Ephedra
Modern sources record safety concerns for this herb. Reference information, not a diagnostic or treatment recommendation.
Modern pharmacovigilance sources record hepatotoxicity and other serious risks associated with ephedra (Ma huang). The U.S. NIH LiverTox database reports that Ephedra/Ma huang has been implicated in more than a dozen instances of clinically apparent acute liver injury (occasionally progressing to acute liver failure), alongside serious cardiovascular events, and notes that ephedrine-containing products were banned from sale in the United States in April 2004. This is reference information drawn from modern sources, not a diagnostic or treatment recommendation.
The WHO monograph on Herba Ephedrae states that it should not be administered to patients with coronary thrombosis, diabetes, glaucoma, heart disease, hypertension, thyroid disease, impaired cerebral circulation, phaeochromocytoma, or enlarged prostate, and that co-administration with monoamine oxidase inhibitors is contraindicated because the combination may cause severe, possibly fatal, hypertension; it also advises that the herb should not be given to children under 6 years of age. This is reference information drawn from modern sources, not a diagnostic or treatment recommendation.
Effuses the exterior and promotes sweating, releases the flesh and frees the interstices, calms coughing and panting from counterflow qi, dispels wind-cold and exterior heat-evil, and disperses water swelling and wind swelling.
Used in 26 formulas
Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu)卷十五·草部·麻黄·主治（《本经》）
- functions_en self-translated from 本草纲目 traditional_functions (public domain; the Chinese tf carries verbatim excerpt_hash citations). No modern work consulted.
- WHO IST-TCM terminology-aligned for the English rendering.
- public pharmacopoeia & botanical facts (public-domain reference facts; no proprietary modern source).
Classical source text (Chinese) — English summary above.
传统中医记载：《本经》载麻黄主中风伤寒头痛、温疟、发表出汗、去邪热气、止咳逆上气、除寒热、破癥坚积聚；《别录》通腠理、解肌、泄邪恶气、消赤黑斑毒；甄权谓治身上毒风痹、皮肉不仁、主壮热温疫、山岚瘴气；李时珍谓散赤目肿痛、水肿风肿、产后血滞。
Nature & flavor: 苦，温，无毒（《本经》茎）；张元素谓味苦而甘辛、气味俱薄、轻清而浮、阳也、升也，手太阴之药、入足太阳经、兼走手少阴阳明。·Meridians: 肺（手太阴）, 膀胱（足太阳）
- Ephedra Decoction
- Minor Blue Dragon Decoction
- Ephedra, Apricot Kernel, Licorice and Gypsum Decoction
- Ephedra, Asarum and Aconite Decoction
- Major Blue Dragon Decoction
- Ephedra, Forsythia and Adzuki Bean Decoction
- Ephedra, Aconite and Licorice Decoction
- Ephedra and Cimicifuga Decoction
- Ephedra Decoction Plus Atractylodes
- Ephedra, Apricot Kernel, Coix and Licorice Decoction
- Maidservant from Yue Decoction Plus Pinellia
- Maidservant from Yue Decoction
- Ephedra and Aconite Decoction
- Cinnamon Twig plus Kudzu Decoction
- Licorice and Ephedra Decoction
- Kudzu Decoction
- Kudzu plus Pinellia Decoction
- Pinellia and Ephedra Pill
- Magnolia Bark and Ephedra Decoction
- Belamcanda and Ephedra Decoction
- Clam Shell Decoction
- Two-Parts Cinnamon Twig One-Part Ephedra Decoction
- Two-Parts Cinnamon Twig One-Part Yuebi Decoction
- Cinnamon Twig, Peony and Anemarrhena Decoction
- Cinnamon Twig Decoction minus Peony plus Ephedra, Asarum and Aconite
- Half Cinnamon Twig and Half Ephedra Decoction
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十五·草部·隰草类·麻黄（《本经》中品）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its classification.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十五·草部·麻黄·释名Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its alternate names.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十五·草部·麻黄·茎·气味（《本经》）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its nature & flavor.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十五·草部·麻黄·气味（元素·手太阴入足太阳兼走少阴阳明）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its meridian tropism.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十五·草部·麻黄·主治（《本经》）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its traditional functions.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十五·草部·麻黄·主治（《别录》）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its traditional functions.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十五·草部·麻黄·主治（时珍·水肿风肿）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its traditional functions.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十五·草部·麻黄·主治（《别录》·不可多服令人虚）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its safety notes.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十五·草部·麻黄·发明（杲·表虚用之脱人元气）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its safety notes.