes sense from a functional perspective – pungent flavor is strongly moving, particularly pushing things to the surface and dispersing them. Given the strongly diaphoretic nature of Ma Huang, we should expect pungency to be part of its profile. So why did the SNBCJ not talk about this?

The bitter flavor informs us of one of the other important functions of Ma Huang, it’s impact on the Bladder and water metabolism. Mahuang is capable of reducing water accumulation through the promotion of urination. This, of course, is one of the reasons it is sometimes, unfortunately, used in weight loss schemes – part of what brought FDA scrutiny down on misuse of the herb. However, the SBCJ does first discuss the uses of Ma Huang that we think of most commonly and only later refers to its accumulation reducing effects. We may have to look beyond our traditional understanding of the nature of herb flavors to get more information – perhaps in another article…

Medicinal uses

I have already hinted at the basic use of this herb in Chinese herbal medicine. Mahuang is a primary herb in all of the strongest formulas for releasing pathogens from the body through the skin using the sweating mechanism. It releases the exterior, inducing sweating, disperses the Lung Qi to stop coughing, promotes urination to reduce water accumulation and can also warm to dispel cold. Traditionally, one should remove the joints at the internodes from ephedra to increase its diaphoretic action. Interestingly, it is in the internodes that the highest concentration of stimulant alkaloids is found.

A North American species in the genus is known as “Mormon tea” because the early Mormon people in the United States used it as a replacement for caffeinated beverages, which are forbidden by the religion. It is commonly asserted that Native American tribes also used a species of the genus in similar fashion, but I was unable to locate any hard evidence of this. Regardless, it is interesting to see another example of cross-cultural support for the use of an herb.

Are Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs) toxic?

(Admin , The Health Site)

Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) also carry potentially lethal plant ingredients, allergens and traces of endangered species, according to a new research, which warned the consumers to be aware of

Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) also carry potentially lethal plant ingredients, allergens and traces of endangered species, according to a new research, which warned the consumers to be aware of health safety issues before adopting these as a treatment option. The 15 TCM samples, seized by Australian border officials, in the form of powders, tablets, capsules, flakes, and herbal teas were audited using the DNA sequencing technology. DNAs are preserved in the samples.

“TCMs have a long cultural history, but today consumers need to be aware of the legal and health safety issues before adopting them as a treatment option,” said Michael Bunce, research leader and Murdoch University Australian Research Council Future Fellow, the journal Public Library of Science Genetics reports. “In total we found 68 different plant families in the medicines – they are complex mixtures of species,” Bunce said.

“Some of the TCMs contained plants of the genus Ephedra and Asarum. These plants contain chemicals that can be toxic if the wrong dosage is taken, but none of them actually listed concentrations on the packaging,” Bunce said. “We also found traces from trade restricted animals that are classified as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered, including the Asiatic black bear and Saiga antelope,” added Bunce, according to a university statement.

Until now it has been difficult to determine the biological origins of ingredients present in TCMs because processing into pills and powders makes identification difficult. Doctoral student Megan Coghlan, who is studying the application of DNA techniques in wildlife forensic applications, said the research shows that second-generation, high throughput sequencing is an efficient and cost-effective way to audit the species composition. “The approach has the ability to unravel complex mixtures of plant and animal products,” Coghlan said. Further testing of TCMs would reveal the extent of the problem and make it easier for customs officials to identify the trade of endangered species. The increasing popularity of the medicines has seen the value of the industry increase to hundreds of millions of dollars per annum.

“We found multiple samples that contained DNA from animals listed as trade-restricted according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species Legislation. Put simply, these TCMs are not legal,” Coghlan said. “A product labelled as 100 percent Saiga antelope contained considerable quantities of goat and sheep DNA,” Bunce said. “Another product, Mongnan Tianbao pills, contained deer and cow DNA, the latter of which may violate some religious or cultural strictures,” Bunce added.

Weight loss supplements – do they work?

(Editorial Team , The Health Site)

Weight loss supplements are not really effective in helping you shed weight and may have unpleasant or serious side-effects. Melinda Manore, from Oregon State University, reviewing evidence surrounding hundreds of weight loss supplements, concluded that no single product results in significant weight loss and many have side-effects. ‘What people want is to lose weight and maintain or increase lean tissue mass,’ Manore said. ‘There is no evidence that any one supplement does this. And some have side effects ranging from the unpleasant, such as bloating and gas, to very serious issues such as strokes and heart problems.’

A few products, including green tea, fibre and low-fat dairy supplements, can have a modest weight loss benefit of three to four pounds, but it is important to know that most of these supplements were tested as part of a reduced calorie diet, the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism reports. ‘For most people, unless you alter your diet and get daily exercise, no supplement is going to have a big impact,’ said Manore, according to an Oregon statement.

Manore looked at supplements that fell into four categories: products such as chitosan that block absorption of fat or carbohydrates, stimulants such as caffeine or ephedra that increase metabolism, products such as conjugated linoleic acid that claim to change the body composition by decreasing fat, and appetite suppressants such as soluble fibres. She found that many products had no randomized clinical trials examining their effectiveness, and most of the research studies did not include exercise. Most of the products showed less than a two-pound weight loss benefit compared to the placebo groups.

‘I don’t know how you eliminate exercise from the equation. The data is very strong that exercise is crucial to not only losing weight and preserving muscle mass, but keeping the weight off,’ said Manore, professor of nutrition and exercise sciences at Oregon. Manore said the key to weight loss is to eat whole grains, fruits, vegetables and lean meats, reduce calorie intake of high-fat foods, and to keep moving. ‘Adding fiber, calcium, protein and drinking green tea can help,’ Manore said. ‘But none of these will have much effect unless you exercise and eat fruits and vegetables,’ Manroe added.

Ephedra Facts – Health Benefits with Side Effects and Warnings

By Amit Kumar

It is not an uncommon practice to pull out your little book of Grandmother’s secrets when you’re not feeling well and seek the help of home remedies. Many home remedies often involve the use of herbs and natural plants of all kinds. However, though the many herbs are mentioned in the list of trusted home remedies, it is important to understand the actual role played by these herbs in addressing ailments. You need to know several ways in which these herbs can be used and the side effects they bring along, some of which could have severe detrimental effects on the body in the long run.

One important herb that people often use to address a wide-range of issues, be it weight loss or the common cold, is ephedra. Ephedra, botanically known as Ephedra Sinica, is a popular plant with medicinal properties and the use is widely known all over the world. Known to the Chinese as Ma Huang, this herb, evergreen in nature, has a history of being used in traditional medicines for over 5,000 years in the communities of India and China, or to brew herbal tea as done by the Native Americans. It is native to Mongolia and Central Asia and the desert shrub is often found growing on the rocky and dry terrain in Asia.

Uses of Ephedra

Ephedra primarily contains alkaloid and non-alkaloid compounds which are mainly responsible for the plant being attributed to its medicinal properties. The presence of the ephedrine compound in the plant ensures that ephedra is capable of stimulating the heart and the nervous system heavily. It is therefore a prime ingredient in several traditional medicines that are used to treat common ailments such as nasal congestion, a common cold, flu, wheezing and asthma, as it helps resolve the problem of swelling of the mucous membrane. It has been used to control fever on account of its potential to allow the body to break into sweat and flush the flu or the fever within the body.

The impact of the herb on the heart is such that it increases the heart rate, helps increase blood pressure and allows the bronchial tubes to expand easily, making breathing easier. It also helps relieve pain in the joints and bones. It functions as a “water pill”, helping increase the flow of urine in the body among people who face issues with retention of fluids in the body. It has also been used in the manufacture of several capsules and tablets.

Lately, it has been advertised as a solution to weight loss for people who want to battle the issue of obesity. It is commonly sold as a dietary supplement in the United States. When consumed in moderate quantities along with low-fat food and physical exertion, it promises to help one lose weight in a short period of time, as little as six months. It could be said that the herb supports the suppression of appetite, when consumed with caffeine, which eventually results in significant weight loss. Another theory could be that the herb helps increase the temperature of the body and with this increase in body heat, more calories are burned, which explains the weight loss phenomenon. It also results in an increase in metabolism and the rate at which one puts on weight tends to reduce consequently, no matter how much you eat.

It is often an ingredient in energy sports drinks, which are consumed by athletes to increase their performance. It is also sipped by people prior to their workouts. Since this herb helps clear the bronchial passage and initiates easy breathing, it helps people actively participate in sports and similar activities. The consumption of this by athletes has considerably increased owing to the fact that it is easily available as an over-the-counter drug. Though it lacks proof, the herb is known to increase alertness and stamina, as claimed by athletes and bodybuilders.

It is a lesser known fact that ephedra is often sold as a recreational drug, going by the name of herbal ecstasy. However, the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) strictly disapprove of this drug and its possession can spell trouble. It is also known to suppress the urge to smoke and hence, is used by those who wish to quit smoking.

The Other Side To Using Ephedra

Ironically, an herb such as Ephedra with the aforementioned medicinal properties is also an herb which has been strictly banned by the FDA following more than 1,200 reported casualties after the use of ephedra in several forms. Between 1995 to 1997 the FDA was notified about 900 cases of toxicity caused due to ephedra and 37 cases of sudden death, stroke or heart attack came to light. Another study conducted by the New England Journal of Medicine in 2000 brought to light cases of 13 individuals suffering from permanent disability and 10 incidences of death among 140 other events that highlighted the adverse impacts of ephedra. Most of the adverse impact is seen in the case of young and middle-aged consumers who resort to taking ephedra either for the purpose of losing weight or to boost their energy levels. However, the Ephedra Education Council has been conducting studies to prove that the use and consumption of ephedra is absolutely safe and effective.

Research conducted by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the US National Institute of Health confirms that though the use of synthetic ephedrine does facilitate quick weight loss, it also pulls in side-effects such as nausea, mood swings, anxiety, vomiting, hyperactivity, and palpitations. Placebo-controlled randomized trials were conducted by a Southern California Evidence-based Center which falls under the US Department of Health and Human Services to further support the fact that the aforementioned side effects were a result of ephedrine based dietary supplements. Other consequences recorded included myocardial infarctions, strokes, seizures and development of psychiatric cases.

Overall, it has been noted that consumption of ephedra can result in a dry mouth, kidney stones, tremors, insomnia, irregularity in the heart rhythm, stomach problems, damage caused to the heart and difficulty in urinating. It is also advised that women, who are lactating, are pregnant or children should be kept away from doses of ephedra as it could have detrimental effects.

Keeping these side effects in mind, it is extremely important to know that the consumption of ephedra should be carefully reviewed by a trained medical professional, with the amount and time period of consumption of supplements with ephedra as an ingredient being carefully monitored.

Sports Supplements - Ephedrine and Athletic Performance

By Elizabeth Quinn

Ephedrine and Ephedra are Banned for Most Uses

Ephedrine is a drug derived from the plant Ephedra equisetina. It has been used for hundreds of years as a stimulant and a decongestant. A synthetic form of the drug, pseudoephedrine, is a common ingredient in over-the-counter and prescription cold and allergy products. Structurally similar to amphetamines, it increases blood pressure and heart rate. The mechanisms behind ephedrine's effect on weight-loss appear to be those of increasing energy expenditure through increased lipolysis; increasing basal metabolic rate through thyroxine; and decreasing food intake by suppressing appetite.

Ephedrine Claims
• Increases body fat loss
• Improves athletic performance
• Improves concentration
Research Shows
• Research has found no effect of ephedrine on strength, endurance, reaction time, anaerobic capacity, or recovery time after prolonged exercise
• Ephedrine products have been found to contain from 0% to 100% of the amount listed on the label
• Side effects vary and do not correlate with the amount consumed
• Caffeine potentiates the effect of Ephedrine and the combination can be dangerous
Cautions for Ephedrine
• Ephedrine is banned by the NCAA, MLB, NFL, PGA and the IOC. It is not allowed for use by amateur athletes and many professional athletes.
• FDA has documented 40 deaths and more than 800 side effects linked to Ephedrine use
• Side effects include:
• irregular heart rate
• elevated blood pressure
• dizziness
• headache
• heart attack
• stroke
• seizure
• psychosis
• death
Ephedra Banned in Supplements

Ma huang is an herbal form of ephedrine called ephedra that was contained in many herbal products available in health food stores (often along with chromium).

Prior to 2004, ephedra and ma huang could be included in supplements because USFDA regulations excused the makers of nutritional supplements from fully identifying the contents of their products. It became a very popular addition to supplements that were sold for weight loss. Supplements that included other stimulants such as caffeine were especially concerning as they can enhance the side effects and health risks.

