Ephedra

“Mao, ephedra (Ephedra sinica), 5. Ephedrine: sweating, eases cough, raises heart rate and blood pressure. Banned in all EU foods and supplements.”

“EPHEDRA (mao): insomnia, sweating, racing heart, agitation. Care with heart disease, severe high blood pressure, overactive thyroid, urination trouble, severe kidney disease. Not with MAO inhibitors, thyroid hormone, theophylline, pseudoephedrine or another ephedra formula. Banned in EU foods and supplements (Reg 2015/403). Self-use in Europe: never.”

“Ma Huang Tang 麻黄汤 (ephedra, cassia twig, apricot kernel, licorice) for the sturdy person with chills and no sweat, Kampo Maoto. Ge Gen Tang 葛根汤, Gui Zhi Tang plus kudzu and ephedra, for a stiff neck and back with no sweat, Kampo Kakkonto. Both carry ephedra, as does Ma Xing Shi Gan Tang 麻杏石甘汤 (with apricot kernel, gypsum, licorice) for heat in the lung: story only in Europe.”

“Ephedra, ma huang 麻黄: the great sweating herb of the Shang Han Lun, banned in all EU foods and supplements since 2015.”

“Why. The seeds hold harmine and harmaline, which block the enzyme MAO-A. Swallowed, they poison: nausea and vomiting first, then trembling, staggering, confusion, hallucinations, and in severe cases seizures, slowed breathing and coma. Blood pressure can rise dangerously, more so with medicines for mood or with tyramine-rich foods. Morocco's poison centre recorded 200 cases between 1984 and 2008, 167 of them women, a third taken as "therapy", over a quarter in suicide attempts and more than one in eight to end a pregnancy, with 7 deaths among the 114 cases whose outcome was known.”