Pseudoephedrine ephedra

Amphetamines 2-5 days Up to 2 weeks with prolonged or heavy use Many sympathomimetic amines such as pseudoephedrine, ephedra, phenylephrine, fenfluramine, and phentermine may cause positive results. Other drugs such as selegiline, chlorpromazine, trazodone, bupropion, and amantadine may cause false-positive results depending on the assay. 

Ephedrine, (+)-pseudoephedrine Ephedra herb phytopreparations NACE 80 mM ammonium acetate, 3 % acetic acid in methanol LIF ex 488, em 520 [64]... 

At one time, Coca-Cola actually contained a form of cocaine. These days, the primary stimulant in Coca-Cola and many other beverages is caffeine. Other stimulants are less obvious. Chocolate contains theobromine, a caffeinelike stimulant. Nondrowsy cold remedies contain pseudoephedrine, a relative of ephedra, another plant-alkaloid stimulant. 

Nonprescription weight loss agents and decongestants (ephedra, pseudoephedrine)... 

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. 

In the alkaloid synthesis, L-phenylalanine (Figure 30) provides to alkaloid the phenyl or phenylpropyl nucleus. These kinds of nuclei occur in cathionine, cathine, ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and norpseudoephedrine. Such alkaloids are found especially in many species of Ephedra. Natural alkaloid molecules from these plants have similar properties to synthetic compounds used as narcotics (e.g., amphetamine). 

Pseudoephedrine Alkaloid Clears nasal congestion Ephedra sinica... 

N.A. Ephedra nevadensis Wats. Pseudoephedrine, 1-ephedrine, d-pseudoephedrine.100 A decongestant and asthma remedy, for hypertension, hay fever. 

The thought that transmethylation of noradrenaline may be an initial step in its deactivation in the body makes one wonder whether further transmethylation of adrenaline is also not a common biological process. As a result of studies of the various alkaloids of plants of the Ephedra species, it was noted that not only Z-ephedrine and its stereoisomer d-pseudoephedrine are present but also that -norephedrine, d-norpseudoephedrine, l-methylephedrine, and d-methylpseudoephedrine (8) are present. The quaternary tri-methylammonium compounds corresponding to these were not reported but very... 

Various species of Ephedra grow in different parts of the world. It is believed that the Chinese species contain the official levorotatory ephedrine, whereas the same species and other varieties from Europe yield only dextrorotatory pseudoephedrine. East Indian species range from rich to none. Ephedrine exists in the seed of another, totally unrelated Indian plant, Sida cordifolia, which was also used in folk medicine. Ma huang also contains another alkaloid, ephedine, which lowers blood pressure and has other complex actions. 

OFFICIAL NAMES Ephedra, Ephedra sinica STREET NAMES Mahuang, ma huang, desert tea, Mormon tea, American ephedra, European ephedra, Pakistani ephedra, ephedrine, ephedrine alkaloids, pseudoephedrine DRUG CLASSIFICATIONS Not scheduled, dietary supplement... 

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. 

Powder see Cocaine Powder cocaine see Cocaine Pox see Opium Prazepam see Benzodiazepine Prelu-2 see Diet pills Prolixin see Tranquilizers ProSom see Benzodiazepine Protriptyline see Antidepressants Pseudoephedrine see Ephedra Psilocybe mushrooms see Psilocybin Psilocydes see Psilocybin Psychedelic mushrooms see Psilocybin Puffy see PCP (phencyclidine)... 

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). 

The six optically active alkaloids ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, and the N-methylated N-methylephedrine and N-methylpseudoephedrine are described in detail in Reti s review (2). Two new alkaloids of related structure have since been identified in Ephedra species, namely, (9-benzoylpseudoephedrine (271) and the oxazolidine derivative ephe-droxane (272). The 4-quinolone derivative ephedralone, recently isolated from Ephedra alata (273), may be of similar biogenetic origin as the ephedrines. Ephedra species also contain macrocyclic alkaloids of more complex structure (275). The two major Ephedra alkaloids (—)-ephedrine and (+)-pseudoephedrine are diastereomers. (—)-Ephedrine has the erythro and (+)-pseudoephedrine has the threo configuration. 

Ephedrine is a component of the traditional Chinese remedy Ma Huang, extracted from Ephedra species, it is also used in nasal sprays as a decongestant. Pseudoephedrine is the active component of the decongestant Sudafed (so should that be Pseudephed ). 

The isoquinoline alkaloids are the second largest group of alkaloids, numbering about 6000, and can be viewed as five subgroups—the simple tetrahydroisoquinolines, the benzylisoquinolines, the phenethylisoquinolines, the Amaryllidaceae alkaloids, and the monoterpene isoquinolines. In addition, there are a number of simple phenethylamine derivatives, including ephedrine (originally from Ephedra species, but now synthesized) and pseudoephedrine, used for asthma and nasal... 

Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine Sympathomimetic/decongestant Ephedra sinica Mahuang... 

Ephedra consists of a mixture of different members of the Ephedraceae family E. sinica, E. equisetina, and E. ger-ardiand). Its actions are due to the presence of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. 

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... 

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