While some people thought that as a "natural" supplement that ephedra wouldn't be harmful, it was linked to deaths and serious reactions. Ma huang has been blamed for the deaths of several high school students who used it as a stimulant or aphrodisiac; the deaths presumably resulted from CNS bleeding or cardiac arrhythmia. Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler died of heat stroke in 2003 while taking ephedra for weight loss and the medical examiner said that may have contributed to it.

This resulted in a ban of ephedrine alkaloids (ephedra) in dietary supplements by the FDA in 2004. This ban was upheld in 2005 but low-dose ephedra of 10 mg or less was still marketed until a complete ban was upheld in 2007.

Ma huang may still be sold as a pure herb or tea in the United States.

Over-the-counter sales of pseudoephedrine-containing products may be restricted due to their use in illegal manufacturing of methamphetamine. Some states require showing identification and allow only small quantities to be purchased at one time.

The best advice is to lose weight the way sports nutritionists recommend: proper diet and exercise. If you choose to take ephedra or ephedrine, you should consume them according to national industry standards.

What the 2015 Nobel Prizes mean for traditional Chinese medicine

By Marta Hanson

Scientisist Youyou Tu’s Nobel Prize is a sign that Western science has changed how it perceives alternative systems of medicine — but only slightly.

I’m sure I’m not the only one surprised by the announcement that half of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has gone to a researcher who spent her entire career researching traditional Chinese medicine. Based at the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Beijing (now the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences) since 1965, scientist Youyou Tu, her colleagues, and home institution may well be just as stunned today as I am.

Being granted the Lasker Award is often a good predictor of Nobel Prize prospects. Tu received one in 2011 for her discovery of Artemisinin as an alternative malaria cure to the standard chloroquine, which was quickly losing ground in the 1960s due to increasingly drug-resistant parasites. Scientific research on the pharmaceutically active properties of traditional Chinese medicinals, however, has never been a predictor for such widespread international recognition.

Traditional medical knowledge anywhere in the world has not even been on the radar for Nobel Prize prospects. Until now, that is. So how should we interpret this arguably seismic shift in international attention on traditional Chinese medicine?

Discoveries to be made in historical record

In the question-and-answer session after the announcement at the Karolinska Institute, which awards the Nobels, one of the panelists emphasized not just the quality of Tu’s scientific research, but also the value of recorded empirical experience in the past.

The antifebrile effect of the Chinese herb Artemisia annua (qinghaosu 青蒿素), or sweet wormwood, was known 1,700 years ago, he noted. Tu was the first to extract the biologically active component of the herb — called Artemisinin — and clarify how it worked. The result was a paradigm shift in the medical field that allowed for Artemisinin to be both clinically studied and produced on a large scale.

Tu has always maintained that she drew her inspiration from the medical text of a fourth-century Chinese physician and alchemist named Ge Hong 葛洪 (circa 283-343).

His Emergency Formulas To Keep at Hand (Zhouhou beijifang 肘後備急方) can best be understood as a practical handbook of drug formulas for emergencies. It was a book light enough to keep “behind the elbow” (zhouhou), namely, in one’s sleeve, where Chinese men sometimes carried their belongings. We can discern from Ge’s astute description of his patients’ symptoms that people then suffered not only from malaria but also from other deadly diseases including smallpox, typhoid and dysentery.

Beyond recording the fever-fighting qualities of Artemisia annua, Physician Ge also wrote about how Ephedra sinica (mahuang 麻黃) effectively treated respiratory problems and how arsenic sulphide (“red Realgar,” xionghuang 雄黃) helped control some dermatological problems.

Traditional ingredients, modern drugs

Just because a compound has natural roots and has long been used in traditional medicine is no reason to take it lightly.

You might remember that in 2004, the FDA actually banned ephedra-containing dietary and performance-enhancing supplements. They’d been the cause not only of serious side effects but also several deaths. The ban remains in effect in the U.S. despite a court challenge from ephedra manufacturers. Related drug ephedrine, however, is used to treat low blood pressure and is a common ingredient in over-the-counter asthma medicines.

As for Realgar, its toxicity was well-known in both ancient Greece and Chinese antiquity. In Chinese medical thought, though, skillfully administered toxins may also be powerful antidotes for other toxins. Realgar thus continues to be used in Chinese medicine as a drug that relieves toxicity and kills parasites. Applied topically, it treats scabies, ringworm and rashes on the skin’s surface; taken internally, it expels intestinal parasites, particularly roundworms.

Although biomedicine does not currently use Realgar or its related mineral arsenicals in treatments, Chinese researchers have been studying their anticancer properties for some time now. In 2011, a Chinese researcher at Johns Hopkins University, Jun Liu (with other colleagues), also discovered that the Chinese medicinal plant Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F (lei gong teng 雷公藤 “Thunder God Vine”) is effective against cancer, arthritis and skin graft rejection.

Tu’s groundbreaking work on artemisinin, in fact, can be seen as the tip of the iceberg of the extensive and global scientific study of pharmacologically active Chinese medicinals, including another successful antimalarial Dichroa febrifuga (changshan 常山) that has roots in the new scientific research on Chinese medicinals in 1940s mainland China.

It was validation of this traditional drug as an antimalarial in the 1940s, in fact, that set the foundation for Chinese leader Mao Tse Tung’s directive two decades later in the late 1960s to find a cure for malaria. Indeed, Tu’s research is best understood within the complex politics and history of top-down support from the Chinese government of Chinese medicine in mainland China during the long durée of the 20th century, and not just in the Maoist period.

Even outside mainland China, though, such research has yielded results. In the 1970s, for example, U.S. and Japanese researchers developed the statin drugs used to lower cholesterol from studying the mold Monascus purpureus that makes red yeast rice, well, “red.”

Empirical evidence of the medical efficacy in the rich Chinese medical archive from centuries earlier similarly influenced the initial direction of this research.

Medically bilingual

So is this Nobel Prize for Tu’s discovery a signal that Western science has changed how it perceives alternative systems of medicine? Perhaps, but only slightly.

One of the Karolinska Institute panelists acknowledged that there are many sources from which scientists draw inspiration to develop drugs. Among them, we should not ignore the long history of experiences from the past. As he clarified, such sources may be inspirational, but the old herbs found there cannot be used just as they are. Don’t underestimate the sophisticated methods Tu used to extract the active Artemisinin compound from Artemesia annua, another one of the panelists concluded.

So the Nobel Prize is not only acknowledging this complete transformation of a Chinese herb through modern biomedical science into something powerfully efficacious, but also the millions of lives saved because of its successful application worldwide, particularly in the developing world.

But there’s something else that marks Tu as extraordinary vis-à-vis both her two fellow Nobel Laureates for medicine, William C Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura, and her more Western medically oriented colleagues in pharmacology. She embodies, in both her history and her research, what I call medical bilingualism — the ability not only to read in two different medical languages but to understand their different histories, conceptual differences, and, most importantly for this unexpected news, potential value for therapeutic interventions in the present.

This medical bilingualism is a quality that current researchers mining the same fine line between the empirical knowledge of traditional medical traditions and the highest level of modern biomedical science would be lucky to share with Nobel Laureate Youyou Tu.

The John Swallow Saga: Fighting for Ephedra in Fat-Burning Pills

By Lynn Packer

It does not take a seer stone to determine when Utah Republican Attorney General John Swallow, first got caught up in Utah’s web of get-rich-quick schemes whose promoters rely on weak laws and lax enforcement. Fast-buck entrepreneurs need attorneys and people in high places to support Utah’s penny stock, telemarketing, multilevel marketing, door-to-door and dietary supplement ventures.

Fresh out of Brigham Young University Law School in 1990, Swallow joined Salt Lake’s Scalley & Reading law firm. Near the same time two Utah county property speculators, George Evan Bybee and Dennis Gay, were putting together Basic Research LLC to market fat-burning diet pills. It was the precursor to their fight gainst the Food and Drug Administration for the right to make claims like:

No sooner had Basic Research launched its new products than another relatively new Utah company, ShapeRite Concepts LTD sued in 1992, claiming Basic Research had stolen its formula. Ephedra, a stimulant now banned by the FDA, was a key ingredient in both companies’ formulas. (Utah pioneers once drank so-called “Mormon Tea” brewed from an Ephedra species plant native to the Moab area.)

ShapeRite, sold via multilevel marketing, was founded by Utahn Carl Martin and his son, Greg, after the elder Martin had served a prison term for a penny stock swindle where investors were led to believe he could mine gold from beach sand in Costa Rica.

It was the beginning of John Swallow’s connection to the dietary supplement industry and his friendship with George Bybee.

J. Bruce Reading and his relatively new associate, John Swallow, represented Bybee and Gay against ShapeRite. A ShapeRite attorney said Reading and Swallow were always together in court with Swallow “like a little kid tagging along.” Swallow was, after all, a junior associate. “Very nice, pleasant and professional,” is how the opposing attorney described Swallow.

The diet pill case settled in 1994, and both companies quickly escalated their sales into the multimillions of dollars. ShapeRite eventually merged with 4Life Research Ltd. Of Sandy, Utah, which went worldwide and now has sales in more than 50 countries with several hundred thousand distributors.

During his six-year stint with Scally & Reading, Swallow was elected to the Utah State House of Representatives where he served until 2002 when he ran unsuccessfully against Democrat Jim Matheson in Utah’s 2nd congressional district..

In 1998, Swallow left the law firm and went with Basic Research and Bybee full time, joining subsidiary Silver Sage as corporate counsel. There, he took up the banner against the federal government, fighting to keep ephedra in the company’s weight loss pills. The combination of ephedra and caffeine proved to be powerful weight-loss drugs sold by Basic Research and many competitors.

Swallow represented the company with the Ephedra Committee of American Herbal Products Association. In September, 2000, Swallow represented SilverSage at the Second Dietary Supplement symposium in Maryland. There, he spoke as an attorney and member of the Utah House of Representatives in defense of ephedra. He began his speech by telling the story of when he worked on his father’s farm near Ely Nevada:

When growing up we could not keep out calves from breaking through the fence to get hay. We used razor wire and the calves were injured getting the hay. But we finally put the hay on a platform above the heads of the calves in their own pens and none were injured.

He said the FDA was trying to impose unsupported restrictions on ephedra which is like putting razor wire around the fence. “We are only denying consumers an effective way to manage their weight,” he told the symposium. “Ephedra is safe, but does it really work? Yes it works!”

Swallow’s efforts paid off, and during the 1998-2002 time-frame he was Basic Research’s general counsel, the industry was able to keep any ephedra ban at bay.

After Swallow moved on to On International, Inc. (See an upcoming Utah Political Capitol report) the FDA banned ephedra after a rash of illnesses and deaths. The sale of ephedra-containing dietary supplements is now illegal in the United States. Basic Research and its competitors moved on with ephedra-free pills.

In 2006, the Federal Trade Commission fined Basic Research $3 million for making questionable weight-loss and fat-loss claims for skin gels and diet supplements. Two of the many products on the list contained ephedra, which had since been outlawed. One of the pills, PediLean, was marketed to help overweight children lose weight. Basic Research unsuccessfully attempted to defend the ads by listing the names and credentials of those who worked on them, including John Swallow, who was reported to have reviewed the ad copy before it ran.

In 2004, as Swallow was a candidate for Utah’s 2nd Congressional District the US house, The Salt Lake Tribune reported on one of the FDA’s actions:

As an attorney for a major Utah dietary supplement firm, congressional candidate John Swallow approved advertisements for several products that federal regulators say were misleading or deceptive, according to a legal filing by the company.
The Federal Trade Commission has alleged that ads for six products manufactured or marketed by Basic Research and its subsidiaries were false or unsubstantiated, including a cream that “dissolves surface body fat wherever applied.”
In a filing with the FTC, the company states that Swallow “reviewed ad copy” for the products in question.
Swallow said the filing must be a mistake, because in three years as the company’s general counsel he primarily handled contract and human resource matters.
“If they had me reviewing the ads, they would’ve been nuts because I don’t know a thing about that FTC stuff,” he said.

True statement by Swallow?

Two years earlier he spoke in Maryland in great detail about the use of and defense of ephedra. He was not there to talk about human resource matters. Swallow cited several studies and provided legal advice about complying with FDA labeling regulations. He said government overregulation is like razor wire to farm animals. “It will hurt an obese population because it will deny access to the one dietary supplement that really will work for them.”

After leaving Basic Research as general counsel in about 200,1 Swallow continued doing some legal work for the firm and for Bybee personally. Bybee was an ardent Swallow campaign supporter but too much so.

