Ephedrine tablets

Commercial samples containing approximately 400 mg of ephedra per capsule yield roughly 5 mg of ephedrine, 1 mg of pseudoephedrine, and less than 1 mg of methylephedrine (White et al. 1997). For a dose of four capsules, yielding approximately 20 mg of ephedrine, the elimination half-life is 5.2 hours. The time to reach maxium concentration is 3.9 hours. Compared to pure ephedrine tablets, the elimination kinetics of ephedra are comparable. However, ephedra showed somewhat different absorption kinetics (e.g., lag time, area under the concentration-time curve, and maximum plasma concentration). So, ephedra tablets may vary from pure ephedrine in the onset of action, but the durations of action are grossly equivalent. 

Ephedra has a long history of legal use in the United States and around the world. Today, the laws that apply to ephedra cover sales, formulation, and labeling by manufacturers they do not outlaw its use by consumers as with street drugs such as marijuana and cocaine. Because ephedrine can be used to manufacture methamphetamine, companies that sell bulk ephedrine and ephedrine tablets are subject to laws... 

Since clandestine lab operators use ephedra to make methamphetamine, the DEA monitors supplements containing ephedrine. One kilogram of ephedrine, the equivalent of 48,000 25-mg ephedrine tablets, can be used to produce anywhere from 1.1 to 1.6 lbs (.5 to 0.75 kg) of methamphetamine in a drug lab. Pseudoephedrine can be used for the same purpose. 

In the late 1980s, drug traffickers and clandestine laboratory operators began to purchase bulk ephedrine powder to make methamphetamine. The government responded in 1988 and passed the Chemical Diversion and Trafficking Act (CDTA) to control the import, export, and distribution of bulk ephedrine powder. The drug traffickers then turned to ephedrine tablets to make... 

Ukraine, each of which reported seizures of ephedrine larger than 10 kg. In the Czech Republic, over 400 kitchen laboratories used to manufacture methamphetamine were detected, although the quantities of ephedrine seized were lower than in previous years. A large part of the 65 kg seized in Hungary was made up of ephedrine tablets purportedly manufactured in Turkey by an established pharmaceutical company. No exports or diversion of pharmaceutical preparations originating in Europe were identified during Operation Crystal Flow. 

Fourteen European countries reported seizures for 2005. Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Romania and the Russian Federation are among those countries that reported for 2005 increased seizures of ephedrine compared with 2004. Investigations by the authorities into seizures of ephedrine in the Czech Republic and ephedrine tablets in Slovakia indicated that, in both cases, the consignments were destined for use in illicit manufacture. 

Tetracycline Tablets (250 mg) Tetrazepam Tablets (50 mg) Theophylline + Ephedrine Tablets... 

Dilor-G Tablets—dyphylline, guaifenesin Dyflex-G Tablets—dyphylline, guaifenesin Glyceryl-T Liquid—theophylline, guaifenesin Hydrophed Tablets—theophylline, hydroxyzine, ephedrine sulfate... 

Lufyllin-EPG Tablets—dyphylline, ephedrine HC1, guaifenesin, phenobarbitol... 

Marax Tablets—theophylline, hydroxyzine, ephedrine sulfate... 

Mundiane GG Tablets—tlieopliylline, guaifenesin, aininophylline anhydrous, ephedrine HQ, phenobarbital... 

Primatene Dual Action Tablets—theophylline, ephedrine, guaifenesin... 

Quadrinal Tablets—theophylline, theophylline calcium salicylate, ephedrine HC1, potassium iodide, phenobarbital... 

Promethazaine HCl/w Codeine Cough Syrup—codeine phosphate, promethazine HC1 Quad Tann Tablets—carbetapentane tannate, chlorpheniramine tannate, phenylephrine tannate, ephedrine tannate... 

Ephedrine and pseudoephedrme can be extracted from cold and allergy tablets and converted in illegal labs to methamphetamine. 

Available 325 mg aspirin tablets weighing 0.7 g each, 60 mg ephedrine sulfate weighing 200 mg each, and 4 mg cpm weighing 150 mg each. 

Although initially available as an injectable solution for the treatment of obesity, D-metham-phetamine hydrochloride is currently available as conventional and prolonged release tablets. Illicit methamphetamine is synthesized from the precursors phenylacetone and iV -methylformamide (dl mixture) or alternatively from ephedrine or pseudoephedrine by red phosphorus/acid reduction. 

Method. The tablet or capsule containing ephedrine is pulverized and mixed with 70 ml of ethanol at 40 °C for 20 min with magnetic stirring. The resulting solution is filtered and the clear filtrate is diluted to 100 ml. 1 ml of this solution is treated with 5 ml of ethanol, 5 ml of acetone, 1 -2 ml of a solution of DNS-C1 (2 mg/ml in acetone) and 2 ml of a solution of sodium bicarbonate (10 mg/ml in water). The solutions are shaken and placed in the dark for 1 h. An aliquot portion of the resulting mixture is analyzed by TLC on plates of silica gel using benzene-ethanol-acetic acid (90 10 1) as solvent. An alternative procedure for ephedrine has been discussed earlier [123]. 

Ephedra is available in multiple forms. It is a common ingredient in energy boosting bars, sold as Herbal Ecstasy in some health food stores, and is also available as powder that can be mixed with water. Health food stores may sell powdered ephedrine stems, which can be used in a tea, or they may sell infusion, extracts, tinctures, or tablets of ephedra. Health food stores may also sell ephedra as the ma huang herb. Many manufacturers tend to advertise or market ephedra supplements as natural or as a botanical herb, because some consumers equate natural with safe. In China, ephedra may be boiled with cinnamon twig, licorice root, and almond to treat the common cold. 

The government is currently in the process of attempting to regulate ephedrine use in pep pills and supplements. The proposal is the FDA s first regulatory major initiative under the 1994 Act. According to the FDA, more than 800 adverse reactions, including seizures, strokes, and heart attacks, have been linked to ephedrine capsules, tablets, and teas since 1994. The FDA puts the ephedrine-related death toll at 18 since then. 

Tablets with ephedrine and phenobarbital TLC Mix powder with chloroform-methanol (4 l), filter Silica...

While the drug release from wax matrix tablets followed the square root of time relationship, approximately zero-order release of ephedrine hydrochloride and procaine hydrochloride could be obtained with multi-layered matrices of hydrogenated castor oil containing different concentrations of the active compound in each layer. 

Both ephedrine and pseudoephedrine remain worry-ingly popular (4) and are widely available without prescription. Based on increasing evidence of the risks of Ephedra self-medication, various national regulatory authorities are currently considering recalling Ephedra products from over-the-counter sales. Oral doses of ephedrine 25-30 mg are often prescribed, for example for orthostatic hypotension. Lower oral doses, present in some cold remedies in tablet form, are unlikely to be efficacious, although they are risky where the drug is... 

A report from the European literature describes the findings in a 19-year-old woman who committed suicide by taking 40 Letigen tablets (200 mg of caffeine and 20 mg of ephedrine) amounting to 10 g of caffeine and 1 g of ephedrine. She developed severe toxic manifestations from the heart, CNS, muscles, liver, and kidneys leading to several cardiac arrests, and died subsequently of cerebral edema and incarceration on the fourth day of hospitalization. Postmortem blood concentrations were not given (134). 

Chervinsky P, Chervinsky G. Metaproterenol tablets their duration of effect by comparison with ephedrine. Curr Ther Res Clin Exp 1975 17(6) 507-518. 

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