Ephedra sources

The world war made all these sources of supply difficult of access and stimulated interest in the possibilities of local production. Examination of a number of American species of ephedra had already shown them to be devoid of alkaloids, except for the S. American species E. andina, in which Chavezt found ephedrine, and in the United States attention has been given to the experimental cultivation of imported species, notably E. sinica and E. gerardiana a Moroccan type, E. alenda, was found to contain only ). In Australia experimental cultivation of the Indian species E. gerardiana, E. intermedia and E. nebrodensis has been tried and preliminary yields of 1-35, 1-OS and 0-98 per cent, of total alkaloids respectively have been recorded. In Russia, E. equisetina and E. intermedia are available and are considered to be worth exploitation. In Italy various local species have been found to contain mainly i -ephedrine and that in small amount, but better results are recorded for two species already referred to and which are available in Sardinia, viz. E. vulgaris Rich and E. nebrodensis. ... 

Ephedrine and pseudoephediine are a vasodilator and decongestant respectively used widely in the treatment of asthma and the symptoms of colds and influenza. These pharmaceuticals were derived originally fi om the plant Ephedra sinica and used in traditional Chinese medicinal preparations. Although some are still produced fi om such sources, the major production is via a fermentation process followed by a chemical catalytic reaction. As shown in Figure 1, the intermediate / -phenylacetylcarbinol (PAC) is produced by decarboxylation of pyruvate followed by ligation to benzaldehyde. 

Ephedrine is the main alkaloid produced in the roots of Ephedra sinica, preparations of which have found medical application in China for at least 5000 years. It was first purified from its natural source in 1887, and its chemical synthesis was achieved in 1927. It was initially used in cardiovascular medicine, but subsequently found wider application in the treatment of mild hayfever and asthma. It is also used as a nasal decongestant and cough suppressant. 

Other herbal stimulants include guarana or kola, which are natural sources of caffeine, just like the coffee bean. There are many such concoctions of caffeine or ephedra on the market, or recently taken off the market (Table 5.2). 

Once considered part of the Gnetaceac, Ephedra is now placed in a family of its own. A northern hemisphere genus with some representation in southern South America, Ephedra is the source of the ancient Chinese drug Ma-huang from which the alkaloid ephedrine and its relatives used in modern medicine are obtained. 

Many CAMs are derived from natural sources such as herbs and other plants. Therefore, some consumers assume that a natural product is inherently safer than a synthetic or manufactured chemical.57 These individuals may likewise believe that they can take an unlimited amount of a CAM that is, they may exceed dose limits with the idea that the product can do no harm. These misconceptions can lead to tragic consequences, as was the case with ephedra. Ephedra, derived from an evergreen shrub, also contains epinephrine (adrenaline). As discussed in Chapter 20, epinephrine is a powerful agonist (stimulant) of alpha and beta receptors on various tissues throughout the body. People took... 

The oriental crude drug Ma Huang or Mao, prepared from certain species of the genus Ephedra, contains ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and homologous compounds (2). Although alkaloids of the ephedrine type occur in several Ephedra species, only a few other plant sources are known (Table IV and V). 

Guarana and tea are sources of caffeine that have inherent adrenergic properties as well as increasing the effects of stimulant substances such as ephedrine or ephedra alkaloids (see the earlier discussion of ephedrine). 

Ephedra Equisetina, Ma Huang. Stems and Leaves of Ephedra equisetina Bunge, E sinica Stapf. and other species of Ephedra, Gnetaceae. Indigenous to China and India. ]t contains 0.75 to over 1% ephedrine it is the source of natural ephedrine. Contains also variable quantities of pseud oephed ri rt e. 

Various reports on the antihypertensive activity of lignans were published before 1997 [14], ( )-Pinoresinol diglucoside from Eucommia ulmoides (Eucommiaceae), pinoresinol monoglucoside from Forsythia spp., sesamin from sesame oil, neojusticin B from Justicia procumbens, ephedradine B (a hybrid neolignan-alkaloid) from Ephedra spp.(Ephedraceae), danshensuan B from Salvia miltiorrhiza (Labiatae) and magnolol from different sources were all reported to be hypotensives in different animal models. 

Black and Kelley (134) and Peronnet and Chatin (135) reported on the occurrence of ephedrine and -ephedrine in the North-African Ephedra alata Decnc. Massagetov (136) reported on two Russian species, E. equisetina and E. intermedia, as practical sources of ephedrine. 