In November 2007 the Federal Election Commission (FEC) leveled $46,750 in fines for illegal contributions to the Swallow for Congress campaign. “The Commission found reason to believe the Swallow committee violated the Act by accepting excessive contributions and failing to disclose itemized contributions adequately on FEC reports,” the FEC Said. “The committee accepted contributions from three partnerships, WinterHawk Enterprises LLC, Winterfox LLC and BMF #1, Ltd., that were attributed to individual members of each partnership.” All were Bybee entities used to disguise the source of the campaign funds.

Swallow, even after joining the Attorney General’s Office, registered as a lobbyist for Bybee, personally, and for several of his companies after Bybee disengaged from day-to-day work at Basic Research: Armored Coatings, Mirage Products, Xyelexin and Winterfox. But he told UPC through a friend that listing himself as a lobbyist “was to make sure that disclosure was made regarding companies he had been involved with. It would be akin to obtaining a fishing license but never going fishing.”

Swallow, Bybee and Basic Research declined comment on this story.

8 drugs that exist in nature

By Therese Oneill

Most drugs today, legal and otherwise, are synthesized in a laboratory. But most medical and recreational drugs originally began in the wild, growing naturally in forests, fields, and deserts. Some can still be found there. Here are some of the country's better known drugs, in their natural, pre-processed form.

1. Opium poppy (heroin, morphine, codeine)

Morphine is one of the many opiates that come from the opium poppy. The poppy is sliced while still in bud form, and the milky fluid (latex) that bleeds out is dried, becoming raw opium. Then a long process of adding dangerous chemicals, filtering, and cooking increases the potency of the drug. Heroin is a super-strong, quickly absorbed form of morphine, and the most intense use of opium. English researcher C.R. Wright accidentally created it for the first time in 1874 when he boiled morphine and acetic anhydride together on his stove.

2. Blue agave (Tequila)

Alcohol is unique in the world of drugs because it's made through the process of fermentation, not a particular basic ingredient. Fermentation occurs when yeast eats the sugars of whatever plant you're using, the by-product being ethanol (drinkable alcohol). In tequila, named for the Mexican town where it originated, the sugar comes from the beautiful blue agave. The center of the blue agave looks like pineapple. After it's roasted and mashed, it provides the sugar that, once properly rotted, leaves behind alcohol.

3. Coca leaves (cocaine)

Coca leaves, mostly grown in South America, have to go through some pretty ugly steps to become cocaine. Steps involving powdered cement, gasoline soaks, and battery acid baths are all needed to condense the naturally occurring leaves into an illegal narcotic. The leaves themselves have been used by native populations for centuries as a (much milder) stimulant and medication. Spanish physician and botanist Nicolás Monardes described the effect of the leaves in 1569: "When they wished to make themselves drunk and out of judgment they chewed a mixture of tobacco and coca leaves which make them go as they were out of their wittes."

4. Ephedra sinica (Sudafed, meth)

This scraggly little bush, also called ma huang, has been used in Chinese medicine for centuries. If it sounds familiar, that's because decongestants like Sudafed once synthesized their main ingredient from ephedra (pseudoephedrine). Products containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine are very hard to find now, as the U.S. government considers it a controlled substance. The alkaloids in the plant can be abused, most commonly in the form of weight-loss drugs and meth production. Researching the plant, I couldn't find out if this plant was legal to own. I called the DEA to ask, and, well, they weren't sure either. But they politely researched their documents, and translated them to people-speak for me. It is legal to grow and own the ephedra sinica plant. You just have to register your herb garden with the government and submit to monitoring if you do.

5. Psilocybin mushroom (shrooms)

Psilocybin, the naturally occurring compound that causes the euphoria and psychedelic trips associated with shrooms, can be found in over 200 species of mushrooms, most of which grow wild in Mexico. Different mushrooms have different concentrations of psilocybin, even varying in which part of the fungus you eat. A word of advice to the adventure seeker: Shrooms can be indistinguishable from any number of lethally poisonous mushrooms. Consuming unknown mushrooms may send you on a trip that takes you much further than you intended.

6. Willow bark (aspirin)

Salicylic acid, found in willow bark, has cooled fevered brows across the world for millennia. Even Hippocrates, the father of medicine, used to recommend chewing the bark to reduce fevers and inflammation in his patients, around 300 B.C. The willow tree has strains native to Europe, China, and North America, all of which can be used in medicine. It was from this bark that scientists at the German company Bayer developed aspirin in 1897. An interesting side note: Bayer lost all its patents and trademarks in World War I, when the U.S. government seized the firm as spoils of war and auctioned it off to an American patent medicine company.

7. Sassafras root (ecstasy)

Root beer and sarsaparilla used to have actual sassafras oil in them for flavor. They don't anymore, since the chemical in the oil, safrole, is now a controlled substance. Distilled from the roots and bark of the sassafras tree, safrole is a key ingredient in the manufacture of ecstasy. Not in its original form, of course. It is the treatments with formaldehyde, paint thinner, and drain cleaner that make sassafras oil such a delightful thing to put inside your body.

8. Penicillium mold (penicillin)

Penicillin: The mighty, moldy world changer. It was the first drug to effectively combat bacterial infections, leading to cures of an untold number of afflictions, from strep to syphilis. It was discovered accidentally by Alexander Fleming in 1928. He forgot about a petri dish filled with staph bacteria he'd left out, and he discovered blue green penicillium mold growing all over it. Penicillium mold is an incredibly common species of mold, apt to grow on organic material wherever conditions are dank enough. Wherever the mold touched the staph, the bacteria was gone. Fleming didn't think it would work in people and never tried to make medicine out of it. That was done years later by Australian Nobel laureate Howard Walter Florey, together with the German Nobel laureate Ernst Chain and the English biochemist Norman Heatley.

Ma Huang: Appropriate vs. High-Risk Uses

By Christopher Hobbs

To me one of the worst things about a cold is that feeling that I can’t breathe through my nose at night. Invariably, my sinuses will be clear all day, but as soon as I lie down, it’s as if someone stuffed a large cotton ball up each nostril. I try blowing my nose just right, I try turning this way, then that to get one nostril to drain and open up, but to no avail. Hours later, with little sound sleep, I reach for an herbal formula with the Chinese herb called ma huang, which I know will shortly open things up.

Of course, I could have gone to the drug store and bought one of the many over-the counter (OTC) preparations like SudafedÆ or PrimatineÆ that contain the same active ingredient as ma huang, ephedrine, but then I would have gotten a few other things that I might have to lie awake and worry about, like FD&C Blue dyes Nos. 1 and 2, Red No. 3 parabens and black ink.

Ma huang (Ephedra sinensis) is an important medicinal herb from China used for over 3,000 year in teas and other preparations to help with symptoms of asthma, colds and flu, and allergies. It has also found worldwide acceptance as an effective component of many herbal formulas, over-the-counter (OTC) medications, and as a source for the purified drugs ephedrine and pseudoephedrine used widely for upper respiratory tract ailments (such as allergies and asthma).

The broom-like stems of the herb are harvested by the tons in China and shipped to ports all over the world. Although there are several American species (known as Mormon Tea and used traditionally as a blood purifier), such as E. nevadensis, it is important to note that they contain little or no ephedrine.

The most common use of ma huang in traditional medicine is to relieve symptoms from the first stages of what we call “the common cold,” in western countries, especially the type that is due to exposure to cold, damp, and wind. It is also invaluable for helping to relieve the wheezing and breathing difficulties associated with some types of asthma and allergies.

A TCM herbalist or acupuncturist will always prescribe ma huang in combination with other herbs to help counteract possible side effects such as nervousness, sleeplessness, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, and directing energy away from the digestive organs.

The main active ingredient of ma huang, ephedrine, falls into a therapeutic category of “Adrenergic bronchodilators.” (Opens up the bronchial tree by stimulating the sympathetic nervous system) and is the only adrenergic bronchodilator that is available without a doctor’s prescription. Ephedrine can shrink congested mucous membranes, helping to dry up the watery discharge and open the stuffed nasal passages which so often accompany the common cold or some flu.

The alkaloid acts in similar ways to the body’s own stimulant, adrenaline, but is milder and longer-lasting and, unlike adrenaline, works orally.

Pseudoephedrine, a natural variant of ephedrine from ma huang, is found as a main ingredient in such well-known products as Sudafed, Actifed, Contac, Robitussin-PE, Sinutab, and others, because it causes less of a blood-pressure rise than ephedrine, while maintaining a similar strength for bronchodilation. In current medical practice in the United States, ephedrine is approved for the following conditions:

• “Symptoms of bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema and other lung diseases”
• cough, wheezing, shortness of breath, and troubled breathing (increases the flow of air through the bronchial tubes by dilating them).
• Narcolepsy (“uncontrolled desire for sleep, or sudden attacks of sleep”).

Presently, there is a controversy “brewing” over ma huang. The problem is that some herbal product manufacturers tend at times to disregard the traditional use of ephedra. A number of popular weight-loss and energy products include pure ephedra concentrates, which stimulate the nervous system and metabolism (by stimulating the thyroid gland). There is evidence that the herb works for these purposes, but there are possible dangers… side effects such as a weakening of the digestion, blood pressure increases with an extra demand on the heart, as well as sleep disturbances, nervousness, and anxiety. Some manufacturers do try to add tonic herbs to help counteract these effects.

David Litell from Excell Products, a popular line of “human energy” products containing ma huang said that some of the formulas blended with tonic herbs “are good enough to use on an as needed basis” and that “….ma huang formulas give many people what they want [in the way of extra energy] without draining their reserves.”

He adds that when blended with tonic herbs, ma huang is safer to use than other popular (and legal) stimulants like coffee, kola nut, or guarana, all of which contain caffeine.

However, the uncontrolled and possibly uneducated sale of ma huang is concerning many licensed practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) who worry that the herb (and perhaps others) will become unavailable to them for use in their clinics because of restrictions by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Harvey Kaltsis, the President of the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAAOM) told me that if ma huang is used in commercial formulas for weight loss or energy products, the contraindications should be on the bottle, and it should be properly formulated with other herbs that help counteract its possible side-effects.

“Ephedra should be determined by a TCM differential diagnosis to be appropriate for the person who is using it. Because ephedra is warm in nature, it is inappropriate for people with high blood pressure, spontaneous sweating, and other heat conditions because it will aggravate them.”

Michael Tierra, author of The Way of Herbs is a licensed acupuncturist and western herbalist who feels that ephedra should not be taken long-term. He feels that it is also not appropriate for use in people who have “yin deficiency,” or stress-related adrenal weakness disorders like chronic fatigue.

Currently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has an import alert on ephedra extracts, and the herb was recently mentioned in testimony before a House Sub-Committee hearing on dietary supplements (Proxmire hearings) as a substance about which unsubstantiated claims and documented hazards had occurred in the marketplace. They state that serious side effects have been reported to them from products containing ma huang.

Traditional contraindications for ephedra include general weakness, poor digestion, high blood pressure, nervousness, sleeping difficulties, cardiac arrythmias, and heart disease. It may also contract the uterus, which means it should not be used during pregnancy.

As an OTC and pharmaceutical drug, a number of cautions must be included in labels and instructions for products containing ephedrine, including tremors, nervousness, insomnia, hypertension, heart palpitations, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, and prostatic enlargement. Ephedrine is classified by the FDA for pregnancy in category C (no studies on adverse effects on the fetus exist for humans or animals). It passes through mother’s milk to the infant and should not be taken during breast-feeding. It should not be taken with monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors (such as isocarboxazid, phenelzine, or tranylcypromine or possibly the herb St. John’s wort—Hypericum perforatum) which can potentiate the stimulating effects of ephedra.

Despite the number of side effects listed for purified ephedrine in therapeutic doses, studies show that the whole herb ma huang has a very low toxicity and potential for side effects, when used properly (Tang). Animal studies also have failed to demonstrate carcinogenic or mutagenic potential for ephedrine, and the alkaloid is rapidly eliminated from the human body (88% of an oral dose is excreted in the urine within 24 hours, 97% after 48 hours). Traditional Uses

Herbalists have been saying for years that ma huang should not be used out of the context of a system of medicine that considers its possible side effects as well as clearly defining what kind of person can safely take the herb and for what kind of conditions. Some herbalists feel like manufacturing and advertising products containing ma huang for energy or weight loss are irresponsible and can do nothing but hurt the industry in the long run. This may not have been an easy controversy to clear up without outside intervention, because ephedra makes fantastic profits for manufacturers promising quick energy and slimmer torsos.

