- Region
- Asia
- Origin
- Steppes and arid areas of Mongolia, northern China and Russia. Ephedra sinica
- Other names
- Efedra
Asia · Herb · № 125
Ephedra sinica
Herb · Asia
Chinese ephedra (ma huang)
Ephedra sinica
Contains ephedrine, which widens the airways and stimulates the nervous system and heart. It is the origin of modern ephedrine and pseudoephedrine medicines. As a supplement it has proved dangerous.
Safety notes
May cause heart rhythm problems, heart attack, stroke, seizures and death. Do not self-medicate, especially with caffeine, heart disease, high blood pressure or thyroid disorders. Regulated in many countries.
Cautions by tradition (2)
- Herbal medicine worldwide: Not with MAO inhibitors, not with severe high blood pressure, glaucoma or thrombosis. Poisonous or risky: only under expert supervision. No dosage is given here on purpose.
- Chinese materia medica: Not with high blood pressure, heart complaints, insomnia or spontaneous sweating; not for long periods. Concentrated ephedra extracts as energy or slimming aids are dangerous for heart and blood vessels. In the Netherlands ephedra is banned in herbal preparations.
Preparation
In Chinese medicine as a decoction in herbal formulas under expert supervision; banned in US dietary supplements. No dosage is given here.
Use in traditions
Ma huang has been used in China for some five thousand years for asthma and colds. Ephedrine was isolated from it in the 1920s. After deaths linked to weight-loss and sports supplements, the US FDA banned its sale as a dietary supplement in 2004.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Herbal medicine worldwide
Attributed effects
Twigs antispasmodic, fever-reducing, induce sweating, diuretic, antibacterial, antiviral; root reduces sweating.
Preparation and amount
Traditionally used forms: decoction, tincture.
Caution: Not with MAO inhibitors, not with severe high blood pressure, glaucoma or thrombosis. Poisonous or risky: only under expert supervision. No dosage is given here on purpose.
Chinese materia medica
- Nature and taste
- bitter, pungent, warm
- Meridians
- lung, bladder
Attributed effects
In wind-cold opens the surface (chills, fever without sweating, headache, blocked airways), lets the lung energy flow again in cough, wheezing and asthma, and promotes urination in oedema. The root (ma huang gen) works the other way round: it curbs excessive sweating.
Preparation and amount
Deliberately no dosage is given here: only under the supervision of a qualified therapist. The best quality comes from Inner Mongolia; the part between the nodes contains the most active alkaloids. The root (ma huang gen) is sweet and neutral and is actually astringent: 3–9 g for spontaneous sweating, night sweats and sweating after childbirth. Not for external diseases.
Combinations
- With cinnamon twig in ma huang tang for wind-cold without sweating
- With apricot kernel, gypsum and licorice for cough and asthma with heat
- With bai zhu and fu ling for oedema
- Root with huang qi and dang gui for sweating from qi and blood deficiency
- Root with raw rehmannia and oyster shell for night sweats from yin deficiency
Caution: Not with high blood pressure, heart complaints, insomnia or spontaneous sweating; not for long periods. Concentrated ephedra extracts as energy or slimming aids are dangerous for heart and blood vessels. In the Netherlands ephedra is banned in herbal preparations.