Halloween Medicinal Plants Poisonous Plants

Ephedra: Cure or Poison?

Come one, come all! The fourth show in the Halloween series is about to begin at the Laidback Gardener’s Great Plant Circus! Sit back, relax and let yourself be captivated by the discovery of the day!

This issue presents a rather ordinary plant. Well… when you look at it, it doesn’t have the charisma of the white baneberry or the Hydnora, but it remains extraordinary in the facts that punctuate its biology and history.

After the speed, strangeness and danger of the last few weeks, let me introduce you to the fascinating story of the leafless conifer that has saved and taken lives: the Ephedra.

I think, folks, we’ve got the winning poster: it’s the one that represents the LEAST of the requested plant! It’s always a pleasure to laugh at AI’s blunders!

Ephedra viridis. Photo: wildergeeg

A Succulent Plant or a Conifer?

It’s true that, at first glance, it could be mistaken for a Rhipsalis, a glasswort, or even some poinsettias, but I promise you that this desert plant is none other than Ephedra, a worthy member of the conifers!

What? It’s Halloween, not Christmas! Everyone’s entitled to their own disguise: if a fir tree wants to be a cactus, so be it!

The 70 species of the Ephedra genus are found in arid and semi-arid regions on several continents: North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. A creeping bush, it resembles the other succulents that live in these regions and doesn’t stand out too much… But when you consider that it’s a conifer, you’ve got to admit that it’s intriguing!

Cones ofEphedra sp. Photo: thomas-kv

Ephedra leaves are very small, even non-existent. They don’t photosynthesize; instead, the green stem takes care of that. This adaptation enables it to limit water loss as much as possible, an essential point when you live in such a dry environment that everything is just wind and dust…

While the fruits are cones, like the other thornier conifers we know, in Europe there are two species nicknamed “sea grapes” that produce edible fleshy scales. Looking at the pine cones we have in North America, it’s pretty hard to imagine eating the scales…

But here, for your amazed eyes, is a ripe specimen of a sea grape cone, ready for consumption. A far cry from our good old pinecones!

Ripe fruit from Ephedra distachya. Photo: Le.Loup.Gris

Why the name “sea grape” if it’s an dryland plant? Because it grows exclusively near sandy coasts and dunes created by offshore winds. Yes, arid and desert areas can also be coastal zones. The “sea grape” plays a vital role in solidifying these dunes: deeply rooted and running along the ground, it protects them from winds that would erode them, enabling them to play their role as a barrier.

Here’s a sea grape (Ephedra distachya) that grows close to the water, but directly on the rock: is it a dry enough shore for you? Photo: krylenkosl

Of course, so far this plant isn’t all that strange! But what makes it worthy of being a Halloween star is a molecule that has been discovered in this plant. A molecule now widely used in medicines… but also on the black market! Perhaps you’ve already heard of… ephedrine?

The Life-Saving Molecule

Used in many traditional medicines, Ephedra has also been extensively studied in modern medicine. Obviously, dear spectators, the different molecules present in the various species all have their own particularities. For example, sea grape species are lower in ephedrine than Asian species, fortunately for regular sea grape eaters!

But far be it from me to overwhelm you with numbers or complex molecule names, so I’ll just skim the history of this life-saving, and devastating, alkaloid.

To put it in a nutshell: ephedrine is a stimulant. It accelerates the heart rate and increases heat production. Metabolism and brain activity increase with its consumption. It also has a vasoconstrictive effect on blood vessels. In other words, it reduces the diameter of veins, thereby increasing blood pressure.

Do you see all the benefits this miracle molecule can have?

Just think of the ailments that clog up the bronchial tubes: asthma, bronchitis, allergies… or even simple nasal congestion due to the common cold!

Other pathologies or circumstances require an increase in blood pressure, particularly during sustained or marked exertion. Found in many supplements, ephedrine aids physical and mental exertion over long periods. In fact, its effect lasts about five times longer than adrenaline, which is of particular benefit to athletes or people who have difficulty concentrating.

Ephedrine also has an appetite-suppressant action which, combined with its heat-generating effect, induces weight loss. That’s right! Ephedrine supplements make you lose weight! But at what price, dear public, I ask you!

The Dark Side of Ephedrine

Make no mistake: there’s no such thing as a magic weight-loss pill. At least… not a safe one! Because, you see, the body produces heat during physical activity by “burning” calories.

