Abourashed Ehab A, El-Alfy Abir T, Khan Ikhlas A, Walker Larry
Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Phytother Res. 2003 Aug;17(7):703-12. doi: 10.1002/ptr.1337.
Although the traditional use of Ephedra 'ma huang' has been established for thousands of years, its resurgence in the US as a herbal dietary supplement is currently a matter of national controversy. At the heart of the debate are three important questions: (1) the identity and composition of Ephedra products with regard to ephedrine and related alkaloids; (2) the potential therapeutic utility of Ephedra supplements for weight loss or performance enhancement; and (3) potential health risks associated with such uses of Ephedra, particularly in sensitive individuals or in cases of intentional abuse for its stimulant properties. This review surveys the literature on Ephedra with regard to traditional uses, botany, chemistry, analytics, pharmacological effects and health risks. A brief discussion of the central issues in the current debate on the regulation of Ephedra in the United States is included as this is where most of the problems have occurred to date.
尽管麻黄（“麻黄”）的传统药用已历经数千年，但它在美国作为一种草药膳食补充剂再度兴起，目前已成为全国性的争议话题。这场辩论的核心有三个重要问题：（1）麻黄产品中麻黄碱及相关生物碱的成分和特性；（2）麻黄补充剂用于减肥或提高运动表现的潜在治疗效用；（3）使用麻黄带来的潜在健康风险，尤其是在敏感个体中，或因故意滥用其刺激特性的情况。这篇综述调查了有关麻黄在传统用途、植物学、化学、分析、药理作用和健康风险方面的文献。本文还简要讨论了目前美国关于麻黄监管辩论中的核心问题，因为迄今为止大多数问题都出现在这里。