Manufacturers of diet and energy products containing ma huang say that ephedra really works to burn fat by stimulating the thyroid gland, a major player in determining the rate of metabolism. They add that when blended with “tonic” herbs that help to counteract its side effects, ma huang is safer to use than other popular (and legal) stimulants like coffee, kola nut, or guarana, all of which contain caffeine.

In TCM, it is known as “Ma Huang,” which means, literally, “hemp yellow,” because of its color. Botanically, it is more closely related to the conifers like pine and firs than to familiar flowering plants such as the mints or dandelions.

The broom-like stems are harvested by the tons in China and shipped to ports all over the world. Although there are several American species (known as Mormon Tea and used traditionally as a blood purifier), such as E. nevadensis, they contain little or no ephedrine or its natural variants.

For coughs and wheezing, it is often combined with apricot seed; for retention of fluids (such as around the eyes) with symptoms of flu or colds, it is combined with ginger; and to counteract its tendency to aggravate inflammation or “heat” during colds and flu, combined with gypsum (Shi Gao) and scullcap root (Huang Qin). Traditionally, the contraindications (times when it is inappropriate to take ma huang) are listed as:

• people who are weakened by excessive sweating (ma huang increases sweating
• to help “push out” the virus pathogen)
• people who have colds in the summer during hot weather, or colds and
• flu with steady fever (no chills), or more-deeply seated ailments such
• as bronchitis accompanied by thick yellow mucus,
• people with high blood pressure
• people who are nervous or
• people who have trouble sleeping
• people with cardiac arrhythmia.
• people with heart disease
Medical Cautions

Additionally, western medicine gives these cautions for the use of ephedra:

• tremor, nervousness, insomnia, transient hypertension, and heart palpitations.
• Allergic reactions are rare, but do occur
• Ephedrine-containing products should be used cautiously with people with heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, or hyperthyroidism.
• Urinary retention can occur in men with prostatic enlargement.
• Ephedrine is classified by the FDA for pregnancy in category C (no studies on adverse effects on the fetus exist for humans or animals).
• Ephedrine passes through mother’s milk to the infant and should not be taken during breast-feeding.
• Can trigger anxiety attacks
• Can cause tremors and is contraindicated for people with epilepsy
• Monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors (such as isocarboxazid, phenelzine or tranylcypromine or possibly the herb St. John’s wort—Hypericum perforatum) can potentiate the stimulating effects of ephedra.
• Studies with animals show that ephedrine has a low toxic potential and is not carcinogenic or mutagenic (Tang).
• In humans, 88% of an oral dose is excreted in the urine within 24 hours, 97% after 48 hours

Doctors' alert on herb-drug interaction

By Joan Chew, The Straits Times

The spotlight was cast on the safety of Chinese herbal medication last month following the death last year of a 58-year-old woman who took cordyceps the week before an operation to remove a benign brain tumour.

She had failed to inform her doctors about her use of cordyceps, which is believed to lead to the extensive bleeding in her brain.

The case has prompted doctors and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) physicians to urge the public to be upfront about their use of medications, including herbs and herbal products.

The interaction between a herb or herbal product and a drug in the body "may augment the action of the drug, reduce the effectiveness of the drug or cause unexplained side effects", warned Ms Lim Ching Hui, senior principal pharmacist at Singapore General Hospital.

She gives four examples of herb-drug interactions that people should be aware of:

• Herbs with high mineral content - such as Gypsum fibrosum (shigao), Concha arcae (waleng zi) and Concha ostreae (muli) - may prevent the oral absorption of the fluoroquinolone class of antibiotics.

The oral and intravenous forms of these antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections of the lungs, respiratory tract, urinary tract, gastrointestinal tract, abdomen, and bones and joints, among other uses.

• Polyphenols in green tea can inhibit the effects of the anti- cancer drug bortezomib, which is used for the treatment of myeloma, a type of blood cancer.

This observation is based on experiments conducted in the test tube and on mice.

It is therefore not advisable for patients receiving bortezomib to consume green tea extracts or drink green tea in large amounts.

• Patients taking a class of drugs called tyrosine kinase inhibitors for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia, lung and kidney cancers are advised to avoid grapefruit.

Grapefruit contains a group of chemical compounds known as furanocoumarins which can inhibit the enzyme CYP3A4 that metabolises this class of drugs, causing accumulation of these drugs in the body.

• Ephedra sinica (mahuang) is the herb from which the drug ephedrine is derived.

Ephedrine is usually used in cough and cold medicines.

Taking Ephedra sinica and other herbs with similar properties has the potential to stimulate the brain, increase heart rate, narrow blood vessels and increase blood pressure, and cause sweating.

TCM cancer treatment goes through final clinical trials in US

Kanglaite Injection (KLT), a drug that contains anti-cancer substances extracted from coix seed, has recently been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to undergo phase III clinical trials.

KLT first underwent trials in 2001, making it the first traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to go through the FDA approval process. During the second phase, the drug proved to prolong pancreatic, lung and liver patients' lives by 1.9 months when used with chemotherapy, exceeding the success rate of existing Western cancer treatments.

On Saturday, Li Dapeng, the developer of the herbal remedy and a researcher at Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, announced that phase II was completed.

"After promising results from the phase II clinical trials, they are permitting us to move on to the third and final phase, where a larger number of volunteer cancer patients will be involved," Li was quoted as saying in an ECNS report. "If everything goes smoothly, KLT will hit the U.S. market in three years."

Li plans to enroll 750 patients for phase III, which is expected to take around three to four years to complete. Even though the trials require almost 16 years and millions of yuan, Li says it's worth the effort and time.

KLT was approved in China in 1995 and has since become the most popular anti-cancer drug in the country. If KLT passes the third phase of clinical trials, it will become the third medicine derived from TCM to enter Western pharmacies, following Mahuang, or Ephedra sinica, for asthma and Qinghao, Artemisia annua, for malaria.

Ephedra

By Cathy Wong, ND

What You Need to Know

What is Ephedra?

Also known as: Ephedra sinica, ma huang, Chinese ephedra, Sida cordifolia, epitonin, ephedra

Ephedra sinica is an herb with a long history of use in traditional Chinese medicine for asthma, bronchitis, allergies and cold and flu symptoms.

During the 80s, ephedra became popular outside of traditional Chinese medicine for weight loss and to enhance sports performance. Its popularity continued to grow, and it was found in many nutritional supplements marketed for weight loss and performance enhancement until supplements containing ephedra were banned by the U.S.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2006.

The primary active ingredients in ephedra are believed to be the alkaloids ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, which are thought to increase heart rate, constrict blood vessels (which increases blood pressure), dilate bronchial tubes (which makes it easier to breathe) and have thermogenic properties (increases body heat and metabolic rate).

A synthetic form of pseudoephedrine is found in over-the-counter decongestants and cold medicines, and synthetic ephedrine is used to treat asthma (but it has largely been replaced by newer medications). Synthetic ephedrine and pseudoephedrine have also been used to make the illicit street drug methamphetamine, as reported by The New York Times. Ephedra in the United States

Dietary supplements containing any amount of ephedra alkaloids have been banned in the United States since 2006.

In Canada, ephedra is authorized by Health Canada for use only as a nasal decongestant.

Nutritional supplements with ephedra can't contain stimulants, such as caffeine, that might heighten the effect of the ephedra. Also, they can't exceed 400 mg per dose or 1600 mg per day of ephedra, or 8 mg ephedrine per dose or 32 mg per day of ephedrine. Products with implied or unproven claims for weight loss, appetite suppression, body-building effects or increased energy are not permitted. Why Do People Use Ephedra?

1) Weight Loss

Ephedra is used in weight loss supplements. Proponents claim that it may help promote weight loss and suppress appetite.

Prior to the ban on ephedra supplements, many dietary supplements marketed for weight loss also contained caffeine-containing herbs, such as green tea, yerba mate and guarana. The ephedra/caffeine combination, however, is now widely believed to heighten the potential health risks and is not recommended.

2) Sports Performance

Ephedra is similar in structure to amphetamine, so it has been used to increase athletic performance in strength and endurance sports, increase alertness and aggressiveness on the field, and reduce fatigue in sports such as ice hockey, baseball, football, and cycling. There isn't good evidence, however, that it can improve sports performance, and is not recommended for this purpose given the potential side effects.

Ephedra is banned by many sports associations, including the International Olympic Committee, the National Football League (NFL) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

3) Asthma and Other Respiratory Disorders

Ephedra has a long history of use in traditional Chinese medicine as a folk remedy for asthma, bronchitis, allergies, fever, chills and cold and flu symptoms, such as nasal congestion.

Caveats

Side effects of ephedra may include:

• nausea
• headache; dizziness
• irritation of the stomach; diarrhea
• anxiety; psychosis
• kidney stones
• tremors
• dry mouth
• irregular or rapid heart rhythms; heart damage
• high blood pressure
• restlessness; nervousness; sleeping problems
• decreased appetite
• flushing; sweating
• increased urination

Use of ephedra has also been associated with stroke, seizures, psychosis and death.

A study commissioned by the National Institutes of Health reviewed 16,000 adverse event reports and identified two deaths, nine strokes, four heart attacks, one seizure and five psychiatric cases involving the use of ephedra where there were no other possible factors that could have contributed to these results.

The NIH-commissioned study also concluded that ephedra was associated with higher risks of mild to moderate side effects such as heart palpitations, psychiatric and digestive effects, and symptoms of hyperactivity of the autonomic nervous system (tremor, insomnia), especially when combined with caffeine or other stimulants such as kola nut, green tea, guarana or yerba mate.

Many of the side effects of ephedra have been attributed to overdose, abuse and combining it with other stimulants that heighten its effect, such as caffeine. Side effects of ephedra, however, can vary and don't always depend on the dose. Serious adverse effects may also occur in susceptible people at low doses.

The risk of side effects and adverse effects appears to be greater in people with preexisting conditions, such as heart disease, high blood pressure; heart rate disorders; thyroid disease; hypoglycemia; glaucoma; anxiety; glaucoma; pheochromocytoma; diabetes; kidney disease or kidney stones; mental illness or a history of mental illness; enlarged prostate; cerebral insufficiency and a history of seizures, stroke, or transient ischemic attacks. People with these health conditions should avoid ephedra. People with allergies to ephedra, ephedrine, or pseudoephedrine should also avoid ephedra.

Ephedra is believed to increase the risk of heat stroke because it increases metabolism and impairs the body's ability to lose heat.

Ephedra shouldn't be taken two weeks before or after surgery. It shouldn't be used by pregnant or nursing women or children. People with anorexia nervosa or bulimia should avoid ephedra because it affects appetite.

Supplements haven't been tested for safety and due to the fact that dietary supplements are largely unregulated, the content of some products may differ from what is specified on the product label. Also keep in mind that the safety of supplements in pregnant women, nursing mothers, children, and those with medical conditions or who are taking medications has not been established.

Remember, products containing ephedra were banned by the FDA in 2006.

Potential Interactions

Based on known interactions between the active ingredients of ephedra, ephedrine, and pseudoephedrine, the following medications could theoretically interact with ephedra:

• Aerolate, T-Phyl, and Uniphyl (theophylline) -- a medication used for asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis
• Amphetamines, such as those used for narcolepsy or attention deficit hyperactivity, such as Adderall (dextroamphetamine)
• Antidepressants, particularly monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), such as Marplan (isocarboxazid), Nardil (phenelzine) and Parnate (tranylcypromine), due to an increased risk of high blood pressure and stroke; tricyclic antidepressants, such as Elavil (amitriptyline) and :• Pamelor (nortriptyline)
• Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid
• Blood pressure medicatio;
• Diabetes medications, such as insulin, Glucophage (metformin), Diabeta, Glynase, Micronase (glyburide
• Narcotics, such as codeine
• Pitosin (Oxytocin) or Secale Alkaloid Derivatives
• St. John's Wort
• Stimulants -- Ephedra should not be combined with other substances with a stimulant effect, such as caffeine and Sudafed (pseudoephedrine hydrochloride), as it may have an additive effect. Herbs known to contain caffeine include green tea, kola nut, guarana and yerba mate, while bitter orange is a stimulant.

Ephedra Ban

By Cathy Wong, ND

Ephedra was a popular herbal remedy for weight loss and sports performance enhancement in the United States up until it was banned in 2006 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Here is a brief history of ephedra regulation:

1997: The FDA proposed a ruling that would ban supplements containing 8 mg or more of ephedrine alkaloids from being sold and would also require stricter labeling of ephedra supplements.

Members of the supplement industry created a public relations group to oppose the changes.

