ABSTRACT
Ephedra sinica, a Chinese shrub, was used at least 5000 years ago for the treatment of cough and to induce sweating. In more recent times one of the active principles, ephedrine, has been used in the treatment of asthma, and another, pseudoephedrine, as a nasal decongestant. Ephedrine has also been used to enhance alertness and as an aid to weight loss. Active derivatives of ephedrine include the amphetamines. Native Americans used local Ephedra species, applied topically or taken as a tea, for the treatment of syphilis and other disorders. This misplaced belief in the plant’s activity against syphilis persisted and, as ‘whorehouse tea’, it used to be served in brothels in the Western USA. Ephedrine itself remained a popular oral treatment for asthma into the 1940s and 1950s, often in combination with caffeine or theophylline. Its use declined as more specific sympathomimetic agents such as salbutamol, administered from pressurised metered-dose inhalers, were developed.
