Ephedrine pharmacological properties

Both of these salts are readily soluble in water and in hot alcohol, but not in ether. They have the same pharmacological properties as ephedrine and are used orally in an average dose of 0.25 g. They are also used, in aqueous solution, intramuscularly and intravenously. 

Chen (308) and later Bleyer (253) showed that synthetic ephedrine resembles in all the chemical and pharmacological properties the natural alkaloid. 

Based on these considerations, this chapter presents a literature review over several aspects of ephedrine, focusing on its botany, chemical composition, general uses, pharmacological properties, toxicity, and analytical aspects. 

Many pharmacologically active organic chemicals fonnd in natnre are alkaloids. In general, these componnds contain one or more nitrogen atoms, which in turn impart some basicity to the molecnle. Well-known alkaloid examples are caffeine, cocaine, codeine, ephedrine, morphine, nicotine, qninine, and scopolamine. Heroin is derived from morphine by a chemical modification that increases lipophilicity, making the heroin molecnle inherently more pharmacologically potent than morphine. The exhibition of its basic properties by an alkaloid (Aik) involves (by definition) the acceptance of a proton H+ according to ... 

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