The history of Ephedra (ma-huang)

Ephedra is a Chinese shrub which has been used in China for medicinal purposes for several thousand years. The pure alkaloid ephedrine was first isolated and characterised by Nagai in 1885. It was then forgotten until it was rediscovered by Chen and Schmidt in the early 1920s. Its actions on the adrenoceptors could be classified into separate alpha and beta effects – a defining moment in the history of autonomic pharmacology. Ephedrine became a highly popular and effective treatment for asthma, particularly because, unlike adrenaline (until then the standard

Anaphylactic shock: no time to think

Anaphylaxis is the quintessential medical emergency where prompt recognition and treatment is life-saving. In the UK the incidence is increasing year on year, and is most common in the sixth and seventh decades of life. More than half of cases are iatrogenic in nature, most of the rest are caused by venom (stings) and food substances. The clinical signs can be subtle, but an acute onset of skin or mucosal oedema with respiratory compromise or reduced blood pressure should alert the physician to the diagnosis.

The history of Ephedra (ma-huang)

Ephedra is a Chinese shrub which has been used in China for medicinal purposes for several thousand years. The pure alkaloid ephedrine was first isolated and characterised by Nagai in 1885. It was then forgotten until it was rediscovered by Chen and Schmidt in the early 1920s. Its actions on the adrenoceptors could be classified into separate alpha and beta effects – a defining moment in the history of autonomic pharmacology.