2000: The FDA withdrew the proposed changes and restrictions. A review published in the New England Journal of Medicine, however, reported a number of cases of severe side effects resulting from ephedra use.

2001: Minnesota Vikings football player Korey Stringer died as a result of heatstroke. Ephedra use was considered to be a possible cause in his death.

2003: A report was prepared by the non-profit think tank the RAND Corporation for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Their ephedra study reviewed clinical trials and adverse events reported to the FDA and to a manufacturer, Metabolife. The report said that a number of serious adverse events were "strongly tied to ephedra use within 24 hours without other plausible explanations", including three deaths, two heart attacks, two strokes, one seizure and three psychiatric incidents.

Ephedra has been linked to other adverse events and deaths, but the estimates vary greatly.

A study published in the medical journal Annals of Internal Medicine in 2003 found that products containing ephedra accounted for 64% of all adverse reactions to herbs reported in the United States in 2001, even though ephedra sales made up less than 1% of herbal supplement sales in the United States.

On February 17, 2003, 23-year-old Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler died of heatstroke in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after collapsing the day before during a workout at Fort Lauderdale Stadium. The local medical examiner reportedly said that the ephedra Bechler had been taking to lose weight may have contributed to his death.

Bechler's highly publicized death is believed to have been a key factor in the FDA's announcement on December 30, 2003 that it was planning to ban dietary supplements with ephedra because of the health risks.

The FDA also issued a consumer alert, advising consumers to stop buying and using ephedra. Although ephedra dropped sharply, 14% of people using non-prescription weight loss supplements in the United States continued to take ephedra or products containing ephedrine.

2004: On February 6, 2004, the FDA issues their final rule banning the sale of all dietary supplements containing ephedra in the United States, saying that they posed an "unreasonable risk of illness or injury".

The rule became effective 60 days after it was issued.

2005: On April 14, 2005, Judge Tena Campbell of the Federal District Court in Utah overturns the FDA's universal ban on ephedra products as a result of a suit brought by the supplement manufacturer Nutraceutical Corporation, which marketed a lower-dose ephedra product.

The judge ruled that the FDA had come to their decision by doing a risk-benefit analysis, considered inappropriate for supplements under a 1994 law (called the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA)). Also the DSHEA required dose-specific findings to justify a ban and that the FDA had insufficient evidence to conclude that products with 10 mg or less a day of ephedrine alkaloids posed a risk. As a result, products with 10 mg or less of ephedra alkaloids were allowed back on the market.

2006: On August 17, 2006, a federal appeals court upheld the FDA ban on ephedra, overturning the 2005 ruling that allowed the sale of products containing 10 mg or less of ephedra.

The court ruled that the 133,000 page administrative record, which included 19,000 adverse events reports, compiled by the FDA was sufficent to support the inital finding that supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids at any dose posed an unreasonable risk of illness and injury and that the risk-benefit analysis was required.

The FDA stated that no dose of dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids was safe and that the sale of these products in the United States was illegal and subject to enforcement action.

Up until this ruling, many herbal supplement companies marketed low-dose ephedra products containing 10 mg or less of ephedra alkaloids.

2007: Nutraceutical Corporation filed a petition for rehearing in front of the tenth circuit of the US Court of Appeals, however the United States Supreme Court declined to hear the petition.

Ma Huang: Setting the Record Straight

By Yong Ping Jiang, DOM, PhD

The "Ask Dr. Jiang" column is designed to explore corners of Chinese medicine that may not be easily understood by American practitioners or are underrepresented in American clinical health literature.

Dear Dr. Jiang:

I am concerned about the future of ma huang and my ability to use it in my practice. Even if it is not taken off the market, many of my patients are afraid to take it after all the negative publicity it has received. Are there any effective substitutes for ma huang?

Concerned About Losing Ma Huang Los Angeles, California

Dear CALM:

Chinese doctors have been using ma huang for over 2,000 years. Let's face it: if there were other herbs that worked as well, they would already be using them. Ma huang continues to be used because it possesses powerful and unique qualities, and if a patient really needs these qualities, any substitute will produce less than satisfactory clinical results. We all have to live in the real world, however, and ma huang won't work if a patient is unwilling to take it, or if the law prevents you from prescribing it.

Before we can discuss possible ma huang substitutes, I need to set the record straight on ma huang itself. There are a number of misunderstandings that have developed in recent years, even among practitioners of Chinese herbal medicine. Let's take a look at them.

Misunderstanding #1: Ma huang increases energy.

This idea has no theoretical or clinical basis in Chinese medicine, and it cannot be found anywhere in the classical or modern Chinese literature. Ma huang's warm acrid qualities powerfully move the qi, and the "energy" people claim to enjoy is a result of that movement. Ma huang can indirectly increase energy in a patient who suffers fatigue due to excess cold from cold damage, but in this case, the fatigue is the result of excess, not deficiency. The results come from dispersing evil qi and allowing the right qi to reassert itself. In this and all other cases, ma huang is a reducing herb. It does not tonify.

Misunderstanding #2: Because ma huang is a warm herb, it should not be used in case of fever.

In fact, most of the ma huang formulas in the Shang Han Lun are designed for use in febrile presentations. This misunderstanding is perhaps the result of confusing Eastern and Western medical perspectives. Since there is no such thing as a fever due to wind cold in Western medicine or even in Western herbalism, some Western practitioners have assumed that ma huang's warm properties make it contraindicated in all fevers. As long as the febrile patient's symptoms match the indications of the formula, ma huang can and should be used in treatment.

Misunderstanding #3: ma huang should not be taken for more than a few days.

Wrong again. The length of treatment will depend on the formula being used; the condition being treated; the dosage; and the patient's overall constitution. If a formula like xiao qing long tang is being used to treat acute asthma due to wind cold, it should of course be discontinued after the acute symptoms of wind cold have abated. However, in the case of gui zhi shao yao zhi mu tang and wu tou tang, both of which are used to treat chronic wind-cold-damp bi patterns, administration can continue for several weeks or even months, since dampness takes a long time to expel.

Misunderstanding #4: All formulas containing ma huang are contraindicated in heat patterns and deficiency patterns.

This misunderstanding is a result of confusing ma huang as an isolated herb and ma huang as a constituent in a formula that contains other herbs. As an isolated herb, ma huang is warm, acrid and bitter. It is used to dispel cold excess, especially wind cold, and is therefore contraindicated for heat or deficiency, but Chinese medicine never prescribes ma huang as an individual herb; it is always used in a formula. In addition, many formulas containing ma huang are used to treat precisely the patterns for which ma huang by itself would be contraindicated. Ma xing shi gan tang, for example, is used to treat heat obstructing the lungs. Yue bi jia ban xia tang (yue bi tang with the addition of ban xia) is used for phlegm heat obstructing the lung. While both of these formulas take advantage of ma huang's ability to move lung qi and calm wheezing, they contain enough shi gao to counterbalance ma huang's warm quality.

Likewise, ma huang xi xin fu zi tang is used to treat wind-cold occurring in patients with underlying yang deficiency. In modern China, a pill made from this formula is sometimes taken as a long-term treatment for congestive heart failure in patients with heart yang deficiency. Yang he tang is used for yin sores due to phlegm blocking the channels and blood deficiency. Both of these formulas, while treating an underlying deficiency pattern, require ma huang to facilitate the movement of qi.

In summary, ma huang is a safe and effective herb as long as it is used according to the rules of Chinese medicine, which have been founded on direct clinical experience in the treatment of thousands of patients over many generations. When these rules are abandoned, as they have been in the United States, it is not difficult to see why so many adverse reactions have occurred. Not only is ma huang taken to "increase energy," something it cannot possibly do; and not only is it being taken without regard to pattern diagnosis or underlying constitutional needs, it is being taken as an isolated herb, rather than as part of a balanced formula. Most astonishing of all, it is being taken in raw powdered form, without any cooking or processing. According to the instructions in the Shang Han Lun, ma huang is supposed to be decocted first, and the foam removed, before adding other ingredients. This additional cooking, and perhaps also the removing of the foam, changes the chemistry of the decoction and removes any harsh or toxic qualities.

Now, to answer your question about ma huang substitutes. The only traditional substitution for ma huang that I'm aware of is the combination of fang feng and jing jie, but this substitution is only prescribed in the treatment of very weak patients; it wouldn't be used to treat patients who match the normal confirmation for ma huang use. I need to warn you, therefore, that the suggestions I'm about to offer are based primarily on theory, since there is no Chinese clinical experience in arbitrarily substituting other herbs when the patient really needs ma huang. Although the following substitutions are safe, no one can honestly say how effective they will be.

When considering substitutes, you will need to determine which qualities of ma huang you are seeking to replace. If you are trying to treat wind-cold-damp bi patterns, for example, try substituting qiang huo and du huo, both of which expel wind cold and wind dampness. These herbs might be substituted for ma huang in formulas such as ma xing yi gan tang, ma huang jia zhu tang or ge gen tang. In the case of wu tu tang, you can try substituting gui zhi, but in the case of gui zhi shao yao zhi mu tang, you might be able to remove the ma huang without replacing it at all, since that formula already contains gui zhi in addition to several other warm acrid herbs.

If you are using ma huang to treat external invasion with lung obstruction, you can try substituting zi su ye. This substitution might be made, for example, in ma huang tang. Since zi su ye is much weaker than ma huang, I would advise that you use it at a higher than usual dosage. If you are treating phlegm cold, as in the case of xiao qing long tang and she gan ma huang tang, in addition to zi su ye add xuan fu hua. If you are treating phlegm heat, as in the case of yue bi jia ban xia tang or ding chuan tang, substitute qian hu.

If you are using yang he tang to treat yin sores, you can try substituting bai zhi, since this herb releases exterior cold and expels pus. If you are using yang he tang to treat crane's knee wind (water swelling in the knees), use qiang huo or du huo as substitutes for ma huang.

If you are treating external cold with internal deficiency, as in the case of ma huang xi xin fu zi tang or ma huang fu zi gan cao tang, you might try using several other warm acrid herbs as substitutes, such as qiang huo, jing jie and fang feng.

This is the best I can do with a very difficult subject, CALM. Let us hope that we can educate the public, as well as government regulators, on the importance of keeping ma huang available for legitimate medical use.

Ephedra Tea Benefits

(Healthy Tea 101)

Ephedra Tea Benefits have been recognized in the annals of Chinese traditional and herbal medicine as being particularly potent in the treatment of various respiratory ailments. However, there is also currently some controversy regarding the consumption of ephedra in large doses as there have been adverse findings on its side effects and reactions with other medication.

Ephedra is a plant known in China as Ma Huang and has been traditionally used to stop "leakages" that contribute to the loss of energy and vigor. It has been used in China for 5,000 years to treat asthma and upper respiratory infections.

The stems of ephedra have pungent and bitter taste that have diaphoretic, diuretic, pectoral, vasoconstrictive and vasodilative properties.

The main chemical constituent in ephedra is ephedrine. Ephedrine is a potent chemical that works by stimulating the nervous system, dilating bronchial tubes, elevating blood pressure, and increasing heart rate.

Due to these effects, ephedra became a favorite of athletes as it is believed that the herb enhances athletic performance. But several incidences of adverse effects on health and even death that may have been caused by excessive consumption of ephedra and ephedra supplements led the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban the sale of ephedra supplements in the United States in 2004. Currently, ephedra and ephedrine products are heavily regulated and those buying large quantities in frequent durations face penalties.

Nonetheless, ephedra remains widely used by athletes. A survey of college hockey players in 2006 found that nearly half had used ephedra in the belief it would enhance athletic performance.

Ephedra tea can be made by placing about 10 grams of ephedra herb in 2 cups of water and let it boil for 10 minutes. Filter out the herbs before drinking the ephedra tea.

The following are the health benefits attributed to ephedra and ephedra tea.

Ephedra Tea may help alleviate such respiratory ailments as asthma, colds, coughs and hay fever.
Ephedra Tea may help expel exterior pathogens and regulate the proper functioning of the lungs.
Ephedra Tea, taken in a regulated and supervised manner, may be effective for short-term weight loss.
Ephedra Tea may help in alleviating various allergic symptoms.
Ephedra Tea, taken in a regulated and supervised manner, stimulates the central nervous system may help boost energy and enhance alertness.

Ephedra is best not used as a stimulant. Its long-term use is not recommended. It is always best to seek the advice of qualified health practitioners when using ephedra, especially those that have high blood pressure, heart or thyroid diseases, diabetes, prostate problems and other conditions. Pregnant and nursing women are advised against using ephedra, ephedra tea or other products with ephedra.

