Introduction to the efficacy, function and side effects of Ephedra

Ephedra, also known as Herba Ephedrae and Ephedra Sinica, is an herbal medicine included in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Its medicinal source is the dried herbaceous stem of Herba Ephedrae, Ephedra Sinica or Ephedra equisetifolia. Green herbaceous stems are harvested in autumn and dried in the sun. It has the effects of sweating, relieving asthma, relieving asthma, promoting diuresis and detumescence, and has a therapeutic effect on wind, cold, chest dyspnea, fengshui edema, bronchial asthma and other diseases.

First, the efficacy of ephedra

1. Perspiration and table resolution

Ephedra is light to reach, warm and pungent in nature, good at promoting lung qi, opening and regulating, penetrating Mao Qiao, dispersing wind and cold, often used for people with exogenous wind and cold, without sweating.

2. Relieving lung and relieving asthma

Ephedra Xinwen enters the lung meridian, relieving the lung qi, warming and dispersing the lung cold. Commonly used in wind-cold cough, asthma and other syndrome.

Diuresis and detumescence

Ephedra Xinwen, into the lung, bladder two meridians. The lung is the upper source of water, releasing and lowering lung qi, regulating waterways, and transporting the bladder, which is beneficial to the effect of urine detumescence.

3. Dispelling cold and dredging arthralgia

Mahuang Xin San Wentong, "Drug Theory": "to treat the stubborn arthralgia of poisonous wind, the flesh is not benevolent." "Rihuazi Family Materia Medica" also said: "Ephedra can regulate blood vessels and open pore skin." "Shennong Materia Medica Classic hundred kinds of Records" put forward: ephedra "light yang up, tasteless, is the lightest smell, so it can reveal the skin pores, but also deep into the phlegm to stop blood, where the power of medicine can not reach, this can be meticulous, compared with the strong, its power is greater." Therefore, since the Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, this product has been used as an adjuvant medicine, widely used in the treatment of wind-cold-dampness arthralgia, skin diseases, carbuncle, swelling, injury and other syndrome. It can be taken internally or externally.

Second, the function of Ephedra

1. Excite the central nervous system

It has an excitatory effect on the brain, midbrain and medulla oblongata, respiratory and circulatory centers, and has an adrenal-like effect, so after oral administration of ephedra preparation, the results are as follows:

① has warm whole body, rapid heartbeat, slight vasoconstriction and elevated blood pressure.

Increased secretion of ② sweat gland and salivary gland

③ relieves bronchial and gastrointestinal spasm

④ can promote the tension and spasm of bladder sphincter.

2. Affect the secretion of sweat glands

Due to the different distribution of sweat glands between people and animals, under normal circumstances, ephedrine can not induce sweating, but when people use 50-60 mg of ephedrine at high temperature, 1.5 mi for 2 hours, the secretion of sweat glands is more and faster than that without ephedrine, but the skin with subcutaneous injection of ephedrine does not cause special sweat gland secretion, so the effect of ephedrine may be central.

3. Anti-allergy

Can also be used for urticaria; local effect, can make nasal mucosal vasoconstriction, so it can treat rhinitis; has anti-fatigue effect on skeletal muscle, can promote the conduction between nerves and muscles inhibited by curare, and can be used in the treatment of myasthenia gravis; it can also cause hyperglycemia, but its effect is weak and not constant. Water extract has anti-allergic effect, and ephedra can inhibit the release of allergenic substances. Ma Xing Shigan decoction can inhibit mast cell degranulation, inhibit the release of intestinal histamine in sensitized guinea pigs and alleviate intestinal movement. Therefore, the clinical use of Ma Xing Shigan decoction is effective in the treatment of allergic and allergic diseases.

4. Anti-inflammation

A variety of alkaloids of ephedra have inhibitory effect on plantar inflammatory edema. Ephedra extract has anti-inflammatory effect on experimental inflammation. Ephedra alpinia aglycone has an inhibitory effect on experimental arthritis.

5. Analgesia

Ephedrine has a central analgesic effect and can significantly enhance the analgesic effect of morphine.

6. Antibacterial and antiviral

Ephedra volatile oil has inhibitory effect on influenza virus (substate An AR8). When mice were treated with volatile oil, the average survival time was significantly increased, and the average lung injury was significantly reduced. Water decoction and ephedra volatile oil have different degrees of antibacterial effect on many kinds of bacteria, inhibit Asian influenza A virus, and treat mice infected with influenza A virus PR8 strain.

7. Antipyretic and sweating

Ephedra volatile oil has antipyretic effect on artificial fever in rabbits, and the cooling effect of terpinol is more obvious.

Ephedra alkaloids can not induce sweating. Mahuang decoction has antipyretic effect on fever in rats and can cause sweat gland secretion and perspiration. It confirms the ancients' observation that ephedra alone does not sweat, but ephedra and cassia twig can sweat. Ma Xing Shigan decoction has antipyretic effect on rabbit fever. The experimental results show that ephedra volatile oil emulsion has antipyretic effect on rabbits with artificial fever caused by sterilized milk. However, ephedra volatile oil has a strong irritating effect on the mucous membrane of the skin.

