ABSTRACT
Ephedra (ma huang), together with its principal alkaloid ephedrine, was perhaps the first of the Chinese herbal remedies to see significant use in Western medicine. Known in China for more than 5,000 years, the green stems of various Ephedra species, particularly E. sinica Stapf, E. equisetina Bunge, and others of the family Ephedraceae, were employed there, and E. gerardiana Wall, was used in India for the treatment of bronchial asthma and related conditions.1
