Stem plant
Ephedraceae, sea grape.
Medicinal drug
Ephedrae herba – Ephedra herb, Ma Huang.
Ingredients
Ephedra alkaloids, e.g. ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norephedrine, methylephedrine.
Effects and adverse effects
Sympathomimetic, see under ephedrine and caniphedrine articles.
Comment
Used in traditional Chinese medicine as ma huang for 5000 years. Ephedrine can be abused as a party drug, as a medicated learning aid, in sports, and in bodybuilding (see Caniphedrine)