Physicians Recommend Ephedra To Battle Weight Problems and Improve Patient Health

(Ephedra Education Council)

Letter from More than 20 Physicians to HHS Secretary Urges Continued Ephedra Sales, Federal Labeling Standards

WASHINGTON (Jan. 30, 2003) ­– More than 20 board-certified physicians have announced their support of Ephedra dietary supplements. In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson released today, the physicians call for the continued sale of legal Ephedra supplements, and for federal labeling standards.

Noting that obesity has been declared a national epidemic by the Surgeon General, the common letter sent by each of the physicians says, “Ephedra is one of the few options available to my patients who need to lose weight and who have been unsuccessful in doing so through exercise and diet alone.”

The physicians cited their patients’ struggles with obesity and their need for continued access to safe and beneficial Ephedra products. The specialists said that review of current scientific data, including the often-noted Harvard/Columbia clinical study, combined with their own patient observations, lead them to conclude that Ephedra supplements are safe and beneficial when used according to industry or physician recommendations.

As the letter says, “I have seen positive and sometimes dramatic effects in my patients” who have taken Ephedra, adding, “In addition to witnessing successful, long-term weight loss…I have seen their overall health improve, as measured by healthier cholesterol levels and lower blood pressure.”

The letter urges continued availability of the products, but with appropriate label instructions. “Prohibiting the sale of legally marketed Ephedra products would have a negative impact on public health, and on the personal health of my patients. I urge you to support product labeling initiatives that specify serving limits and direct certain consumers to consult with health professionals before taking Ephedra.”

The letter concludes, “I applaud your efforts to prevent marketers from advertising and selling illegal and harmful Ephedra products, such as Yellow Jacket and herbal XTC, as alternatives to street drugs.”

Ephedra still legal for practitioners of Chinese medicine

By JULIE DAVIDOW (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER)

Liz Walters used to spend every spring struggling to catch her breath. Scarred by a childhood illness, her lungs worked overtime when the season's fresh pollens filled the air.

Two different inhalers and antihistamines never completely cleared the wheezing and pressure from her chest. Then, seven years ago, at the suggestion of her acupuncture instructor, she tried a Chinese herbal remedy for breathing problems.

Minor Blue-Green Dragon, a tiny pill containing eight ingredients, including the herb ma huang, finally worked.

"It stops me from feeling like I have someone sitting on my chest," said Walters, now a licensed acupuncturist who prescribes ma huang, also known by its Latin name, ephedra, in her practice on Whidbey Island.

Walters, 51, takes the pills twice a day between March and May when her symptoms peak.

Even after the Food and Drug Administration's ban on ephedra goes into effect next month, practitioners of Chinese medicine will still be allowed to dispense and prescribe the herb as they have for thousands of years.

The government's prohibition is intended to clear store shelves and halt Internet sales of dietary supplements that contain ephedra, especially in weight-loss products. The supplements have been linked to increased blood pressure and heart rate, which can lead to stroke, heart attack and sudden death.

However, the prohibition exempts traditional Chinese remedies, which are not marketed as dietary supplements and therefore are not covered by the rule.

"I think the FDA saw that clearly the problem was coming from these big companies that were selling it as a weight-loss supplement in the mass market, not from some acupuncturist," said Eric Yarnell, a naturopath and adjunct professor at Bastyr. "They don't really intend to go after people who are using it responsibly."

When mixed with other botanicals in teas, ground into powder, or cooked with honey, the twiggy herb helps patients sweat out fevers and breathe easier during colds and asthma attacks, advocates say.

A bronchial dilator with stimulant effects, ma huang is considered a powerful herb. To minimize side effects, it's used in small doses in combination with other ingredients, said Allen Sayigh, manager of the herbal dispensary at Bastyr University and the Seattle Institute of Oriental Medicine.

A formula that helps break fevers, for example, includes ma huang, cinnamon twigs, apricot kernels and licorice root.

"That prescription has been around for close to 2,000 years," Sayigh said. "You might only have to take one or two doses of tea, curl up, break a sweat and be on the road to recovery. It'd be nothing like taking a dietary supplement for weeks or months on end."

Ma huang has not traditionally been used to boost energy or for weight loss -- nor should it be, many herbalists say. Like caffeine, ma huang can ultimately leave you drained. "(In traditional Chinese medicine) there are ways to deal with weight loss but they involve harmonizing the whole metabolism," said Sayigh.

Many herbalists are happy to see weight-loss products that distill the herb's most powerful alkaloid taken off the market, while preserving ma huang's traditional uses.

"It seems they've done enough of an investigation to realize it has value as an herb," said Alison Roth, a Seattle herbalist.

Still, high insurance costs have led some distributors to stop selling the herb altogether.

Tierney Salter, owner of an herbal remedy shop and manufacturer in Seattle, said her source of American ephedra, which does not contain the stimulating ephedrine alkaloid and is not covered by the ban, can no longer afford the insurance rates associated with selling any form of ephedra.

Salter mixes American ephedra, or Mormon tea (which thrives in the high deserts of Utah), in a drink to ease congestion. She also sells the whole herb alone.

"Because the public is being told ephedra is bad for you, are you as a small herb shop going to want to take on the risk of someone reporting an adverse reaction to it?" said Salter, standing in front of an empty canister of American ephedra.

Several shop owners in Seattle's Chinatown are also no longer sell ma huang, even as a whole herb.

Adon Mar, owner of Pacific Herb and Grocery, ran out of ma huang during the height of the cold and flu season and hasn't been able to restock. "The distributor doesn't have it. They said they have a hard time getting it now," said Mar, who added he would carry the herb again if he can find it.

"We've been using it for a long time and it's very effective," Mar said.

Across the street, Feng Shan Zhu, an acupuncturist and herbalist who practiced in China for nearly three decades before moving to Seattle in 1996, said he's never carried ma huang in the United States. "I know in America the law is very powerful so I'm careful," said Zhu, who said he prescribed ma huang regularly in China to treat coughs and fevers.

A couple of American women, however, have come to his office looking for the herb, he said. "They say, 'Doctor do you have any ma huang? I want to use it to get my energy up.' "

Mayway Corp., an Oakland, Calif., company that distributes herbs grown in China, will continue to sell ma huang, "unless insurance rates become too outrageous," said Laura Stropes, the company's herbalist.

"Ma huang is a very important herb in Chinese medicine," said Stropes. "There's not really any substitute for it."

Other stores that carry herbs and supplements say there's been a run on products with ephedra since the FDA first announced it would seek a ban in December.

At Salter's store, one customer recently bought five 4-ounce bottles of liquid ephedra extract -- a large amount for someone in search of a cough or cold remedy. Salter said she's never carried weight-loss products that contain ephedra, but she can't be sure how her customers plan to use the ma huang she sells.

At VitaminLife in Redmond, the last bottles of ephedra capsules are rapidly disappearing. Since January, the store has sold 360 bottles of one ephedra product, which unlike traditional Chinese remedies, contains only one herb.

"We've had a huge rush on sales," said Terri Marello, the store's manager. "We've probably quadrupled in the last two months." VitaminLife stopped selling weight-loss products with ephedra six months ago, but continued to sell other dietary supplements because, "A lot of people legitimately use that for respiratory purposes."

From the Ground Up: Mormon Tea

By Deborah Brandt

The English name, Mormon Tea, caught on when Mormon settlers were making their way West. They found that they could brew a tasty tea from the stems, and it became a popular thirst quencher when crossing the desert.

Mormon Tea is a common desert plant in our area. It is found throughout the Las Cruces desert and hills, enjoying the company of mesquite and other native plants around us. It is traditional in native medicine of southern New Mexico; in Spanish it is called canutillo or popotillo. This medium sized shrub has no actual leaves. Its jointed green wand-like stems that are approximately the diameter of a standard pencil lead characterizes it. Each jointed stem is about 4 to 6 inches in length. In the spring, each branch node develops rusty colored pollen.

The English name, Mormon Tea, caught on when Mormon settlers were making their way West. They found that they could brew a tasty tea from the stems, and it became a popular thirst quencher when crossing the desert.

Mormon Tea is in the Ephedra species. It is related to Chinese Ephedra, Ma Huang. Ma Huang is on the FDA no-no list because it contains the stimulant ephedrine, which has been abused by some seekers of methamphetamine-type highs. Ma Huang is a good medicine, but like all things if used by the wrong person for the wrong reason it becomes dangerous.

Our native cousin, Mormon tea does not contain ephedrine. You cannot get high or harm yourself with it. Unlike Ma Huang it won’t elevate blood pressure nor will it cause anxiety or heart palpitations. It probably contains trace amounts of pseudoephedrine, as you would find in cold and sinus medication such as Sudafed.

This gives you an indication of its medicinal use. Particularly during allergy season it can decrease your need for allergy medication. It is a sinus passage decongestant and mild bronchial dilatator. So, for a stuffy nose and mild allergic asthma it will help open up your airways. It contains some tannins, too, which are astringent. Astringents tighten and tone boggy tissue. It works best if you start drinking the tea a couple weeks before allergy season sets in. It can also help relieve the symptoms of colds. It probably should not be used in pregnancy because of the tannins.

Traditionally popotillo is used for kidney and bladder problems. It is calming to urinary tract irritation. It is widely used as a "kidney flush." Popotillo is a mild diuretic; it increases the flow of urine, thus “flushing” the kidneys. It is used when the urine appears to be too concentrated. The concept is to flush out bacteria and stagnation that are causing congestion and inflammation/infection. It is not antibacterial. It is helpful for reducing irritation of the mouth, esophagus and stomach as well.

Late spring is the best time to snip the new branch growth, although it is OK to pick it other times of the year, too. Snip the last 8 to 10 inches of green "sticks." This can be easier said than done, as the little branches are fibrous, so be sure your clippers are sharp. Cut into inch-sized lengths and dry in a paper bag, in a dark, dry place for a couple weeks. For tea, place five to six little inch-sized stems in a pan, add about 12 ounces of water and bring to a boil and simmer a few minutes before straining into a cup. Do this two to three times a day as needed.

Ephedra Shrubs have a Long Medicinal History

By VROBISON , By BRUCE LUND

This spring is turning out to be a good wildflower season! Walk in the desert in this first week of April and you’ll find bright yellow flowers of the Desert Marigold, Bead-Pod Mustard, Gold-Poppy, and tall Yellow Cups (aka, Sundrops); white Prickly Poppies with their golden centers, tiny Desert Stars just an inch high and Desert Chicories; stands of purple Phacelias flourishing on gravel banks and the first shocking pink flowers of the Beavertail cactus popping up across the desert.

While the big showy flowers get all the photographs, many other intriguing plants get overlooked because they are wind-pollinated with diminutive flowers. Instead of putting their energy into producing a few big showy flowers to attract pollinating insects, these plants focus their energy into producing huge numbers of tiny flowers stripped down to the bare male and female parts needed for pollination. Our half dozen shrubby Ephedras are a prime example of this wind-pollination lifestyle, and it gets better because they carry flower specialization one step further: for even more energy efficiency, each plant produces only male or female flowers.

At the height of pollen production, the huge numbers of male flowers color their Ephedra shrubs a bright yellow, and then fade to a rusty color as the pollen matures and are carried off by the wind. But you really should take a close look and see how the individual male flowers are compacted into clusters that look like miniature pine cones, and how, as each individual flower cone matures, they send out stalked stamens with swollen tips covered with tiny yellow pollen grains that give each cone a fuzzy look.

In contrast, female flowers look more like traditional flowers with petals (although these are actually a cluster of scales that happen to look like petals). In the center of each flower are one to four unfertilized seeds with tiny stigmas sticking up at the top of each seed (this can be hard to see) which are the landing sites upon which the male pollen has to land. Since the chance of a microscopic pollen grain hitting a tiny stigma is infinitesimal, male flowers produce huge amounts of pollen to achieve pollination. It’s sort of like buying a million tickets to win a lottery vastly improves – but does not guarantee – your chances of winning.

Ephedra’s intense wind pollination effort passes quickly with the male flowers drying up and dropping away in a week or two.

It’s different with the female flower where the ‘petals’ dry and drop away as well, but exposing the mature seeds along the stems. Besides being potential future plants, these are also nutritious packages of energy and eagerly sought by kangaroo rats, ground squirrels, birds, and even people. Of course, many seeds get dropped in transport from plants to dens, being a way of spreading new plants across the landscape.

