Ephedra is a genus of gymnosperm shrubs, the only genus in the family Ephedraceae and order Ephedrales. These plants occur in dry climates over a wide area mainly in the Northern Hemisphere, across southern Europe, north Africa, southwest and central Asia, southwestern North America, and, in the Southern Hemisphere, in South America south to Patagonia. They are also called Joint-pine, Jointfir, yellow horse, country mallow, squaw tea or Mormon Tea. The Chinese species are known as Ma huang. These plants have traditionally been used by indigenous people for a variety of medicinal purposes, and are a likely candidate for the Soma plant of Indo-Iranian religion. Ephedra is also sometimes called sea grape (from the French raisin de mer), although that is also a common name for Coccoloba. The alkaloids ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are considered to be the active constituents of the herb.

Health Concerns

Beginning in the 1990s, concerns about the safety of Ephedra and Ephedra-based products began to be publicly raised. As Ephedra is an herb, products containing it were marketed as dietary supplements and therefore were exempt from FDA regulation in the United States. Ephedra was found in many popular weight control products, some of which the FDA believed may be hazardous. Sympathomimetic amines such as ephedrine raise heart rate and blood pressure and can be particularly hazardous to those with pre-existing cardiac problems.

According to the FDA, 155 deaths can be blamed on Ephedra, most of them related to cardiac problems and strokes. However many advocates of Ephedra maintain that it is safe when used as directed, and continue to regard it as a dietary supplement rather than a drug. Health food store GNC banned ephedra-containing products in June 2003, and the National Football League banned players from using it as a dietary supplement in 2001. Ephedrine is considered to be a performance-enhancing drug and is prohibited in most competitive athletics.

On December 30, 2003, the US Food and Drug Administration announced a ban (effective 12 April 2004) on the uncontrolled sale of supplement products containing Ephedra, citing "an unreasonable risk of illness or injury" from the use of the drug. Synthetic ephedrine is still available as an ingredient in some over the counter (OTC) medications that are clearly labeled in accordance with FDA regulations. Bulk ephedra herb (such as that used in traditional Chinese medicine) not specifically marketed for human consumption is not under the jurisdiction of the FDA and is therefore unaffected. Several states have enacted their own laws regarding the sale of ephedra and ephedra-based products, some stricter than the non-statutory FDA regulation.

In the US 1994 World Cup, argentine soccer player star, Diego Armando Maradona, tested positive for ephedrine in a doping control for using one dietary supplement product containing the substance. Subsequent tests failed to show any trace of the supplement in his system.

Species

The following list of species is from the ITIS page for Ephedra (http://www.itis.usda.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=183496).

• Ephedra antisyphilitica Berl. ex C.A. Mey. -- Clapweed, Ephedra, Erect ephedra
• Ephedra x arenicola Cutler -- Sand mormon tea, Sandy jointfir
• Ephedra aspera Engelm. ex S. Wats. -- Aspera mormon tea, boundary ephedra, rough jointfir
• Ephedra californica S. Wats. -- California jointfir, California mormon tea
• Ephedra coryi E.L. Reed -- Cory ephedra, Cory's jointfir, Navajo mormon tea
• Ephedra cutleri Peebles -- Cutler mormon tea, Cutler mormontea, Cutler's ephedra, Cutler's jointfir
• Ephedra distachya L. - Joint-pine, Jointfir
• Ephedra equisetina Bunge - Ma huang
• Ephedra fasciculata A. Nels. - Arizona ephedra, Arizona jointfir, Desert mormon tea
• Ephedra foliata Boiss
• Ephedra funerea Coville & Morton - Death Valley ephedra, Death Valley jointfir, Funera mormon tea
• Ephedra gerardiana Wallich ex Stapf - Gerard's jointfir
• Ephedra x intermixta Cutler - Intermixed jointfir
• Ephedra nevadensis S. Wats. - Nevada ephedra, Nevada jointfir, Nevada Mormon tea
• Ephedra pedunculata Engelm. ex S. Wats. - Vine ephedra, Vine jointfir
• Ephedra sinica Stapf - Chinese ephedra
• Ephedra torreyana S. Wats. - Torrey ephedra, Torrey mormon tea, Torrey's ephedra, Torrey's jointfir, Torrey's mormon tea
• Ephedra trifurca Torr. ex S. Wats. - Longleaf ephedra, Longleaf jointfir, longleaf mormon tea
• Ephedra viridis Coville - Green ephedra, Green mormon tea, Mormon tea, Mormon-tea

External links

• Erowid's Ephedra Vault (http://www.erowid.org/plants/ephedra/ephedra.shtml) (Caution: eroid.org triggers some employer's filters as inappropriate)
• Illinois bans ephedra, federal bill in the works (Kuro5hin discussion) (http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2003/5/27/11637/4621)
• United States FDA (http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/ds-ephed.html) links to actions
  • FDA Rule (http://www.fda.gov/oc/initiatives/ephedra/february2004/)
• United States NIH Factsheet (http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/ephedraandephedrine.asp) regarding Weight Loss and Athletic Performance
• U.S. government announces ban on ephedra (http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/12/30/ephedra/index.html) (CNN)