Ephedra - How Is It Taken?

How Is It Taken?

Ephedra has been sold in the form of tablets, capsules, a powder that can be combined with water to make a shake, and as a key ingredient in energy boosting bars. Asthma treatments include sprayable mists and injectable liquids containing ephedrine.

The twigs of the ma huang plant are dispensed by traditional Chinese herbalists. Tea made from the twigs is used to treat asthma, coughs, and the common cold. Herbalists caution that ephedra is a strong herb and that it should not be used for more than a week at a time.

Ephedrine starts to take effect about an hour after ingestion and, after kicking in, lasts about three to four hours. The recommended dosage of ephedrine is a maximum of 8 milligrams in 6 hours, or 32 milligrams per day. In Buzzed: The Straight Facts about the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy, Cynthia Kuhn and her coauthors caution that it is hard to regulate the dosage of herbal remedies because "the amount and purity of what you buy is unknown."