Abstract
Ephedra is one of the oldest medicinal plants in traditional Chinese medicine for nearly 5000 years. The medicinal species are used as a stimulant and as antiasthmatic agents to treat cold, bronchial asthma, cough, fever, flu, headache, edema, and allergies. The medicinal and therapeutic effects of these plants are related to alkaloids such as ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norephedrine, and methylephedrine, and it also contains tannins and flavonoids. The most common compounds found in Ephedra are ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. Furthermore, a vast diversity of alkaloid and non-alkaloid compounds have been known in different species of Ephedra. In this study, a systematic search was performed to provide animal and clinical evidence regarding the therapeutic effects of the Ephedra herb. The purpose of this review is to describe the medicinal and therapeutic effects of Ephedra herb and their compositions.
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References
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Dousari, A.S., Satarzadeh, N., Amirheidari, B. et al. Medicinal and Therapeutic Properties of Ephedra. Rev. Bras. Farmacogn. 32, 883–899 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43450-022-00304-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43450-022-00304-3