Ephedra (plant): Difference between revisions

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Alkaloids obtained from the species of ''Ephedra'' used in herbal medicines, which are used to synthetically prepare [[pseudoephedrine]] and ephedrine, can cause cardiovascular events. These events have been associated with arrhythmias, palpitations, tachycardia and myocardial infarction. [[Caffeine]] consumption in combination with ephedrine has been reported to increase the risk of these cardiovascular events.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Skalli|first1=Souad|last2=Zaid|first2=Abdelhamid|last3=Soulaymani|first3=Rachida|title=Drug Interactions With Herbal Medicines|journal=Ther Drug Monit|date=December 2007|volume=29|issue=6|pages=679–86|doi=10.1097/FTD.0b013e31815c17f6|pmid=18043467|s2cid=17042490}}</ref>
Alkaloids obtained from the species of ''Ephedra'' used in herbal medicines, which are used to synthetically prepare [[pseudoephedrine]] and ephedrine, can cause cardiovascular events. These events have been associated with arrhythmias, palpitations, tachycardia and myocardial infarction. [[Caffeine]] consumption in combination with ephedrine has been reported to increase the risk of these cardiovascular events.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Skalli|first1=Souad|last2=Zaid|first2=Abdelhamid|last3=Soulaymani|first3=Rachida|title=Drug Interactions With Herbal Medicines|journal=Ther Drug Monit|date=December 2007|volume=29|issue=6|pages=679–86|doi=10.1097/FTD.0b013e31815c17f6|pmid=18043467|s2cid=17042490}}</ref>


== Evolutionary history ==
==Species==
The oldest known members of the genus are from the [[Early Cretaceous]], with records being known from the [[Aptana|Aptian]]-[[Albian]] of Argentina<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Puebla|first=Gabriela G.|last2=Iglesias|first2=Ari|last3=Gómez|first3=María A.|last4=Prámparo|first4=Mercedes B.|date=2017-11|title=Fossil record of Ephedra in the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian), Argentina|url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10265-017-0953-1|journal=Journal of Plant Research|language=en|volume=130|issue=6|pages=975–988|doi=10.1007/s10265-017-0953-1|issn=0918-9440}}</ref>, Portugal and the United States.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rydin|first=Catarina|last2=Pedersen|first2=Kaj Raunsgaard|last3=Crane|first3=Peter R.|last4=Friis|first4=Else Marie|date=2006-07-01|title=Former Diversity of Ephedra (Gnetales): Evidence from Early Cretaceous Seeds from Portugal and North America|url=http://academic.oup.com/aob/article/98/1/123/240043/Former-Diversity-of-Ephedra-Gnetales-Evidence-from|journal=Annals of Botany|language=en|volume=98|issue=1|pages=123–140|doi=10.1093/aob/mcl078|issn=1095-8290|pmc=PMC2803531|pmid=16675607}}</ref>
Accepted species:<ref name=liz10>[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=332845 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]</ref>

== Species ==
Accepted species:<ref name="liz10">[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=332845 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]</ref>
*''[[Ephedra alata]]'' <small>[[Joseph Decaisne|Decaisne]] 1824</small> – North Africa, Arabian Peninsula
*''[[Ephedra alata]]'' <small>[[Joseph Decaisne|Decaisne]] 1824</small> – North Africa, Arabian Peninsula
*''[[Ephedra altissima]]'' <small>[[René Louiche Desfontaines|Desfontaines]] 1799 non Bové 1834 non Delile 1813 non Buch 1828</small> – North Africa, Canary Islands
*''[[Ephedra altissima]]'' <small>[[René Louiche Desfontaines|Desfontaines]] 1799 non Bové 1834 non Delile 1813 non Buch 1828</small> – North Africa, Canary Islands

Revision as of 03:44, 12 November 2020

Ephedra
Temporal range: Aptian–Recent
Ephedra distachya
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Gymnospermae
Division: Gnetophyta
Class: Gnetopsida
Order: Ephedrales
Dumort.[2]
Family: Ephedraceae
Dumort.[1]
Genus: Ephedra
L.[1]
Map showing the range of Ephedra
Global range of Ephedra
Synonyms[3]

Chaetocladus Nelson 1866 nom. illeg.