In Italy several investigations have been carried out by La Floresta (137, 138), Carboni (139, 140, 141) Mulas and Safis (142), Alberti (143) and Simon (144), on local species of Sardinia and Sicily, to find suitable sources of ephedra alkaloids. It was found that E. nehrodensis contained high amounts of ephedrine and -ephedrine E. distachya (E. vulgaris Rich.) contained only /-ephedrine, while E. fragilis Desf., E. altissima Desf., and E. procera C. A. Mey E. nehrodensis Tineo ) were of low alkaloidal content. 

The ephedra waste was obtained from a traditional Chinese medicine factory. CUSO4 5HjO were used as copper source. Epichlorohydrin, diethylenetriamine and sodium carbonate were the analytic grade reagents commercially available. A pH meter (PHS-3Q was used to measure pH of the suspensions. FTIR spectroscopy (Nicolet-6700) was used to identify the chemical groups in the biosorbent. Atomic absorption spectrometer (Persee A3 series) was used to analyze the concentration of residual copper ions. The double-distilled water was used for the entire experiments. 

This preliminary study has shown that aminated ephedra waste biosorbent could be an interesting low-cost biosorbent for copper removal from aqueous solutions. The optimum absorption conditions of aminated ephedra waste pH is 4.7 contact time is 3 h Pseudo-second-order model is more applicable for the adsorption process. The biosorption of Cu + on aminated ephedra waste biosorbent obeys the Langmuir isotherm. According to the Langmuir equation, the maximum adsorption capacities of modified adsorbent for Cu + are 93.11 mg/g. The results obtained with aminated ephedra waste may be tested using metal-industry wastewater containing Cu +, since ephedra waste is an inexpensive source and therefore may have the advantage of economic viability. 

Traditional use This is one of the three species of Ephedra that is officially used in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia as a source of ma huang, a stimulant and antiasthmatic that has been used for at least 2,000 years (Abourashed et al. 2003). 

Ephedra sinica, a source of ephedrine, a potent bronchodilator. 

Ephedra spp. roots are known as major source of ephedrine and derivatives alkaloids, but this plant species also contains an imidazole derivative, feruloylhistamine (12), which was identified in methanolic extract of the drug in 1983 [19, 20]. After column chromatography and crystallization procedures, feruloylhistamine was characterized by and NMR and mass spectroscopy. A molecular ion peak was observed at miz 287 consistent to a C15H17N3O3 fragment, and the NMR spectrum revealed signals for aliphatic and aromatic carbons and also one carbonyl group. The synthetic derivative was also obtained and afforded the same physical data as the natural compound [19]. 

Ephedrine (l/ -25-2-methylamino-l-phenylpropan-l-ol) is an adrenergic amine present in many kinds of pharmaceutical preparations, obtained by synthesis or from natural sources. Belonging to the genus Ephedra (Ephedraceae), the Chinese species Ephedra sinica and Ephedra equisetina, also known as ma huang, and the Indian and Pakistani species E. gerardiana, E. intermedia, and E. major are the... 

Plants of the genus Ephedra sp. (Ephedraceae, Gnetales) are the main natural source of ephedrine and related alkaloids. The aerial parts of different Ephedra species contain at least six optically active constituents that are stmcturally related to ephedrine. Among these, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are the main psychoactive constituents, although others as optical isomers and methylated derivatives are also important [11]. 

A major source of Ephedra is near to the seacoast in southern China and this local formerly supplies most of the American market [12]. These popular herbs, also known as ma huang in traditional Chinese medicine, can be found in subtropical zones in Asia, Europe, and America [8, 13]. The name ma huang has Chinese origins, in which ma means astringent and huang means yellow, probably referring to the taste and color of the plant or tops of Ephedra sinica Stapf [12]. 

Ephedra A grass, herbal supplement, and natural source of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. 

Source Chinese ephedra Ephedra sinica Stapf. Intermediate ephedra Ephedra intermedia Shrenk et C. A. Mey. Mongolian ephedra Ephedra equisetina Bge. Other Ephedra spp. (Family Ephedraceae). 

Active components in the volatile oil include hmoueue, caryophyllene, phellandrene, linalool, /-a-terpiueol, and 2,3,5,6-tetra-methylpyrazine. Concentration and composition vary considerably, depending on botanical sources (e.g., 0.250% volatile oil in Chinese ephedra vs. 0.124% in Mongolian ephedra) and type of processing. For example, honey-cured and stir-fried wiaHUANG... 

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