8. Effect on the heart

The structure and pharmacological effects of ephedrine contained in ephedra are similar to those of adrenaline, which can enhance myocardial contraction, increase cardiac output rate, accelerate heart rate, and even arrhythmia.

9. Antihypertensive effect

The main alkaloids of ephedra can cause the increase of blood pressure, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. Ephedrine and volatile oil can dilate blood vessels and reduce blood pressure.

10. Effect on blood vessels

Ephedrine can dilate the blood vessels of heart, brain and muscle, increase the blood flow, contract the blood vessels of viscera, skin and mucosa, such as lung, kidney and spleen, and increase the systolic and diastolic blood pressure of pulmonary artery at the same time. Therefore, ephedra is disadvantageous to patients with pulmonary hypertension in patients with asthma.

11. Diuretic effect

Pseudoephedrine has more obvious diuretic effect than ephedrine: after using water, saline and urea (Urea), the urine output is further increased, but the urine volume is decreased in anesthetized dogs, and it still produces diuretic reaction in dogs with mild experimental renal tubular glomerulonephritis, but no diuretic effect in severe cases.

12. Effect on smooth muscle

A variety of alkaloids of dilated bronchial ephedra can relax bronchial smooth muscle and have antiasthmatic effect; enols and pyrazine derivatives in volatile oil also have antiasthmatic effect.

Inhibition of peristaltic ephedrine can relax gastrointestinal smooth muscle and inhibit its peristalsis, and can delay the propulsion and emptying of gastrointestinal contents, so ephedra can affect appetite.

Inhibition of uterine smooth muscle ephedra can inhibit human uterine smooth muscle, so it can relieve dysmenorrhea. On the other hand, it can increase the tension of the uterine smooth muscle of animals. Ephedrine can contract the vas deferens.

Enhanced bladder sphincter ephedra can increase the tension of bladder deltoid and sphincter and reduce the frequency of urination, so it can treat enuresis in children.

Ephedrine can also contract the anal and caudal muscles.

13. Excitatory central function

It can excite the cerebral cortex and subcortical center. Its excitatory effect is stronger than that of renal hormone. Therefore, it can cause insomnia, nervousness, restlessness, tremor and other symptoms.

14. Exciting respiration

Ephedrine can excite the respiratory center and increase the amount of breathing per minute. Ephedrine and ephedra aqueous extract have central antitussive effect.

Ephedra volatile oil has antiasthmatic and expectorant effect, but has no antitussive effect.

15. Excite muscle action

Ephedrine can increase muscle tension and restore tension to tired muscles. As a result, ephedra is listed as a muscle stimulant and is prohibited by athletes.

16. Anti-renal failure

Ephedra extract can decrease creatinine and urea nitrogen and increase blood calcium in rats with renal failure. It is due to the inhibition of creatinine and oxygen free radicals, which significantly inhibit the formation of methyl guanidine, thus improving renal function. ? Pseudoephedrine has a diuretic effect on dogs.

17. Lose weight

Ephedrine can promote fat decomposition and lose weight.

18. Inhibition of platelet aggregation

Ephedra extract can inhibit rabbit platelet aggregation and inhibit the formation of platelet thrombus A3. It can reduce the viscosity of blood.

19. Cholagogic

The extract of ephedra is beneficial to the gallbladder of rabbits.

20. Anti-tumor

Ephedra alpinia glycoside has anti-tumor effect on mice.

Side effects of Ephedra

The toxicity of ephedrine is strong, the toxicity of pseudoephedrine is weak, and the metabolism of pseudoephedrine in vivo is also very slow. Ephedrine is often used for sweating and relieving asthma. When overdose, central excitement symptoms such as irritability, insomnia and side effects such as elevated blood pressure often occur. Ephedrine is used in patients with prostatic hypertrophy, sometimes can cause dysuria, resulting in urinary retention.

Adults take ephedra internally, in which the toxic dose is 30-45 g. The main mechanism of ephedrine poisoning is that ephedrine inhibits the activity of monoamine oxidase and slows down the destruction of adrenaline and adrenergic nerve chemical conductors, thus causing the excitation of sympathetic nervous system and central nervous system. The effect on respiratory center and vascular motor center is particularly significant.

Ephedra poisoning is initially characterized by symptoms of central and sympathetic excitement, such as restlessness, nervousness, headache and dizziness, tinnitus and insomnia, nausea and vomiting, epigastric discomfort, thirst and sweating, elevated blood pressure, pupil dilation, palpitation, shortness of breath, precordial pain, severe dysuria, blurred vision, shock, coma, dyspnea. Finally, he died of respiratory failure and ventricular fibrillation. Long-term use of this product can be addictive.