1. Any of various East Asian ephedras, especially Ephedra sinica, from which ephedrine and other alkaloids are obtained.
2. See ephedra.
The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2007, 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Pharmacology CNS stimulant, hallucinogenic properties, alertness, paranoia, sensory distortion
Adverse reactions Hypertension, seizures, acute MI, strokes, death
joint firChinese and Herbal medicine
A shrub, the stem of which contains ephedrine, which is a bronchodilator, diaphoretic, diuretic and vasoconstrictor; it is used to treat asthma, bronchitis, fever, fluid retention, hypotension, paraesthesias, to stimulate the central nervous system and to suppress the appetite.
Ephedra should not be used in patients with cardiac or thyroid disease, diabetes or hypertension.