Ephedra is a genus of gymnosperm shrubs, the only genus in its family, Ephedraceae, and order, Ephedrales. The various species of Ephedra are widespread in many lands, native to southwestern North America, southern Europe, northern Africa, southwest and central Asia, northern China and western South America.[3]

In temperate climates, most Ephedra species grow on shores or in sandy soils with direct sun exposure. Common names in English include joint-pine, jointfir, Mormon-tea or Brigham tea. The Chinese name for Ephedra species is mahuang (simplified Chinese: 麻黄; traditional Chinese: 麻黃; pinyin: máhuáng; Wade–Giles: ma-huang; lit. 'hemp yellow'). Ephedra is also sometimes called sea grape (from the French raisin de mer), a common name for the flowering plant Coccoloba uvifera.[citation needed][dubious ]

Ephedra fragilis pollen cones
Ephedra distachya: ripe female cones with seeds
Ephedra ciliata seed

Description

The family, Ephedraceae Dumort., of which Ephedra is the only genus, are gymnosperms, and generally shrubs, sometimes clambering vines, and rarely, small trees. Members of the genus frequently spread by the use of rhizomes.[4]

The stems are green and photosynthetic.[5] The leaves are opposite or whorled. The scalelike leaves fuse into a sheath at the base and this often sheds soon after development. There are no resin canals.[4]

The plants are mostly dioecious: with the pollen strobili in whorls of 1-10, each consisting of a series of decussate[6] bracts. The pollen is furrowed. The female strobili also occur in whorls, with bracts which fuse around a single ovule. There are generally 1-2 yellow to dark brown seeds per strobilus.[4]

Distribution

The genus is found worldwide, in desert regions, but not in Australia[4]

Ecology

Shrubs of Ephedra major in Karvachar

Ephedraceae are adapted to extremely arid regions, growing often in high sunny habitats, and occur as high as 4000 m above sea level in both the Andes and the Himalayas.[4]

Taxonomy

The genus, Ephedra was first described in 1753 by Linnaeus,[7][8][9] and the type species is Ephedra distachya.[8] The family, Ephedraceae, was first described in 1829 by Dumortier.[7][10]

Medical uses

Plant as used in Chinese herbology (crude medicine)

Plants of the genus Ephedra, including E. sinica and others, have traditionally been used by indigenous people for a variety of medicinal purposes, including treatment of asthma, hay fever and the common cold.[11] The alkaloids ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are active constituents of E. sinica and other members of the genus. These compounds are sympathomimetics with stimulant and decongestant qualities and are chemically substituted amphetamines.

Pollen of Ephedra spp. was found in the Shanidar IV burial site in Iraq, which led to the suggestion that its use as a medicinal plant dates to over 60,000 years ago.[12] Paul B. Pettitt has stated that "[a] recent examination of the microfauna from the strata into which the grave was cut suggests that the pollen was deposited by the burrowing rodent Meriones persicus, which is common in the Shanidar microfauna and whose burrowing activity can be observed today".[13] It has been suggested that Ephedra may be the soma plant of Indo-Iranian religion.[14]

Adverse effects

Alkaloids obtained from the species of Ephedra used in herbal medicines, which are used to synthetically prepare pseudoephedrine and ephedrine, can cause cardiovascular events. These events have been associated with arrhythmias, palpitations, tachycardia and myocardial infarction. Caffeine consumption in combination with ephedrine has been reported to increase the risk of these cardiovascular events.[15]

Evolutionary history

The oldest known members of the genus are from the Early Cretaceous, with records being known from the Aptian-Albian of Argentina[16], Portugal and the United States.[17]

Species

Accepted species:[3]

Economic botany and alkaloid content

Earliest uses of Ephedra spp. (mahuang) for specific illnesses date back to 5000 BC. Ephedrine and isomers were already isolated in 1881 from Ephedra dystachia and characterized by the Japanese organic chemist Nagai Nagayoshi of the 19th century. His work to access Ephedra drug materials to isolate a pure pharmaceutical substance, and the systematic production of semi-synthetic derivatives thereof is relevant still today as the three species Ephedra sinica, Ephedra vulgaris and to a lesser extent Ephedra equisetina are commercially grown in Mainland China as a source for natural ephedrines and isomers for use in pharmacy. E. sinica and E. vulgaris usually carry six optically active phenylethylamines, mostly ephedrine and pseudoephedrine with minor amounts of norephedrine, norpseudoephedrine as well as the three methylated analogs. Reliable information on the total alkaloid content of the crude drug is difficult to obtain. Based on HPLC analyses in industrial settings, the concentrations of total alkaloids in dried Herba Ephedra ranged between 1 and 4%, and in some cases up to 6%.[19]

