Present Day Applications:

現代應用﹕

Pharmaceutical name:

英文藥名﹕

herba ephedrae

Latin botanical name:

拉丁文學名﹕

(1). ephedra sinica Stapf., 草麻黄 (cao ma huang)

(2). ephedra equisetina Bunge, 木賊麻黄 (mu zei ma huang)

(3). ephedra intermedia Schrenk et Mey. 中麻黄(zhong ma huang)

Pron. in Japanese:

日語發音﹕

ma o

Pron. in Korean:

韓語發音﹕

ma hwang 

Pron. in Cantonese:

粵音﹕

ma wong

Other Names:

別名﹕

xin jiang xue lian hua (incorrectly called. xin jiang xue lian hua is a different herb.)

新疆雪蓮花 (誤稱。新疆雪蓮花 是不同的植物。)

Common Name:

英文名﹕

ephedra

Distribution:

產地﹕

It is mainly produced in Jilin, Liaoning,  Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan provinces of China.

Properties

(characteristics)﹕

性味﹕

acrid, slightly bitter and warm.

Channels (meridians) entered:

歸經﹕

 lung and bladder 

L-ephedrine can increase the contraction of heart muscle thus increases the cardiac output. L-ephedrine causes less arrhythmia than epinephrine but if there is physical diseases of the hearts or if the patients are using digitalis it can cause arrhythmia. L-ephedrine can cause systolic and diastolic pressure to go up.

L-ephedrine can cause the smooth muscle to relax.

Ma huang water extract (boiled in water) has antibiotic property.

Actions & Indications:

主治﹕

(1) For promoting sweating, and rid of cold due  to excessive exposure to chill and wind where pores become tight and unable to sweat and pulse shows floating and large if taken when the liquid of the herb tea is warm.

(2) For soothing of wheezing asthma.

(3) For promoting urination if taken when the liquid of the herb tea is cool.

(4) For treating cough and asthma of small children, external use.

(5) For controlling bed wetting

(6) For stopping nose bleeding

(7) For controlling diarrhea of small children

Chemical ingredients:

化學成份﹕

1. Saponins

• cao ma huang: its main saponin in  is l-ephedrine, about 40~90% of the total saponins. The second highest saponin is  pseudo-ephedrine, and contain small amount of L-N-methylephedrine, d-N-methyl-pseudoephedrine, d-nor-pseuddoephedrine, ephedine,  benzyl-methylamine ^[1], 3,4-dimethyl-5phyloxazolidine, 2,3,4-trimethyl-5-phenyloxazolidine^[2], and the more effective part of ma huang for soothing asthma:  2,3,5,6-tetramethylpyrazine^[3].

• mu zie ma huang contains  1.15~1.75% of saponin and among the important ingredients are L-ephedrine and d-pseudo-ephedrine.

• zhong ma huang contains 1.5% of saponin, with the anti-inflammatory ingredient of ephedroxane.^[4]

The above three varieties of ma huang contain about the same chemical ingredients.

• mu zie ma huang contains the highest amount of saponin.

• Cao ma huang contains lesser amount of saponin.

• zhong ma huang contains the least amount of saponin. ^[1]

2. Vaporizing Ingredients

among the 38 kinds of ingredients from cao ma huang, some of them are:

•  2,3,5,6-tetramethylpyrazine,

• 1-apha-terpineol,

• beta-terpineol,

• terpineol-4,

• --menth-2-en-7-ol,

• 1,3,4 -trimethyl-3-trimethyl-3-cyclohexene-1carboxaldehyde^[3].

3. Flavon

4. Organic Acids

5. Other Ingredients

Normal Dosage:

常用量﹕

2.5 g to 6 g. Large amount up to 15 g.

2.5 至6 克，大劑量亦有用15 克。

Samples of formulae

:處方舉例﹕

ma huang tang 麻黃湯

Modern Research:

現代研究﹕

l-ephedrine toxicity

Cautions:

禁忌﹕

Undesirable side effects:

Ma huang can excite tthe CNS. It the dosage is too large, toxic reactions include headache, restless, insomnia, palpitation, tightness in chest area, tears and nose dripping, uncomfortable, fever, sweating nonstop, upper belly discomfort, dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears, body temperature and blood pressure rising, it can cause heart rate to go up or heart attack or stroke. Large dosage can suppress the heart and causes the heart to slow down. 

Not to use in patients with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency.

Traditionally ma huang is not used in diet formulae nor as a recreation drug. Avoid prescribing ma huang if you do not have the experience and diagnostic skill especially in pulse reading. It can be  dangerous if used incorrectly.

Do not use with Furanzolidone, (Furazolidonum，Furoxone). May induce mania if used  with phenelzine.

患有葡萄糖-六-磷酸鹽去氫酵素缺乏症(蚕豆症)之病人忌用。

麻黃具有興奮大腦皮層 的作用，如用量較大，輕者包括口乾﹐神經質﹐過度興奮而致失眠，焦慮、頭痛、視力模糊以及意識混亂 且易發汗，發汗過多易造成心悸，嚴重時腦出血、癲癇、精神官能症及心律不整﹐ 還可能導致休克。 因此，若體虛之人，表虛自汗、氣虛喘咳、脾虛水腫者不宜使用，高血壓者慎用。 劑量過大能抑制心臟﹐可導致心跳變慢。

不可與呋喃唑酮(痢特靈 ) 同用。

If taken orally, induce vomiting, and use laxative to decrease the absorption. If there is serious nervous reaction or spasm, chloral hydrate CCl₃^.CH(OH)₂  can be used. Oxygen can also be used.