Ephedra (medicine)

This article is about the use of the plant species containing ephedrine in supplements in the United States. For botanical information, see Ephedra (plant). For the chemical ephedrine, see ephedrine.
Bottle of ephedrine, an alkaloid found in ephedra

Ephedra is a medicinal preparation from the plant Ephedra sinica.[1] Several additional species belonging to the genus Ephedra have traditionally been used for a variety of medicinal purposes, and are a possible candidate for the soma plant of Indo-Iranian religion.[2] It has been used in traditional Chinese medicine, in which it is referred to as Ma Huang, for more than 2,000 years.[3][4] Native Americans and Mormon pioneers drank a tea brewed from other Ephedra species, called "Mormon tea" and "Indian tea".

Mormon tea (Ephedra funerea) growing in the wild in the Fiery Furnace area of Arches National Park near Moab, Utah

Dietary supplements containing ephedra alkaloids have been found to be unsafe, with reports of serious side effects and ephedra-related deaths.[5][6][7][8] In response to accumulating evidence of adverse effects and deaths related to ephedra, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the sale of supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids in 2004.[9] The ban was challenged in court by ephedra manufacturers, but ultimately upheld in 2006 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.[10] Ephedra extracts not containing ephedrine have not been banned by the FDA and are still sold legally.[11]

  1. ^ Gurley B, Wang P, Gardner S (1998). "Ephedrine-type alkaloid content of nutritional supplements containing Ephedra sinica (Ma-huang) as determined by high performance liquid chromatography". J Pharm Sci. 87 (12): 1547–53. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.460.7810. doi:10.1021/js9801844. PMID 10189265.
  2. ^ Botany of Haoma Archived 2007-10-13 at the Wayback Machine, from Encyclopædia Iranica. Accessed March 15, 2007.
  3. ^ Abourashed E, El-Alfy A, Khan I, Walker L (2003). "Ephedra in perspective--a current review". Phytother Res. 17 (7): 703–12. doi:10.1002/ptr.1337. PMID 12916063. S2CID 41083359.
  4. ^ Kee C. Huang (12 December 2010). The Pharmacology of Chinese Herbs, Second Edition. CRC Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-4200-4826-1.
  5. ^ Haller C, Benowitz N (2000). "Adverse cardiovascular and central nervous system events associated with dietary supplements containing ephedra alkaloids". N Engl J Med. 343 (25): 1833–38. doi:10.1056/NEJM200012213432502. PMID 11117974. S2CID 76588785.
  6. ^ Bent S, Tiedt T, Odden M, Shlipak M (2003). "The relative safety of ephedra compared with other herbal products". Ann Intern Med. 138 (6): 468–71. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-138-6-200303180-00010. PMID 12639079. S2CID 17963930.
  7. ^ "National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Consumer Advisory on ephedra". 2004-10-01. Retrieved 2007-02-13.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "Food and Drug Administration summary of actions regarding sale of ephedra supplements". Food and Drug Administration. Archived from the original on 2007-02-10. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
  9. ^ "FDA Final Rule Banning Dietary Supplements With Ephedrine Alkaloids Becomes Effective". U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved 7 February 2007.
  10. ^ "FDA Statement on Tenth Circuit's Ruling to Uphold FDA Decision Banning Dietary Supplements Containing Ephedrine Alkaloids". U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
  11. ^ "Is Ephedra legal? Consumer Reports Investigates". www.consumerreports.org. Retrieved 2015-11-23.