About Ephedra distachya L.
Ephedra distachya L. is a shrub belonging to the Ephedraceae family, growing to a height between 25 cm and 50 cm. This species is distributed across multiple regions worldwide, including southern and central Europe, as well as western and central Asia. One of its local common names is somlatha. Ephedra distachya typically grows on grey dunes, which are fixed, stable sand dunes covered by continuous vegetation.
Ephedra distachya has a number of uses: it is used to relieve acute muscular and rheumatic pains (where it is known as teamsters' tea), used as a stimulant, and included as a component of cardio tonics in Ayurveda. It is sometimes considered to be the plant behind the legendary drug soma, described in the Avesta (the ancient sacred text of Zoroastrianism) and the Rig Veda (the ancient sacred text of Hinduism). The alkaloid ephedrine is obtained from this plant's dried branches; ephedrine is used as a stimulant, often to control asthma symptoms. This compound was first isolated from Ephedra distachya by Nagayoshi Nagai in 1885. All parts of the plant contain ephedrine, with concentrations reaching up to 3% by content.
