Demographic, pathologic, and toxicological profiles of 127 decedents testing positive for ephedrine alkaloids

Blechman, Keith M.; Karch, Steven B.; Stephens, Boyd G.

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2003.09.012

Cited by 16 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…69 There was no statistically significant difference in the postmortem ephedrine concentration in patients dying from traumatic (mean = 1.27 mg/L, range: 0.07 -11.73 mg/L) or nontraumatic (mean = 1.61 mg/L, range: 0.02 -12.35 mg/L) causes. In a case series of 127 decendents testing positive for ephedra alkaloids, the postmortem blood samples contained < 0.49 mg/L in a majority of the cases.…”

Section: Postmortemmentioning

confidence: 77%

Ma Huang (EphedraAlkaloids)

Barceloux

2008

Medical Toxicology of Natural Substances

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Section: Postmortemmentioning

confidence: 77%

Ma Huang (EphedraAlkaloids)

Barceloux

2008

Medical Toxicology of Natural Substances

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“…Rats treated with MXGST extract at 0.4, 1.0 or 2.0 g/kg body weight daily for 28 days survived throughout the period and did not show any changes in their general behavior or other physiological activities. We also found that oral administration of the MXGST extract at 5 times the effective dose for 28 days did not cause any toxicological responses or histopathological changes, and then MXGST which consists of Ephedrae, Semen Pruni Armeniacae, licorice and Gypsum did not show any toxicities such as cardiovascular and CNS toxicology from Ephedra [11, 12, 18, 19], mineralocorticoid excess syndrome from licorice [20], cyanide toxic reaction of Semen Pruni Armeniacae [13, 14, 17], and allergic response of Gypsum [37]. Recent reports indicated that Ephedrae decreased the acute toxicology of Semen Pruni Armeniacae, and licorice decreased acute toxicology of Ephedrae when these herb pairs are co-treated [9, 38].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Each MXGST component has been reported to have the various adverse effects, such as cardiovascular and CNS toxicology of Ephedra [11, 12, 18, 19], edema and mineralocorticoid excess syndrome of licorice [20], cyanide toxic reaction of Semen Pruni Armeniacae [13, 14, 17], and allergic response of Gypsum [37]. Therefore, we further evaluated the subacute toxicology of MXGST at 0.4, 1.0 or 2.0 g/kg after 28-day repeated oral administration in rats because MXGST possesses antitussive and anti-pyretic effects at doses of 0.4–1.0 g/kg.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antitussive, anti-pyretic and toxicological evaluation of Ma-Xing-Gan-Shi-Tang in rodents

Lin

Chang

2016

BMC Complement Altern Med

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BackgroundMa-Xing-Gan-Shi-Tang (abbreviated as MXGST), an important Chinese herbal prescribed for cough, bronchial inflammation and fever from pneumonia, consists of four medicinal herbs, including Ephedrae herb, Semen Pruni Armeniacae, licorice and Gypsum. These components, especially Ephedrae and Semen Pruni Armeniacae, possess antitussive activities, but they have severe adverse effects.MethodsThe pharmacological activities of MXGST extract in clinical use were investigated with citric acid-induced cough, acetylcholine/histamine-induced bronchial contraction and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced fever in rodents. The subacute toxicology of MXGST extract was evaluated after a 28-day repeated oral administration in rats.ResultsEach gram of MXGST extract contained 60 ± 8 μg of ephedrine, 480 ± 40 μg of glycyrrhizic acid and 440 ± 8 μg of amygdalin according to high performance liquid chromatography and a photodiode array detector. MXGST extract produced pronounced, dose-dependent antitussive effects in guinea pigs and reduced hyperthermic syndrome induced by LPS in rats. MXGST extract blocked the bronchial contraction induced by acetylcholine/histamine. Oral administration of MXGST extract for 28 days did not cause any hematological, biochemical or histological changes in rats.ConclusionsMXGST extract is a safer, more effective Chinese prescription with antitussive and anti-pyretic effects. The antitussive mechanism of MXGST is related to partially relaxing the bronchial smooth muscle by blocking acetylcholinergic and histaminergic receptors.

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“…Ephedrine is the most abundant alkaloid found in MHT and has a chemical structure comparable to that of amphetamines, ephedrine. It works directly or indirectly by stimulating the alpha adrenergic and beta adrenergic receptors and trace amine-associated receptors [12,13].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Therapeutic Insight into the Effect of Ma Huang Tang on Blood Pressure and Renal Dysfunction in the L-NAME-Induced Hypertension

Hong

Kim

Jang

et al. 2021

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

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In this study, we evaluated the effect of a traditional herbal formula, Ma Huang Tang (MHT), on blood pressure and vasodilation in a rat model of NG‐nitro‐L‐arginine methylester- (L-NAME-) induced hypertension. We found that MHT-induced vascular relaxation in a dose-dependent manner in rat aortas pretreated with phenylephrine. However, pretreatment of endothelium-intact aortic rings with L‐NAME, an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthesis (NOS), or 1H‐[1, 2, 4]‐oxadiazole‐[4, 3‐α]‐quinoxalin‐1‐one (ODQ), an inhibitor of soluble guanylyl cyclase, significantly abolished vascular relaxation induced by MHT. MHT also increased the production of guanosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) in the aortic rings pretreated with L-NAME or ODQ. To examine the in vivo effects of MHT, Sprague Dawley rats were treated with 40 mg/kg/day L-NAME for 3 weeks, followed by administration of 50 or 100 mg/kg/day MHT for 2 weeks. MHT was found to significantly normalize systolic blood pressure and decreased intima-media thickness in aortic sections of rats treated with L-NAME compared to that of rats treated with L-NAME alone. MHT also restored the L-NAME-induced decrease in vasorelaxation response to acetylcholine and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) expression. Furthermore, MHT promoted the recovery of renal function, as indicated by osmolality, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels, and creatinine clearance. These results suggest that MHT-induced relaxation in the thoracic aorta is associated with activation of the nitric oxide/cGMP pathway. Furthermore, it provides new therapeutic insights into the regulation of blood pressure and renal function in hypertensive patients.

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Demographic, pathologic, and toxicological profiles of 127 decedents testing positive for ephedrine alkaloids

Cited by 16 publications

References 27 publications

Ma Huang (EphedraAlkaloids)

Ma Huang (EphedraAlkaloids)

Antitussive, anti-pyretic and toxicological evaluation of Ma-Xing-Gan-Shi-Tang in rodents

New Therapeutic Insight into the Effect of Ma Huang Tang on Blood Pressure and Renal Dysfunction in the L-NAME-Induced Hypertension

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