Ephedra Herb – 1 lb (454 g)

Ephedra Herb, known in Chinese as 麻黄 (Máhuáng) and scientifically as Herba Ephedrae, is a valued herb in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This TCM herb has been traditionally used to support natural wellness, maintain vitality, and encourage holistic balance. At TCMforyou.com, we provide premium-quality Ephedra Herb carefully sourced to preserve its therapeutic properties.

As a herbal supplement, Ephedra Herb helps promote overall well-being and supports natural energy, immunity, and balance. Integrating this herb into your wellness routine offers a gentle, time-tested approach to enhancing daily health. Whether brewed as tea, added to herbal remedies, or taken as part of a TCM formula, Ephedra Herb provides a safe, natural way to experience the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine.

Trusted for centuries, Ephedra Herb has been used in TCM to harmonize the body and encourage optimal functioning of key systems. At TCMforyou, we prioritize authenticity and quality. Each batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure purity and potency, delivering an herbal product aligned with traditional practices.

Experience the natural support of Ephedra Herb, promoting immune health, vitality, and holistic well-being. Embrace the wisdom of TCM and incorporate this gentle, effective herbal remedy into your daily wellness journey.

[Overview] This herb is also known as Longsha, Beiyan, and Beixiang. It is the herbaceous stem of plants from the Ephedraceae family: Ephedra sinica Stapf, Ephedra intermedia Schrenk ex C.A.Mey., or Ephedra equisetina Bge. It is mainly produced in Hebei, Shanxi, Gansu, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and other regions. The aerial parts are harvested in summer and autumn by cutting or uprooting, then roots or soil are removed, washed clean, dried in a ventilated place, and cut into sections after drying.

[Properties] The taste is pungent and slightly bitter; the nature is warm. It enters the Lung and Bladder meridians.

[Actions] Induces sweating to release the exterior, disseminates Lung qi to relieve asthma, promotes urination to reduce edema.

[Applications]
1. Used for wind-cold exterior excess syndrome, symptoms include fever, aversion to cold, absence of sweating, and body aches. Often combined with Cinnamon Twig (Gui Zhi), as in the formula Mahuang Tang (Ephedra Decoction). For patients with underlying Yang deficiency who contract wind-cold, presenting with aversion to cold, fever, headache, absence of sweating, cold limbs, and a deep pulse, often combined with Aconite (Fu Zi) and Asarum (Xi Xin), as in Mahuang Fuzi Xixin Tang; for external cold-damp invasion with fever, aversion to cold, absence of sweating, and body soreness, often added with Atractylodes (Bai Zhu), as in Mahuang Jia Zhu Tang.
2. Used for cough and asthma. For wind-cold constraining the exterior causing Lung qi stagnation with cough and copious phlegm, chest tightness, and shortness of breath, often combined with Apricot Kernel (Xing Ren), as in San Ao Tang; if external wind-cold with internal cold-fluid retention, symptoms include cough with clear, thin phlegm, fever without sweating, often combined with Asarum (Xi Xin) and Dried Ginger (Gan Jiang), as in Xiao Qing Long Tang; if pathogenic heat congests the Lung causing cough, asthma with yellow phlegm, fever, and thirst, often combined with Gypsum (Shi Gao) and Apricot Kernel, as in Ma Xing Shi Gan Tang.
3. Used for generalized edema due to wind-water, with difficulty urinating. If edema with difficulty urinating and exterior syndrome, often combined with Licorice (Gan Cao), as in Gan Cao Ma Huang Tang; if edema with predominant heat signs, often combined with Gypsum and Fresh Ginger (Sheng Jiang), as in Yue Bi Tang; if edema due to cold syndrome, combined with Aconite, as in Mahuang Fuzi Tang; if jaundice with exterior syndrome, can be combined with Forsythia (Lian Qiao) and Adzuki Bean (Chi Xiao Dou), as in Mahuang Lianqiao Chixiaodou Tang.
4. Used for yin sores and urinary dribbling belonging to Yang deficiency with cold congealing syndrome, often combined with Rehmannia (Shu Di), Cinnamon Bark (Rou Gui), and Deer Antler Glue (Lu Jiao Jiao), as in Yang He Tang.

Besides the above, Ephedra Herb can also be used for skin diseases such as urticaria and scabies; for urticaria often combined with duckweed (Fu Ping), cicada slough (Chan Tui), and Siler (Fang Feng); for scabies, used externally with Mylabris (Ban Mao) and Croton Seed (Da Feng Zi).

[Dosage and Administration] Internal use: decocted in water, 2–9 g; or used in pills or powders. External use: appropriate amount, ground into powder and applied topically. For releasing the exterior and promoting urination, use raw; for relieving cough and asthma, use honey-fried.

[Cautions] Contraindicated in exterior deficiency with spontaneous sweating, night sweating, deficiency asthma, hypertension, and heart failure. Avoid excessive use.

[Modern Research]
1. Chemical constituents: Ephedra mainly contains ephedrine alkaloids such as levo-ephedrine, dextro-pseudoephedrine, levo-norephedrine, dextro-norpseudoephedrine, and levo-methylephedrine, with ephedrine as the principal component and pseudoephedrine content being lower. It also contains imidazolidone alkaloids, volatile oils, flavonoids, and other compounds.
2. Pharmacological effects: Ephedra has sympathomimetic effects, raising blood pressure, increasing heart rate, and strengthening myocardial contractility; ephedrine alkaloids have a sustained antispasmodic effect on bronchial smooth muscle, and low concentrations of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine can cause bronchodilation; water-soluble extracts of Ephedra significantly suppress cough induced by mechanical stimulation of guinea pig trachea; it dilates renal blood vessels, increasing renal blood flow and inhibiting sodium reabsorption in renal tubules, thus increasing urine output, demonstrating diuretic effects; water and ethanol extracts and alkaloids have anti-allergic effects, possibly mediated via β-receptor activity; methanol extracts reduce vascular permeability increase in acetic acid-induced mouse peritonitis and inhibit ureteral granuloma formation in chick embryos; other effects include antipyretic, diaphoretic, antimicrobial, and central nervous system stimulation.
3. Clinical reports: (1) A mixture of 70% Ephedra powder and 30% white pepper was applied in black plaster to one or both Feishu (BL13) points, changed once daily or every other day. Among 288 cases treated, 235 were cured, 42 improved, 11 ineffective, with a total effective rate of 96.2%. [Guangxi Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1987, 10(1):8] (2) Pediatric diarrhea: Ephedra 2–4 g, Peucedanum (Qian Hu) 4–8 g, decocted with water, a small amount of sugar added, one dose daily. Among 138 cases, 126 cured, 91.3% cure rate. [Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, 1988,(6):351] (3) Pediatric enuresis: raw Ephedra taken before sleep (3 g for ages 5–7, 5 g for 8–15, 10 g for over 15), decocted once, foam removed, taken immediately, continued for one month. Among 30 cases, all cured, 100% effective rate. [Shaanxi Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1993, 14(2):79]