Ephedrine thermogenic effect

Fundamentally, there are only two ways to treat obesity reduce El and increase EE. Thermogenesis and fat oxidation are to a large extent under the control of the sympathetic nervous system and its neurotransmitter norepinephrine after a rational approach for obesity management. In this context, there has been much interest in the potential thermogenic effects of many compounds extracted from plants, namely, caffeine from coffee and tea, ephedrine from ephedra, and capsaicin from pungent spices, largely because of their potential to modulate catecholamine release and activity. ... 

Dulloo AG, Seydoux J, Girardier L. Potentiation of the thermogenic antiobesity effects of ephedrine by dietary methylxanthines Adenosine antagonism or phosphodiesterase inhibition Metabolism 1992 41 1233-1241. 

It is not clear at the present time whether the thermic effect of direct thermogenic drugs is similarly influenced by the consumption of food. Evans and Miller (1977) observed that the thermogenesis produced by the combination of 44 mg of ephedrine and the consumption of a 126 kJ meal was 41+4.2 ml/min of oxygen. When the thermic effect of consuming the meal alone (27+4.2 ml/min) is subtracted from this value, the thermic effect of the ephedrine is found to be 14 ml/min, a value certainly no higher than the thermic effect of ephedrine when administered... 

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