Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa, Japan.
J Nat Med. 2010 Jan;64(1):63-9. doi: 10.1007/s11418-009-0374-0. Epub 2009 Dec 2.
Ephedra sinica Stapf is the main botanical origin of the Chinese herbal drug Mahuang, Ephedra Herb. Eighty-five samples of E. sinica, collected across eastern China, Mongolia, and Buryatia (Russia), were studied anatomically and chemically to elucidate the local variations and the relation between environmental factors and the variations. The results showed that samples grown in more arid conditions tended to have a more sinuous epidermis, more cuticular tubers, and more subepidermal fiber bundles anatomically, and contained more total ephedrine alkaloids. These samples also had a high pseudoephedrine content. These results imply that Ephedra Herb with good quality should be collected from arid fields, and the chemical quality can be estimated by observing the anatomical characteristics.
麻黄是中药麻黄的主要植物来源。本研究对中国东部、蒙古和布里亚特（俄罗斯）的 85 份麻黄样品进行了解剖学和化学研究，以阐明其地域变异与环境因子的关系。结果表明，在更干旱条件下生长的样品，其表皮更弯曲，表皮突起更多，表皮下纤维束更多，总麻黄生物碱含量更高。这些样品伪麻黄碱含量也较高。这些结果表明，质量好的麻黄应采自干旱地区，可通过观察其解剖学特征来估计其化学质量。
