What was ephedra used for?
Ephedra is a low evergreen shrub with small scaly leaves. It has a long history of medicinal use in China and India to treat colds, fever, headaches, coughing, wheezing, and other conditions.
How is ephedrine made synthetically?
Natural ephedrine is prepared by extraction from Ephedra plants. This process is typically employed for ephedrine manufactured in China. Semi-synthetic ephedrine is prepared by fermentation of sugar followed by amination, a process known to be used in India. Fully chemically synthesized ephedrine is produced elsewhere.
How does ephedra work in the brain?
Ephedrine, a sympathomimetic amine, acts on part of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). The principal mechanism of action relies on its indirect stimulation of the adrenergic receptor system by increasing the activity of norepinephrine at the postsynaptic α and β receptors.
How does ephedrine show Tachyphylaxis?
Vasopressors and Inotropes When given in repeated doses, tachyphylaxis occurs, probably because of depleted norepinephrine stores. Ephedrine causes an increase in systolic, diastolic, and MAPs. It increases myocardial contractility, heart rate, and cardiac output (see Table 25.1).
What is the scientific name of ephedra?
Ephedra
Ephedra/Scientific names
What plant does ephedra come from?
Ephedra is a Chinese shrub which has been used in China for medicinal purposes for several thousand years. The pure alkaloid ephedrine was first isolated and characterised by Nagai in 1885. It was then forgotten until it was rediscovered by Chen and Schmidt in the early 1920s.
What plant does Ephedra come from?
What is the difference between ephedrine and epinephrine?
As a vasoconstrictor, epinephrine is 100 to 1,000 times more potent than ephedrine. 1 Mix-ups between these two drugs have resulted in serious patient harm. The Closed Claims Project of the American Society of Anesthesiologists found that errors involving epinephrine are particularly dangerous.
What receptors does ephedrine?
Ephedrine produces norepinephrine release, stimulating mostly A1 and B1 receptors; the effects resemble those of epinephrine although they are less intense. Increases in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and cardiac output are noted.
What is the biological source of Ephedra?
It is a shrub belongs to the Ephedraceae family. The order is Ephedrales. It is also known as joint pine , joint fir, Mormon tea or Brigham tea.
Where do Ephedra plants grow?
There are 40 known ephedra species distributed among the arid and semiarid regions of Asia, Europe, northern Africa, western North America, and South America. They can grow from sea level up to 5,000 meters high in the Himalayan and Andes mountains.
Where does ephedrine grow?