Why can ephedra become the first Chinese herbal medicine proved to be effective by modern medicine?

Ephedra sinica, also known as ephedra sinica and ephedra sinica, is a perennial herb. It is the dried herb stem of Ephedra, Casuarina equisetifolia or Casuarina equisetifolia. It has a wide range of traditional Chinese medicine applications. Ephedra is a medicinal material and a raw material for making methamphetamine. Originated in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shanxi and other places. China strictly controls ephedra and prohibits free trade.

From 20 19 and 1, the export quota management of ephedra will be implemented, and the export ban management will no longer be implemented. Eligible operators can apply to the Ministry of Commerce for export quotas, and the customs declaration port of Ephedra will be designated as Tianjin Customs.

Perennial herbs. Its height is generally about 0.5 meters, born on the ground. A crown is about 0.3 m thick, roots are 0.5-0.7 m thick, roots are about 2-6 cm thick, branches are about 0. 1~0. 15 cm thick and earthy. Needles grow directly upward, about 40-50 cm high and about 1~2 mm thick. Summer is green, autumn turns pale yellow, winter is yellow, and next spring and summer returns to light green with light yellow.

Each plant has more than 240 stitches at most, and at least dozens of stitches. The minimum number of stitches per branch in that year was 14. On the needles, the fruit diameter is 0. 1 ~ 0.2 mm, which is green at first and yellow in winter. After shedding, new needles will bear fruit in the coming year, and the fruit will fall on the sand and Gobi desert, and will grow rapidly when it meets rain. It likes arid desert and Gobi climate and has strong adaptability to drought.

Medicinal value

Bitter and warm, it has the functions of sweating and dispelling cold, dispersing lung qi and relieving asthma, promoting diuresis and reducing swelling. Chemical tests show that it contains ephedrine, urea, vitamins, amino acids, various trace elements and volatile oil. Animal experiments show that it can raise blood pressure, relax smooth muscle, and induce diuresis and sweat. Ephedra root can stop sweating, and Ephedra fruit can accelerate facial blood flow and promote eye vision. Can be used for treating common cold, cough, pneumonia, urethritis, bronchitis, bronchial asthma, arthritis and gout.

1. Used for exogenous wind-cold, aversion to cold, fever, head and body pain, stuffy nose without sweat, and tight pulse. This product can disperse lung, dredge collaterals, dispel cold and relieve exterior syndrome. It is often combined with Guizhi to relieve exterior syndrome by sweating, such as Mahuang Decoction.

2. Used for asthma and cough caused by wind-cold external bundle and lung qi stagnation. Can open lung qi, dispel cold and relieve asthma. Compatibility with almond and licorice, namely San' ao decoction, can enhance the antiasthmatic effect; If there is cold drink in it, it can be combined with asarum, dried ginger and Pinellia ternata. And cold drinks can be used to relieve asthma and cough, such as Xiaoqinglong Decoction; For patients with asthma and cough caused by heat pathogen blocking lung, gypsum, almond and licorice can be combined to clear lung and relieve asthma, that is, Maxing Shigan Decoction.

3. For edema with symptoms, this product can induce sweating and diuresis, which helps to eliminate edema. It is often used with ginger and Atractylodes macrocephala, such as Yuemecca Decoction.

4. Using the efficacy of Herba Ephedrae to warm and disperse cold pathogens, combined with other corresponding drugs, it can treat rheumatism, joint pain, yin gangrene, phlegm turbidity and other syndromes.

The whole grass and seeds of ephedra are poisonous. After a large number of poisoning, the initial symptoms are central excitement, tension, anxiety, irritability, palpitation, tachycardia, headache, dizziness, tremor, sweating and fever. Some of them have nausea, vomiting, epigastric pain, dilated pupils or difficulty in defecation and pain in the precordial area. In severe poisoning, things are unclear, breathing difficulties, convulsions, and finally respiratory failure.