When a plant has a long list of common names, it indicates a long history of human use for food, medicine, and/or structural uses, and Ephedra has a LOT of names including: Mormon Tea (used as an acceptable substitute for tea and coffee by pioneering Mormons), Cowboy Tea, Brigham Tea (Brigham Young supposedly liked this tea), Ma Huang (the Ephedra species with by far the strongest concentration of Ephedrine comes from China and has been used there for thousands of years), Whorehouse Tea (served in certain Nevada establishments because it was believed to be a treatment for venereal diseases), Squaw or Indian Tea (used by Native Americans), Joint-fir (from the structure of the stems that resemble – with a lot of imagination – the leaves of fir trees), and many more.

So why do Ephedras have such a long history of human use? However it happened, records dating back 5,000 years show that early peoples in China discovered that drinking teas made from Ephedra gave an energy boost and had other medicinal effects. Today we know the 40 or so species of Ephedra found in arid areas around the Earth produce a chemical we call ephedrine, and that it is a nerve stimulant (similar to the effect of caffeine in coffee or tea) plus diuretic and decongestant qualities. It makes sense that the Chinese were the first to discover this as they have the one species that has, by far, the highest concentration of ephedrine and other chemicals. So while other species around the world have some level of active ingredients, only the Chinese species packs a wallop while our species basically gives a tea some flavoring and a tiny energy boost at best.

But don’t take it from me – if you’re curious to learn more about the medicinal facts and myths about ephedra, take a look on-line where you will find thousands of sites.

In the meantime, get out quickly if you want to see Ephedra in flower as it will pass in a couple of weeks.

Bruce Lund is a retired biologist and has a lifelong love of nature instilled by his grandparents and some remarkable teachers. He has lived with his wife, Flo, in Moapa since 1997.

Chinese Herb Ma-Huang Can Be Made Into A Tea, Or Used In Extract Form; Powdered Ma-Huang Is Rarely Used

(Zelang)

Chinese Herb is a broad range of medicine practices sharing common concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage (Tui na), exercise (qigong), and dietary therapy.

Ma-huang (mahuang): The stem-like leaves when taken in a dose of several grams stimulate perspiration, open the breathing passages, and invigorate the central nervous system energy. It has been shown that most of these effects are due to two alkaloid components, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, both of them having been made into modern drugs (for asthma and sinus congestion, respectively). In addition, the stimulating action of ma-huang has led to its use as a metabolic enhancer (burns calories more quickly) for those who are trying to lose weight. Ma-huang also has anti-inflammatory actions useful in treating some cases of arthralgia and myalgia. Ma-huang can be made into a tea, or used in extract form; powdered ma-huang is rarely used. Dosage range is 1-9 grams/day, usually in two or three divided doses. Caution: the stimulant effect of ma-huang can cause insomnia and agitation; persons with very high blood pressure may find this symptom worsened by use of ma-huang.

Chinese Herb is primarily used as a complementary alternative medicine approach. Chinese Herb is widely used in China and it is also used in the West. We might try Chinese Herb to keep fit.

Facts & Findings with Dr. Plant: Ephedra nevadensis

(Zija News, Drink Life In)

Dr. Plant helps us better understand Ephedra nevadensis: What is it, and is it okay to consume?

When we hear Ephedra we think back to about 15 years ago when the media and government spoke about its dangers. I want to explain a little bit about Ephedra nevadensis and how this is completely different than the Ephedra that was banned ~15 years ago.

When news agencies spoke about Ephedra 15 years ago, they were referring to a compound called "Ephedra Alkaloids" (see picture). That compound is found in a botanical called Ma Huang. Thus the compound Ephedra was mentioned because it was the active ingredient, but the actual name of the botanical it is found in is called Ma Huang.

Ephedra nevadensis on the other hand is a botanical name, and isn't referring to the compounds. In fact, numerous studies have shown that Ephedra nevadensis does not contain any Ephedra Alkaloids, and is therefore both safe and legal to sell. It just happens to have the unfortunate circumstance of having a name similar to that which was found to be a buzz word 15 years ago. It is like the unfortunate circumstance of people who have the name Katrina or Andrew, and then a hurricane is given the same name.

In short, Ephedra nevadensis is safe and legal to consume. It in no way contains Ephedra alkaloids, the compound found in the botanical Ma Huang.

A little highlight on the botanical: It grows in the deserts of the western U.S., and has been consumed for hundreds/thousands of years to help remove the buildup of mucus in our airways. Thus by supplementing with Ephedra nevadensis individuals may often feel an increase of energy because they are more effectively able to get the oxygen their body needs by clearing the congestion/pollution that has built up in their airway, which limits oxygen intake. You can find Ephedra nevadensis in products like Zija's XM+ Energy Mix and XM3 Energy Drink.

Herbalists can still prescribe ephedra

(Steelsmith Natural Health Center)

Herbalists can still prescribe ephedra Q. I’ve heard that any day now the herb ephedra will become unavailable in the United States. Since I’ve used it for many years to help control my asthma, is there any way that I will still be able to obtain it?

A. The FDA recently issued a ruling prohibiting the sale of ephedra, also known as ma huang, in products marketed as dietary supplements as of April 12, 2004. However, there’s good news: you will still be able to use ephedra as long as it is prescribed within the scope of traditional Chinese herbal medicine.

The FDA ruling is in response to some reported overuse and abuse of ephedra, which was often advertised to promote weight loss.

The doses people were able to purchase over the counter were considered potentially dangerous.

Excessive intake of the herb can cause a range of side effects, including insomnia, anxiety, strokes, increases in blood pressure and heart rate and heart attacks.

According to the FDA, a number of deaths in the United States were linked to overuse of ephedra.

In Chinese herbal medicine, ephedra has been used safely and effectively for thousands of years in the treatment of colds, flus, and asthma.

It has traditionally been prescribed in small doses, combined with other herbs, to achieve a variety of medicinal effects.

For instance, one common Chinese herbal formula which first appeared in a medical classic known as Shang Han Lun during the Han dynasty (202 B.C.-220 A.D.), contains eight different herbs, with ephedra only 5 percent of the formula’s total composition.

The other herbs in the formula help ease coughing, clear heat in the lungs, and eliminate mucous.

The new FDA regulations will help protect the public from taking too much of an herb that in smaller doses can have potent medicinal benefits, and in large doses can be harmful to your health.

The ephedra controversy demonstrates that herbs can be misused when removed from an ancient system of medicine and marketed by companies more interested in profits than public health.

Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine, such as licensed acupuncturists, who are trained to know how and when to use this powerful herb, will be able to continue prescribing it in appropriate doses for specific conditions.

Article was originally printed in the Honolulu Advertiser, honoluluadvertiser.com

Health Benefits of Ephedra

(Organic Facts)

Some of the most impressive health benefits of ephedra include its ability to boost energy, help with weight loss, eliminate fatigue, increase cognition, boost the immune system, strengthen respiratory health, boost heart rate and blood pressure, and eliminate excess water.

Ephedra

Ephedra sinica is the scientific name of the plant from which the substance known as ephedra is derived. Commonly known by dozens of names around the world, perhaps most famously as ma huang in China, this medicinal extract has been use for more than 2,000 years. It has recently come into popularity once again due to its potential for the weight loss and bodybuilding community, but there are many medicinal applications of ephedra that make it a valuable asset for anyone looking to boost their overall health. Ephedra can be consumed as a tea by brewing the plant, but the most popular way of consuming this herb is now through pill supplements. However, due to its possible “drug-like” effects, it has been banned in many countries, and is not allowed to be used in many professional sports. If smoked, this plant can have hallucinogenic or narcotic effects, but this can also be quite dangerous. Depending on your country of residence or profession, be careful with how you use or acquire ephedra or ephedrine.ephedra

There is a great controversy about the use of ephedra, and some specialists actually suggest that it can be dangerous. However, for more than two millennia, healthy small doses of ephedra have been effectively used as a traditional remedy for a wide range of disorders and health concerns. Now, let’s take a closer look at some of these health benefits of ephedra.

Health Benefits of Ephedra

Boost Energy Levels: The main use of ephedra in popular culture is as an energy booster, but that name can be slightly deceptive. Ephedra and its active compound ephedrine, stimulate the heart and increase blood flow, which energizes the body and keeps muscles fresh with blood and oxygen. This can also be dangerous, however, as it can potentially put strain on the heart if a person is already suffering from certain heart conditions.

Weight Loss: The huge rise in popularity of ephedra is related to its effects on weight loss and working out. When people are looking for a fast way to lose weight, even if they aren’t particularly active, ephedra presents a unique solution. It stimulates the metabolism, which increases fat-burning. Some people use ephedra without any physical component, which can put additional strain on the body’s system. However, the supplement’s popularity hasn’t waned in certain countries, despite the controversy.

Eliminates Fatigue: If you suffer from chronic fatigue or are someone who experiences insomnia, resulting in exhaustion the next day, an ephedra supplement can help to temporarily increase your energy levels and prevent fatigue from keeping you active and engaged with your day. This should only be used in small amounts, and not in the same way as you might turn to a daily cup of coffee.

Increases Cognition: There have been certain studies that have linked ephedra to increased cognition. This is mainly due to the increased blood flow to the brain and other important organs, optimizing neural processing and keeping our brains “fresh”. The benefits of this drug on cognition must be balanced against the other potential dangers, and again, should not be a regularly consumed supplement.

Immune System: When it comes to the common cold and the flu, a cure always seems to be just out of reach. There are certain steroidal properties to ephedra that make it an effective booster for the immune system. While this shouldn’t be used as a constant preventative medicine, some people and studies have argued that taking ephedra in the onset stages of illness can help prevent full-blown sickness or quicken healing time.

Respiratory Health: Ephedra can help to reduce inflammation of mucous membranes in the body, particularly in the respiratory tract, which makes it quite effective in preventing asthmatic attacks and wheezing. By allowing for clear passage of air to the lungs, ephedra can alleviate these common respiratory conditions that affect millions of people.

Blood Pressure: Although most people are concerned about lowering their blood pressure, there are those that suffer from hypotension, which can be just as dangerous in its own way. By adding ephedra to your herbal remedy regimen, you can successfully boost your heart health and blood pressure. You should always speak to a medical professional before using an herbal remedy to affect something as important as cardiovascular regularity.

A Final Word of Warning: There is such controversy around the use of ephedra that it is best to do your due diligence and then speak candidly with a medical professional. In some applications, it is appropriate, but not in others. Do not attempt to make that decision for yourself, as the side effects can be quite serious. Negative responses to ephedra include headaches, nervousness, vomiting, heart attacks, and even death in the most extreme cases.

Benefits and side-effects of herbal medicines

By Altaf Patel (Mumbai Mirror)

I don't belittle medicines that I don't have the knowledge of, and I am always interested in patients who find relief from an alternative branch of medicine. One of the reasons being, I attempt to understand how a particular medication has helped.

However, the one thing that I'm skeptical about, and which I dissuade my patients from following, is metal therapy. I have seen people suffering from kidney failures, and a few even expiring, so that's one `therapy' that I wouldn't advise anyone to follow.

Several of my patients often ask me about the benefits/side-effects of herbal medicines. Let me tell you, herbal treatment is not alien to doctors practicing allopathy. I'll give you an example.

There is a medication called Sarpagandha (Rauvolfia serpentia, or the Indian snakeroot). It is a species of a flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae, and the extracts of this plant has a compound called reserpine, which is used in anti-hypertensive medications. It is said that Mahatma Gandhi used reserpine as a tranquiliser.

I have in the past used this compound to treat patients (it has now been replaced by better medications). The point I'm trying to make is, such compounds cannot be simply called herbal medication. Rather, they should be termed `integrative medicine', the interface between herbs and allopathy.

Simply put, herbal medicines are compounds extracted from herbs. They have been in existence since ancient times. It is worth noting that 25% of the medical molecules available in the US have their origins in herbs, and at least 7,000 medical compounds have their origins in plants. Modern molecules such as quinine, aspirin and digitalis -the latter is derived from foxgloves and used to treat heart failure -come from herbal parenthood.

The extracts of several herbs are put into capsules and claimed that the tablets will act on the body the same way as the natural substance. This may not be true.

Among the herbs available in tablet form, and prescribed fairly often, is the St John's-wort, which is hypericum perforatum, a flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae, a medicinal herb with antidepressant activity, and potent anti-inflammatory properties. Till a few years ago, the general perception was that the medication being herbal, it was wellsuited to treat such conditions in pregnant women, where pharmacological molecules may be contraindicated because of their effects on the foetus. This, however, does not appear to be correct.

There have been several concerns about using St John's-wort, and it appears that it does interfere with some of the allopathic medications.