For a review of the alkaloid distribution in different species of the genus Ephedra see Jian-fang Cui (1991).[20] Other American and European species of Ephedra, e.g. Ephedra nevadensis (Nevada Mormon tea) have not been systematically assayed; based on unpublished field investigations, they contain very low levels (less than 0.1%) or none at all.[21]

References

  1. ^ a b Kramer, K.U.; Green, P.S., eds. (1990). The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants, Vol. 1: Pteridophytes and Gymnosperms. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. pp. 379–381. ISBN 3540517944. {{cite book}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter |authors= (help)
  2. ^ "Ephedrales Dumort". EU-NOMEN. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  4. ^ a b c d e Judd, Campbell, Kellogg, Stevens, Donoghue. (2007) Plant Systematics, a phylogenetic approach, 3rd edition. Sinauer associates, Inc.
  5. ^ [http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/ Angiosperm Phylogeny Website: Family "Ephedraceae".} Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  6. ^ Messina, A. (2014) VicFlora: Ephedraceae. Royal Botanic Gardens Foundation, Victoria. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  7. ^ a b The Gymnosperm database: Ephedra. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  8. ^ a b Linnaeus, C. (1753) Species Plantarum 2: 1040.
  9. ^ Linnaeus, C. (1754) Genera plantarum. ed. 5, 462.
  10. ^ Dumortier, B.C.J. (1829) "Analyse des familles des plantes, avec l'indication des principaux genres qui s'y rattachent" Tournay: J. Casterman aîné. P. 11.
  11. ^ Abourashed E, El-Alfy A, Khan I, Walker L (2003). "Ephedra in perspective—a current review". Phytother Res. 17 (7): 703–12. doi:10.1002/ptr.1337. PMID 12916063. S2CID 41083359.
  12. ^ Solecki, Ralph S. (1975). "Shanidar IV, a Neanderthal Flower Burial in Northern Iraq". Science. 190 (4217): 880–881. Bibcode:1975Sci...190..880S. doi:10.1126/science.190.4217.880. JSTOR 1741776. S2CID 71625677.
  13. ^ Paul B. Pettitt (2002). "The Neanderthal dead: exploring mortuary variability in Middle Palaeolithic Eurasia". Before Farming. 1 (4): 1–26.
  14. ^ Rudgley, Richard (1993). The Alchemy of Culture. London: British Museum Press. pp. 44–45. ISBN 0-7141-2711-6.
  15. ^ Skalli, Souad; Zaid, Abdelhamid; Soulaymani, Rachida (December 2007). "Drug Interactions With Herbal Medicines". Ther Drug Monit. 29 (6): 679–86. doi:10.1097/FTD.0b013e31815c17f6. PMID 18043467. S2CID 17042490.
  16. ^ Puebla, Gabriela G.; Iglesias, Ari; Gómez, María A.; Prámparo, Mercedes B. (2017-11). "Fossil record of Ephedra in the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian), Argentina". Journal of Plant Research. 130 (6): 975–988. doi:10.1007/s10265-017-0953-1. ISSN 0918-9440. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ Rydin, Catarina; Pedersen, Kaj Raunsgaard; Crane, Peter R.; Friis, Else Marie (2006-07-01). "Former Diversity of Ephedra (Gnetales): Evidence from Early Cretaceous Seeds from Portugal and North America". Annals of Botany. 98 (1): 123–140. doi:10.1093/aob/mcl078. ISSN 1095-8290. PMC 2803531. PMID 16675607.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: PMC format (link)
  18. ^ https://www.banglajol.info/index.php/BJPT/article/view/30850
  19. ^ Brossi, Arnold (ed) (1989), The Alkaloids: Chemistry and Pharmacology, Vol. 35, ISBN 0-12-469535-3.
  20. ^ Cui, Jian-fang; et al. (1991). "Analysis of alkaloids in Chinese Ephedra species by GC methods". Phytochemical Analysis. 2 (3): 116–119. doi:10.1002/pca.2800020305.
  21. ^ Hegnauer R. (1962) "Chemotaxonomie der Pflanzen. I". Birkhauser Verlag, Basel; Switzerland, pp. 460–462 as cited in Roman MC (2004). "Determination of ephedrine alkaloids in botanicals and dietary supplements by HPLC-UV: collaborative study". J AOAC Int. 87 (1): 1–14. doi:10.1093/jaoac/87.1.1. PMC 2584348. PMID 15084081.

External links