If the activity is too intense, you can always slow down and take a break to stop the heat production. But if it’s a drug circulating in our bodies, how can it be stopped?

Yes, consumers of ephedrine supplements have died, their bodies overheating, like a fever that’s impossible to stop…

These slimming supplements have been banned in several countries since the early 2000’s.

But those wishing to influence their weight aren’t the only ones to have discovered the dark side of ephedrine! Athletes wishing to improve their performance have had their share of complications, and it is now a banned substance in many fields and sporting competitions.

Oh, and who says doping speaks of drugs, and ephedrine is an ingredient in many methamphetamines. After all, it’s a fairly common plant, easy to find… and easy to add just about anywhere! As a result, Ephedra is banned for export.

Does this mean there’s no ephedrine on the market? Of course not: ephedrine is now synthesized in the laboratory, and its health benefits are far from negligible. If taken in controlled quantities, under prescription, the danger is considerably reduced.

Do you read the dosage instructions on your pumps carefully, madam coughing in the fourth row? And you, my dear young man with the shoulders of a gorilla, do you know what’s in your sports supplements?

And all you diabetics with heart or thyroid problems? Beware! Ephedrine may interact with your condition or medications. Who would have thought that a plant that can be so worrying could be hidden in drugstore bottles?

On the Radar of Health Authorities

In the circus, as in the rest of the world, as soon as one act ends, we turn our attention to the next. While the Ephedra was taking its bow in the world of weight loss, another plant was slowly beginning its ascent. Bitter orange, the fruit of the sour orange tree, contains a substance called synephrine and has similar effects. Effective, but just as dangerous, bitter orange could well be the next plant banned from over-the-counter sale.

Bitter orange. Photo: A. Barra

After all, while ephedrine is on the World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines, synephrine is not. An addition to be made, or a molecule to be banned? It’s certainly not here, in this circus, that we’ll decide!

Just beware of miracle products, folks, and that’s all I can recommend, in all humility…

Of course, you won’t find a plant specimen of Ephedra at your local garden centre, and the Canada Border Services Agency intercepts anything containing it.

This rigorous control is both a blessing and a curse. It’s fortunate that this substance is so well controlled, but unfortunate for the amateur gardener who would have liked to boast about his beautiful, low-maintenance living-room conifer. In all honesty, as your scene master is herself, as you’d expect, a lover of plants with unusual attributes, I have to say I’m rather disappointed not to be able to own a specimen outside my circus.

But that’s the beauty of our encounters, isn’t it! They take you out of the ordinary, are intriguing, mysterious…

Next week, on October 31, join us for the apotheosis, the grand finale of this series. I promise you the unseen, the unexplored, and emotions that are completely contradictory. The very last of our specimens will blow you away with its originality, its colors, its way of life… and its visitors!

Be there for the ultimate number in the Laidback Gardener’s Great Plant Circus!

Audrey Martel is a biologist who graduated from the University of Montreal. After more than ten years in the field of scientific animation, notably for Parks Canada and the Granby Zoo, she joined Nature Conservancy of Canada to take up new challenges in scientific writing. She then moved into marketing and joined Leo Studio. Full of life and always up for a giggle, or the discovery of a new edible plant, she never abandoned her love for nature and writes articles for both Nature sauvage and the Laidback Gardener.

3 comments on “Ephedra: Cure or Poison?

  1. It accelerates the heart rate and increases heat production.

  2. I just want to say how much I am enjoying your posts and your incredibly good writing!

  3. David Solomon

    Hi Audrey. Great article on this interesting genus. I first came across it on a hillside in Greece last summer and it gave me quite a surprise, growing among pines…..but, at the risk of being a nerd, most traditional classifications would not make it a conifer. It’s a gymnosperm, certainly, but a gnetophyte, like Welwitschia. “Conifers” refers to Pinopsida (Cypresses, Pines and Monkey-Puzzles) at least traditionally, although I gather some other nerdy taxonomists now do want to include gnetophytes there as well….always hair-splitting…..! Anyway, I seem to remember something about Welwitschia on this great blog a while ago. How about rounding it off with an post on the genus Gnetum (which is in some ways he weirdest of all, precisely because they look so un-weird)? I don’t remember ever seeing one in nature or in a garden though.

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