Another interesting herb which I have come across is Ma huang, which is known in English as ephedra. It is a medicinal preparation from the plant Ephedra sinica, and is widely used by athletes as a performance-enhancing drug, and also for weight loss. In recent years, ephedra-containing supplements have been found to be unsafe, following which the US Food and Drug Administration banned it.

Then there is the hugely popular Malabar tamarind, or GARCINIA CAMBOGIA, a weight loss supplement that people from across the country vouch for. It is also said to stabilise blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

The Journal of Obesity in 2011 reviewed it, and said that people who used it did lose about 2lbs (about 0.9 kg) more compared to those who didn't. In 2009, the FDA had cautioned the doctors against its usage because of liver problems, but it couldn't be established that the medication caused such ailments.


A study in food and chemical toxicology stated that high doses of the herb can cause testicular atrophy. Anecdotal experiences do suggest it to be useful in weight loss but medical literature is sparse on the subject, and I will not comment on it.

People willing to spend a lot of money on the `miracle pill' for weight loss, but they don't want to exercise or control their diet. As a result, the search for such a pill continues. The fact that it's herbal, therefore it's safe, is far off the truth.

One must remember that many medicinal molecules are derived from herbs, and when they become pharmacological, they are subject to extensive scrutiny by various organisations. Herbal medicines come under the umbrella of nutraceuticals, and there is an impression that all of them are safe for consumption, which may not be true. One must remember that the philosopher Socrates was put to death by making him drink a liquid derived from herbs.

Ephedra Shrubs have a Long Medicinal History

By BRUCE LUND

This spring is turning out to be a good wildflower season! Walk in the desert in this first week of April and you’ll find bright yellow flowers of the Desert Marigold, Bead-Pod Mustard, Gold-Poppy, and tall Yellow Cups (aka, Sundrops); white Prickly Poppies with their golden centers, tiny Desert Stars just an inch high and Desert Chicories; stands of purple Phacelias flourishing on gravel banks and the first shocking pink flowers of the Beavertail cactus popping up across the desert.

While the big showy flowers get all the photographs, many other intriguing plants get overlooked because they are wind-pollinated with diminutive flowers. Instead of putting their energy into producing a few big showy flowers to attract pollinating insects, these plants focus their energy into producing huge numbers of tiny flowers stripped down to the bare male and female parts needed for pollination. Our half dozen shrubby Ephedras are a prime example of this wind-pollination lifestyle, and it gets better because they carry flower specialization one step further: for even more energy efficiency, each plant produces only male or female flowers.

At the height of pollen production, the huge numbers of male flowers color their Ephedra shrubs a bright yellow, and then fade to a rusty color as the pollen matures and are carried off by the wind. But you really should take a close look and see how the individual male flowers are compacted into clusters that look like miniature pine cones, and how, as each individual flower cone matures, they send out stalked stamens with swollen tips covered with tiny yellow pollen grains that give each cone a fuzzy look.

In contrast, female flowers look more like traditional flowers with petals (although these are actually a cluster of scales that happen to look like petals). In the center of each flower are one to four unfertilized seeds with tiny stigmas sticking up at the top of each seed (this can be hard to see) which are the landing sites upon which the male pollen has to land. Since the chance of a microscopic pollen grain hitting a tiny stigma is infinitesimal, male flowers produce huge amounts of pollen to achieve pollination. It’s sort of like buying a million tickets to win a lottery vastly improves – but does not guarantee – your chances of winning.

Ephedra’s intense wind pollination effort passes quickly with the male flowers drying up and dropping away in a week or two.

It’s different with the female flower where the ‘petals’ dry and drop away as well, but exposing the mature seeds along the stems. Besides being potential future plants, these are also nutritious packages of energy and eagerly sought by kangaroo rats, ground squirrels, birds, and even people. Of course, many seeds get dropped in transport from plants to dens, being a way of spreading new plants across the landscape.

When a plant has a long list of common names, it indicates a long history of human use for food, medicine, and/or structural uses, and Ephedra has a LOT of names including: Mormon Tea (used as an acceptable substitute for tea and coffee by pioneering Mormons), Cowboy Tea, Brigham Tea (Brigham Young supposedly liked this tea), Ma Huang (the Ephedra species with by far the strongest concentration of Ephedrine comes from China and has been used there for thousands of years), Whorehouse Tea (served in certain Nevada establishments because it was believed to be a treatment for venereal diseases), Squaw or Indian Tea (used by Native Americans), Joint-fir (from the structure of the stems that resemble – with a lot of imagination – the leaves of fir trees), and many more.

So why do Ephedras have such a long history of human use? However it happened, records dating back 5,000 years show that early peoples in China discovered that drinking teas made from Ephedra gave an energy boost and had other medicinal effects. Today we know the 40 or so species of Ephedra found in arid areas around the Earth produce a chemical we call ephedrine, and that it is a nerve stimulant (similar to the effect of caffeine in coffee or tea) plus diuretic and decongestant qualities. It makes sense that the Chinese were the first to discover this as they have the one species that has, by far, the highest concentration of ephedrine and other chemicals. So while other species around the world have some level of active ingredients, only the Chinese species packs a wallop while our species basically gives a tea some flavoring and a tiny energy boost at best.

But don’t take it from me – if you’re curious to learn more about the medicinal facts and myths about ephedra, take a look on-line where you will find thousands of sites.

In the meantime, get out quickly if you want to see Ephedra in flower as it will pass in a couple of weeks.

Ephedra: A beneficial and controversial herb

By Chris Kilham

One of the great medicines of all time, ephedra (Ephedra sinica) has been in use for as long as 5,000 years. Known as Ma Huang in traditional Chinese Medicine, ephedra is native to Central Asia. The evergreen shrub has been used in traditional medicine to alleviate colds, bronchial and sinus congestion, flu, headaches and asthma.

The plant naturally contains two alkaloids known as ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, as well as smaller amounts of related alkaloids. Pseudoephedrine is the sole active ingredient in the popular decongestant drugs Sudafed and Actifed. Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are active compounds in over 700 over-the-counter drugs sold in the United States today. Ephedra the plant is listed in the pharmacopeias of several countries, and its compounds are listed drugs in the official compendia of many nations.

Ephedra viridis, a species found in the American southwest, is known as Mormon tea, Brigham’s tea, Squaw tea, Whorehouse tea and Cowboy tea. This species also contains the alkaloids ephedra, pseudoephedrine and related compounds, though in lower concentration than the Asian species. Used traditionally by Paiute, Kawaiisu and other native tribal groups, the plant received its name ‘Mormon tea’ due to its use as a stimulant beverage by people of the Mormon faith. Mormons avoid caffeine in all forms but nonetheless embrace the stimulating properties of ephedra. Native people historically used the tea to treat colds, fever, headaches, and bowel and stomach disorders. Mormons learned the use of this plant from people of southwestern regional tribes. The name ‘Whorehouse tea’ refers to the drinking of the tea in the former well-known brothel Katie’s Place in Elko, Nevada during the gold rush of the 1900s.

Used in quantities of 8 milligrams of total alkaloids or less, ephedra is a highly beneficial decongestant and is reliable for relieving congestion due to seasonal allergies. Its popularity is justified by its rapid effectiveness. During a cold, ephedra-based preparations can quickly open up blocked breathing passageways.

When used in greater concentrations, ephedra can cause problems – such as a rapid heart rate. Ephedra and extracts of the plant became popular as recreational stimulants and sports-enhancing agents in the late 1980s, and additionally as thermogenic diet aids in the 1990s. The use of ephedra for calorie-burning and appetite-suppressing diet purposes spawned a lucrative supplement industry with sales in the $100 million per year.

Employed sometimes in very large amounts, use of the herb led to numerous reported cases of adverse cardiovascular and nervous system problems – and even deaths. This overuse of ephedra for non-traditional purposes affirmed the age-old adage that the difference between a medicine and a poison is the dose.

In 2004, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the sale of ephedra-containing dietary supplements in order to stem the tide of adverse reactions. This action was hotly disputed by companies in the dietary supplement industry, for whom ephedra supplements had been immensely profitable best-sellers. In 2005 the ban was briefly overturned by a Utah District court judge, but in 2006 it was reinstated by the 10th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals. This put an end to the wrangling over ephedra’s legal status.

The ban on the sale of dietary supplements containing ephedra remains in effect today. Additionally, ephedra alkaloids are banned by the USADA, the hyper-vigilant U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Detection of ephedra derivatives will disqualify competitive athletes in many fields of sports.

Though ephedra has been embattled due to its wholly improper use in large quantities, its moderate use remains highly popular and very safe. In the U.S., billions of dollars-worth of ephedra-based remedies sell in drug stores, and there is no indication that this will be curtailed. Effective and time-tested, ephedra remains one of nature’s highly valuable medicines.

Pen In Hand: Ephedra, the first tea of Tehachapi

By Jon Hammond (Columinst)

A small dark green shrub flourishes in the Tehachapi Mountains, growing among California junipers, yuccas, and other drought-tolerant plants in drier locations. Its genus name — Ephedra — became associated in more recent years with cold medication and diet pills, but Tehachapi Indian people have used it to make tea for many hundreds of years.

This is a plant with a hundred different names: Indian tea, Mormon tea, sheepherders tea, Spanish tea, cowboy tea and many others. The local Nüwa (Kawaiisu) people call it “Tu-tu-PIV-eh” while botanists refer to the most common species in this area as Ephedra viridis or “Green Ephedra.”

This handsome little shrub is widespread in Sand Canyon, Old West Ranch, the back road to Keene and other places. Once you know what it looks like, it’s easy to spot – it has a distinctive dark olive green color and reed-like segmented stems that almost look like green pine needles. I even see it from Highway 58 every time I drive to Bakersfield — there's a place a few miles west of Tehachapi, which I call "the Narrows" because at that point the canyon walls are tall and steep and very close to the freeway, where Ephedra grows along the slope right above the roadway.

With all of Ephedra’s assorted names, it is obvious that many different kinds of people have made tea from this plant. The Nüwa word for any kind of tea is "cha'a," which is remarkably similar to the word for tea in many other languages worldwide, such as Chinese (cha') or Hindi (chai). Ephedra has been used as a remedy to treat colds, asthma, coughs, chills and other ailments, but it has also been consumed for centuries as simply a stimulating tea. Members of the LDS church drank it historically as a replacement for coffee and tea because it contains no caffeine, which church members avoid, and several species can be found in Utah.

Ephedra contains an alkaloid called ephedrine which is similar in structure to adrenaline. Ephedrine and its synthesized version pseudoephedrine are common ingredients in over-the-counter cold medicine and allergy medications. Because it tends to increase metabolism and suppress appetites, ephedrine has been used in diet pills. About 10 or 15 years ago, Ephedra got a lot of negative publicity because several deaths involved the over-usage and abuse of ephedrine, including a professional football player who took massive doses in an attempt to lose 30 pounds in two weeks.

As a result, Ephedra got a bad reputation and its usage was curtailed, which seems unnecessary, considering it has been safely used for thousands of years by many cultures, including the Chinese. The key is to consume it in moderation and not in ridiculous quantities. It has a mild and nutty fresh flavor without bitterness, so that it doesn't need honey or sugar. I gather some of the younger shoots — it’s an evergreen plant so the stems are always available, but look for the brightest green ones — wash them off, cut off the dark woody stems and discard them, and then boil the green stems for about 10 minutes and they produce a delicious cup of tea. You can serve it hot for one of Tehachapi’s cold winter nights or over ice for our warm summer days.

My grandfather was a shepherd in the surrounding area, primarily the Mojave Desert, in the late 1890s and early 1900s, and he and the shepherds would gather Ephedra and make tea at night. Those who drink this tea today are sharing a beverage that has been heated over the campfires of Indians, Spaniards, miners, shepherds, explorers and others in the American West for centuries.

Have a good week.

Pictures of the herb Ephedra

  • Ephedra Berries

  • Ephedra bush

  • Ephedra sinica.jpg
  • Ephedra funerea.jpg
  • Ephedra distachya.jpg
  • Ephedra trifurca.jpg
  • Ephedra 0001.jpg
  • Dwarf Ephedra.jpg
  • Ephedra chilensis.jpg
  • Ephedra minima.jpg
  • Ephedra regalia.JPG
  • Illustration Ephedra distachya1.jpg
  • Ephedra pollen cones.jpg
  • Ephedra ovule LS.jpg
  • Ephedra andina 2.jpg
  • Ephedra californica 2.jpg
  • Ephedra californica 1.jpg
  • Ephedra californica 3.jpg
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